The Portland Timbers stormed the MLS world and won the tournament title in Orlando and now return home to take on rivals Seattle Sounders FC in the final game of the week. There is no love lost at all between these rivals who have claimed the last two MLS trophies has Seattle won the MLS Cup in November. The latest installment of the Cascadia Cup takes place Sunday at 10:00 p.m. ET at Providence Park in Portland and will be nationally televised on FS1.

The Portland/Seattle rivalry dates back to 1975 in the NASL days and the first installment in the MLS came in 2011 when the Timbers joined the league. In MLS regular season play Seattle holds an 11-8 advantage with six draws and the teams split two regular season games in 2019. Portland won both playoff matchups in 2013 and 2018 while Seattle holds a 5-3 advantage in the US Open Cup.  

Seattle Sounders Outlook: New Look Midfield

The Sounders were among the favorites in the MLS is Back Tournament but they went out in the first knockout round in a loss to LAFC. They took four points from the group stage and sat in fifth place in the Western Conference heading into the weekend. In five regular season games Seattle has scored seven goals and conceded four.

Seattle won the MLS Cup last year and return the majority of the squad as they attempt to defend. Jordan Morris leads the way with three goals while Raul Ruidiaz has two. Cristian Roldan joins Morris with two assists while Nicolas Lodeiro, Handwalla Beana and Will Bruin have also scored this season. Stefan Frei has started every game in goal and he’s allowed four goals in five regular season games but also allowed four goals in the Round of 16 loss to LAFC.

Seattle hasn’t made any moves yet in the transfer window but the Rave Green should finally get a look at Brazilian midfielder Joao Paulo. He was signed as a DP over the winter but has yet to feature for the Sounders with a quad injury. He should pair with Lodeiro in the midfield with Gustav Svensson providing the defensive cover to balance the squad.

Portland Timbers Outlook: Validate Title

Portland cruised through the tournament in Orlando with two group wins and a draw before four wins in the knockout stage including a win over Orlando City in the final. Sebastian Blanco was the tournament MVP while Jeremy Ebobisse also had a breakout campaign. Keeper Steve Clark was tremendous in goal with a shootout win over FC Cincinnati and a number of big saves throughout the seven games in Orlando.

The seven points earned in the group stage put the Timbers in third place in the Western Conference. They head into week 6 of the MLS regular season, three points behind Sporting KC and one point behind Minnesota United as those teams go head-to-head this week.

Ebobisse had four goals in the tournament while Blanco scored three goals and added five assists. Diego Valeri and Jaroslaw Niezgoda each had two goals in the tournament while Valeri also scored twice in the games before Orlando. Clark has started all nine games this season allowing 11 goals and claiming one clean sheet.

Seattle Sounders at Portland Timbers Betting Lines By A1pph.com

Seattle Sounders to win: +206

Portland Timbers to win:  +122

Draw: +241

Over/Under: 2.5 goals (O -121, U -108)

The way Portland played in Orlando it is tough to bet against them right now as they have clearly developed winning chemistry on and off the pitch. Seattle clearly has the winning pedigree as well and this rivalry is a hard fought one. It will be weird to see Providence Park without the passionate fans but look for the Timbers to keep the momentum going to pick up three points.

Log on to our favorite pay per head bookie site at  https://www.valleysports.com/articles/Outstanding-PPH-Provider.html  and take the Portland Timbers to win (+122).