Portland heads back out on the road to take on a Real Salt Lake team Saturday (7pm PT, ROOT SPORTS) that was rocked by the Seattle Sounders last weekend, 4-0. The Timbers have won two straight games on the road, racking up wins against the New York Red Bulls and Chivas USA. After a tough match against the Vancouver Whitecaps on Sunday, Portland is looking to rebound by grabbing what would be their first win at Rio Tinto Stadium in MLS history. Let's take a look at five numbers to know before the match on Saturday night.
78.2 Though Darlington Nagbe has yet to find the back of the net in 2014, his ability to facilitate the attack has been essential. Nagbe has completed a whopping 78.2 percent of his passes in the final third, just behind Seattle's Osvaldo Alonso (min. 200 passes) for no. 2 in MLS. Nagbe already has three assists through 14 games for Portland, just one shy of his mark from last year.
FOUR
Fanendo Adi
has made his presence felt, and in a big way. The Nigerian forward joined the Timbers on loan on May 13, through his first four games, he has been involved in four goals. In his first appearance in a Timbers uniform, Adi assisted on
Gastón Fernández's
equalizer versus Columbus. Against Chivas USA , Adi put home two goals himself. The first came in the 65th minute, when
Jorge Villafaña
sent a low, curling cross from the left wing that Adi took home. Then, in the 71st minute Adi went one-on-one with keeper Dan Kennedy to get his second of the match. Last Sunday, Adi was critical in controlling a
Digeo Valeri
aerial pass to set up a first-touch strike by
Will Johnson
in the 86th minute.
23 Despite a slow start, Portland has scored the second-most goals in MLS at 23. Porter's offense has come alive over the last month, as 10 of those goals have come over the last four games.
TwoDonovan Ricketts has been a wall as of late. Over the last three games, the Portland Timbers goalkeeper has conceded just two goals from the run of play. The back line has been shifted around significantly, where 24-year-old Jorge Villafaña has been particularly impressive. Villafaña leads the team in successful tackle percentage for a defensive player at 91 percent.
.225 Salt Lake City is no place for an Oregonian. Portland's two major sports teams, the Timbers and the Trail Blazers, have a combined record of 22-71-1 playing against Real Salt Lake and the Utah Jazz combined. However, the Timbers haven't lost a road game since Apr. 19 when they last visited Rio Tinto Stadium, and have used two consecutive road victories to vault them up the Western Conference table. Is it time for revenge on Saturday?
BONUS STAT:
