Preview & Match Thread: Portland Timbers vs. Vancouver Whitecaps
And... we're off!
The curtain raises on the 2025 Portland Timbers season this weekend at Providence Park, when the Timbers face the Vancouver Whitecaps on Sunday at 1 p.m. PT (streaming on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV). It’s a rematch of the last game of the 2024 season, which was not a happy one for Portland. The Timbers will be eager to start the new season on the right foot, and put the pains of the past behind them.
Here’s what to watch for in the season opener, and your spot to lock in and chat through the game with the STF community.
Preview
The New Boys
The Portland Timbers were very active in the offseason, bringing in six new players to supplement their squad. And we could potentially see most of them make their Timbers debut in the opener.
Forward Kevin Kelsy and midfielder Joao Ortiz are both likely to be the starting XI for Sunday’s match, and attacking midfielder David da Costa might also be named a starter as well. The new DP’s visa paperwork has gone through, and he was confirmed as available as of Saturday.
Forward Ariel Lassiter will likely get time off of the bench, as will fullback Jimer Fory. There is an even an outside shot that Fory gets the start as well.
Some young guns might see the field too. Rookie Ian Smith has drawn high praise from the coaching staff, and T2 forward Gage Guerra (who tallied in a first-team preseason match) was just signed to a short-term agreement for today’s game.
Regardless of when or how they see the field, Providence Park will have new Timbers to cheer for very soon.
Injuries & Formation Intrigue
There are a number of player that fans will unfortunately have to wait to see don the green & gold in 2025. Forward Jonathan Rodriguez is out due to injury, as is winger Santiago Moreno. Somewhat surprisingly, centerback Dario Zuparic is also listed as out due to a knee injury.
Those absences make the starting formation for the Timbers somewhat of a mystery. As my colleague Alex Barnes wrote, this might force the Timbers into a 3-5-2/3-4-3 formation.
Does that mean that someone like Finn Surman gets a start, or someone like Antony gets put into a wingback role? We’ll find out.
A New Look, and Maybe Fatigued, ‘Caps
Despite being the same matchup the Timbers ended 2024 with, this is not entirely the same Vancouver Whitecaps side. Vanni Sartini is out, and new Danish head coach Jesper Sørensen is in. He seems to prefer a more traditional 4-3-3 formation over the variation that Sartini showed, but it’s an incredibly small sample size at this point.
That sample size is the Whitecaps’ Concacaf Champions Cup match — played just four days ago in Costa Rica. The ‘Caps lost at the death to Saprissa (and our old friend David Guzman), and played an almost entirely first choice roster. That included Ryan Gauld and Grian White, who both have a history of gashing the Timbers.
Will fatigue and travel be a factor? It definitely sets the table in Portland’s favor. Despite absences and unknowns, this opener is shaping to be one that the Timbers should win, and start the season off on the right foot.
Match Thread
Come chat through the ups and downs of the season opening match in the comments!
I’m all in on Da Costa, he looks elite already. I like Surman a lot. Ortiz looked alright. This game fucking sucked and Neville is directly responsible for the lack of improvement there, but y’all’s doom and gloom is really tiring. It’s the first game and we were down a man for 80 minutes. We can’t make any real judgements
Someone explain this to me - a handball is a foul, right? Any time, any where? So why does the fact that he maybe didn’t make a motion towards it intentionally even matter? It was a clear handball, it bounced right to another Van player and directly led to the goal… why does that stand? Shouldn’t play have stopped right then and there?