Philadelphia Union Welcome Portland Timbers
The Philadelphia Union are not only third in the Eastern Conference but also qualified for the Semifinals of the CONCACAF Champions League, which is why they come in as the favorites to beat the Portland TimbersSunday. Not so fast, the Timbers won their last two games with a 5-0 aggregate.
Let’s take a look at the latest team and player news, stats, injury reports and the MLS Odds for Philadelphia vs Portland while making some predictions. Spoiler alert! Expect a thrilling match!
- Game: Philadelphia Union vs Portland Timbers
- Location: Subaru Park, Chester, PA
- Time: Sunday, May 30, 7 p.m. ET
- Television: Fox Sports
- Live Stream: MLS Live
Philadelphia U vs Portland T Betting Lines
| Team | Handicap | Moneyline | Over/Under | Team Total |
| Portland Union | -½ -110 | -110 | 3 -105o | 1½ -125o / -105u |
| Portland Timbers | +½ -120 | +255 | 3 -125u | 1 -125o/ -105u |
| Draw | +300 |
Head to Head
- Competitive Matches: 11
- Philadelphia Union Victories: 1 (9 goals)
- Portland Timbers Victories: 7 (18 goals)
- Draws: 3
The last time they met, the Portland Timbers won 2-1 with goals from Jeremy Ebobisse and Sebastian Blanco, while Andrew Wooten scored for Philadelphia. Portland won the last five games against Philadelphia, whose only victory in the series was in 2015, at least it was a good one (3-0).
In their last 10 encounters, the Union scored 17 goals, allowed nine, finished with a clean sheet, and failed to score three times.
The last time they met at Subaru Park, Portland took the “W” 3-1. Brian Fernandez was the “Man of the Match” after scoring two goals.
Why bet on the Philadelphia Union?
As we already mentioned, the Philadelphia Union has had a good start. Domestically, they’re 3-2-2, good enough for third place in the Eastern Conference, but more importantly, they haven’t lost in their last four games, winning the last two 1-0 over New York Red Bulls and DC United.
Philly has also qualified for the Semifinals of the CONCACAF Champions League, where they’ll be facing America from Mexico, but the series will not begin until August, so for now they can fully focus on the MLS.
The Union defensive performance in the last couple of weeks was outstanding, goalkeeper Andre Blake was included in the MLS Team of the Week, but head coach Jim Curtin is well aware that they need to be better on the offensive side.
“We’re a group that has a real belief defensively that we can keep a clean sheet. We want to try and improve some of our attacking movements, our possession, we want to go into the break with a good result,” Curtin said to the press prior to the game.
He’s not wrong, all six of the Union’s goals this season have been scored inside the box after they led MLS with 11 goals from outside the box last season, four more than any other team in the league. They also need to be better when playing at home. Philly’s 1-1-2 at Subaru Park, 1-3 against the spread and over/under.
Philly’s expected lineup is Andre Blake; Kai Wagner, Jack Elliott, Jakob Glesnes, Olivier Mbaizo; Jose Martinez, Leon Flach, Alejandro Bedoya, Jamiro Monteiro; Kacper Przybylko, and Cory Burke.
Jack De Vries and Greg Ranjitsingh are unlikely to suit up due to injury.
Why Bet on the Portland Timbers?
The Portland Timbers are 3-0-3, good enough for sixth place in the Western Conference, but they could easily be out of the Playoffs zone by the end of this game because Real Salt Lake and Los Angeles FC are only one point behind.
More recently, Portland crushed the Los Angeles Galaxy 3-0 with a great performance from Felipe Mora, who scored two goals, and prior to that they also defeated the San Jose Earthquakes 2-0.
Portland is 1-0-2 when playing on the road, 1-2 against the sports betting spread and over/under. They have not kept consecutive away clean sheets since July 2016 and have never recorded two straight away wins with clean sheets, so they’ll be looking to rewrite history.
Head coach Giovanni Savarese needs to make some changes as Andy Polo, Christian Paredes, Sebastian Blanco, and Yimmi Chara are all listed in the injury report, but that shouldn’t be a problem, as the Timbers have had an MLS-high four goals scored by substitutes this season.
Portland’s expected lineup is Logan Ketterer; Josecarlos Van Rankin, Bill Tuiloma, Dario Zuparic, Claudio Bravo; Eryk Williamson, Marvin Loria; Jeremy Ebobisse, Diego Valeri, Dairon Asprilla; Felipe Mora.
Final Analysis and Predictions
Only one of the last three matchups between Philadelphia Union and Portland Timbers went over three goals, and Philadelphia is averaging less than a goal per game. Both are strong defensively, and Portland improved a lot over the last couple of weeks, more than enough to get their first draw of the season against a team who’s highly motivated.
Don’t forget to check the Soccer Props to increase your winning chances by predicting the correct score, half time/full time winner, and more! You can also check our take on Los Angeles FC vs New York City FC.
Score Prediction: Philadelphia Union 1 – Portland Timbers 1
Pick: Draw at +300
