Portland Timbers vs Houston Dynamo

PNC Stadium plays hosts to a handsomely-looking Major League Soccer encounter between Portland Timbers and Houston Dynamo.

Portland Timbers will take the field in high spirits following a morale-boosting 3-0 thumping of Colorado Rapids last time out. After putting an underwhelming four-game winless MLS streak to bed (D1, L4), the hosts will aim at back-to-back league wins for the first time this season. Nothing less would do as they lag four points behind the Western Conference playoff zone, facing the risk of missing out on the MLS Cup playoffs for the first time in six years. Therefore, Houston’s visit to Providence Park must be music to Portland’s ears, as they’ve won their last four MLS H2Hs at this venue by an aggregate score of 10-3. Yet, three of those triumphs yielded a 2-1 scoreline, suggesting this one may not be a walk in the park after all.

On the other hand, visiting Houston Dynamo have performed in patches this season, with none of their last nine league matches ending level (W3, L6). Despite an abysmal run of form, the ‘Orange Crush’ are only two points adrift of seventh-placed Seattle Sounders. But to whittle down the gap, Paulo Nagamura’s men will have to defy their uninspiring away record (W2, L5). That’s easier said than done, as they’ve lost both previous MLS fixtures on hostile turf by an aggregate score of 5-1, conceding on either side of halftime on each occasion.