Portland Timbers will look to bounce back after a defeat in their last outing when they host a St Louis City side who will be protecting an unbeaten start to the MLS campaign at Providence Park on Sunday.

The home side come into this bout on the back of a 3-2 defeat away against Los Angeles FC, while St Louis head into this matchup after a 3-1 win against Charlotte FC in their last game.

Match preview

After the opening two weeks of the MLS season, Portland have shown signs that they may once again compete for a position to play in the Championship playoffs.

Having suffered a 3-2 defeat against Los Angeles in their last outing, The Timbers will still feel that they are heading in the right direction, as Giovanni Savarese's men displayed a strong mindset when they came close to digging themselves out of the 3-0 deficit against last season's champions.

However, three goals conceded will need to be addressed if they have any ambition of competing this season, as an inability to stop shipping goals cost them last time out, having conceded 53 goals in the previous campaign.

The absence of Sebastian Blanco will once again be a blow to Portland's attacking threat in this fixture, with the Argentinian recording the most goal contributions for his side last year.

Coming up against a new Eastern Conference rival, the home side will want to lay a marker down on their opponents to set the tone for the season.

Meanwhile, the new boys on the block will once again look to shock their opponents, as they embark on their first-ever journey as an MLS side.

St Louis come into this clash an unbeaten side so far and appear to be menacing in front of goal already, scoring the joint-most goals in the competition alongside Seattle Sounders in their first two games (6).

A 3-1 victory over Charlotte in their last game saw Bradley Carnell's team win their first MLS game at home in their first attempt, with Eduard Lowen and Joao Klauss both getting on the scoresheet.

However, their propensity to leak goals will need amending if they are to challenge for a Championship playoff position come the end of the campaign, as they have conceded three in their opening two games.

Joao Klauss will be vital for his side in this matchup, as the Brazilian forward awaits the opportunity to continue his rich vein of scoring form for his new side, having scored in both of his first two appearances thus far.

Team News

Savarese is expected to make one change to the side that was beaten at the BMO Stadium last weekend.

After starting the opening two games of the season, David Bingham is set to miss out on the starting XI, with last season's regular Aljaz Ivacic to come back into the side.

Sebastian Blanco and Tega Ikoba are both nearing returns from injury, although neither will be available yet for this clash and are expected to return to action next weekend.

Dairon Asprilla, David Ayala, Yimmi Chara and Felipe Mora are still unavailable for the home side and will not feature in this matchup due to injury.

Carnell is also expected to make a single change to his side that beat Charlotte last weekend.

Nicholas Gioacchini is set to miss out on a spot in the starting lineup, with Rasmus Alm predicted to replace the 22-year-old.

The away side are still without Joakim Nilsson, as the defender will miss this clash due to a knee injury he sustained in January and is anticipated to be out until May.

Portland Timbers possible starting lineup:
Ivacic; Mosquera, Zuparic, McGraw, Rasmussen; Williamson, Chara; Moreno, Evander, Loria; Niezgoda

St Louis City possible starting lineup:
Burki; Nerwinski, Hiebert, Parker, Nelson; Blom, Lowen; Alm, Ostrak, Stroud; Klauss

We say: Portland Timbers 2-2 St Louis City

We believe that this fixture will present goalscoring opportunities for both teams, as the two sides are susceptible to lapses in concentration at the back.

Therefore, we think that this affair will end level, but will be a high-scoring matchup due to the nature of both sides.

How to watch

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