Timbers vs. Colorado Rapids Match Preview: Avoiding the banana peel

Another home game, another must-win for the Timbers (against a team they should be able to beat).

It’s the third game in seven days for the Portland Timbers (10-11-9, 39 points) as they host the Colorado Rapids (4-14-10, 22 points) in their penultimate regular season game at Providence Park (Saturday at 7:30 p.m. PT, streaming on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV). On paper, it’s a winnable must-win. In practice though, Portland has to maintain focus if they want to avoid slipping on a banana peel.

Photo credit: Craig Mitchelldyer/Portland Timbers

What the Rapids will do

Try to pick up their biggest result of the season.

Colorado’s 2023 season has been nothing short of a disaster. They went winless until early April, fired their coach earlier this month, and are one of the leading candidates to “win” the Wooden Spoon in MLS.

The Rapids, while mathematically not eliminated from playoff contention yet, are basically done for 2023, and all their remaining games are about salvaging some vibes to hopefully carry into 2024.

Which is why a win in Portland would undoubtedly be their biggest result of the year. Colorado hasn’t beaten a playoff team in an away match all season, and doing so in Portland would probably be the high water mark for this team.

While Colorado has only tasted victory four times all year, they have looked like to be on somewhat of an upswing since parting ways with head coach Robin Fraser. In the two games since the firing, Colorado has clawed out a win over New England and then almost fought back for a draw against Seattle. I’m not calling it a new coach bounce, but there seems to be a bit of a lift in their spirits.

Which is to say that they shouldn’t be taken too lightly tomorrow. Don’t get me wrong, the Rapids are bad. They can’t keep the ball out of the net, and recently endured a five game run without scoring until that aforementioned win over the Revolution. But their status as strugglers along with that slight lift makes them a candidate for a classic trap game on the weekend.

They still have dangerous players who can score, like Cole Basset, Diego Rubio, and Jonathan Lewis. They might not create too many problems for Portland, but especially at this point in the MLS season, you can’t count out anyone — doubly so for a team with nothing to lose.

What the Timbers will do

Probably score two goals again — but hopefully more.

One of the weirdest stats about the nascent Miles Joseph era is that the Timbers have scored exactly two goals in each of the six games he’s coached. No more, no less. It is bizarrely specific, but is a testament to Portland’s sudden revival of goalscoring form.

The Timbers have scored roughly a third of their goals this entire season just over the past six matches. You can pretty much draw a direct line to Portland’s rise in form to their rise in scoring production, and it’s perhaps the biggest positive impact Joseph has had on the Timbers since taking the reigns.

A big reason he has had that impact stems from something Joseph has been able to do since taking over: giving his players clearly defined roles. He said so himself after Wednesday night’s in over San Jose, when talking about how team has come together since the roster has become fully healthy: “We were then able to set some structure into place and define some clear roles with everybody available. Now, the guys are seeing things much clearer and it’s been really nice to watch.”

Those clear roles have been crucial since Diego Chara underwent an appendectomy and is still to be on the shelf for Saturday. And it will continue to be crucial now that Cristhian Paredes is suspended for Saturday due to yellow card accumulation. But Joseph and Timbers fans will feel slightly more reassured for cover for Paredes in Saturday's lineup after seeing Bryan Acosta’s stellar performance in the midfield midweek.

Acosta put in a Diego Chara-esque shift against the Earthquakes, shielding the backline and winning the ball in several crucial moments. The Honduran midfielder, who will be playing against one of his former teams in the Rapids, will have to be set to put in another strong showing to help keep Portland’s midfield set.

Ahead of him, it will like be the resurgent Santiago Moreno and Evander pulling the strings for Portland offensively. The Colombian has a goal and three assists since Joseph took over, and the Brazilian has tallied four goals and one assist over that time.

Against a porous Rapids defense that has leaked nine goals in their last three away fixtures, those two along with the rest of Portland’s attacking corps will surely have plenty of chances to score.

If the Timbers take those chances well and stay focused, then they can avoid slipping on the banana peel that is the Western Conference cellar-dwellers. A win will obviously boost their playoff chances, but also be a full validation that this Timbers team is truly in a strong vein of form, and can be a problem if they qualify for the aforementioned playoffs.