Philadelphia Union will play host to Portland Timbers at Talen Energy Stadium on Sunday, May 30. The hosts will hope they can take advantage of Timbers’ lengthy injury list and steal all three points for the first time since July 2017, but after dropping all of their last five head-to-head bouts, the mental edge should be on the side of the visitors.
Philadelphia Union vs Portland Timbers
When: Sunday, May 30 – 19:00 EDT
Where: Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, Pennsylvania
Weather: Cloudy, 11°C
Referee: Robert Sibiga
There are at least nine Portland Timbers players who are likely to miss tonight’s game. Regardless, this team is not considered too much of an underdog by bookmakers. Sure, Philadelphia Union are favoured to win, but Portland Timbers seem to hold the key to beating this opponent.
In each of the previous five Philadelphia Union vs Portland Timbers games, the team from Oregon was victorious. Can they extend that series to six matches? Let’s find out!
Philadelphia is One of the Worst Home Sides in MLS
Philadelphia Union have played four home games so far this season and won only once. They added one draw and two losses. With four points at Talen Energy Stadium, they’re the third-worst home team in the Eastern Conference of the MLS.
On the bright side, Union have been showing good form in May. In fact, they’re without a single defeat in their last four outings, collecting a total of 10 points. The bad news is that the teams they beat this month aren’t thought of as MLS elite.
Then again, their only draw of May happened against the conference leader, New England Revolution.
Another thing worth pointing out is that most Philadelphia Union players are fit. The only player who is expected to miss tonight’s clash due to an injury is the 35-year-old Brazilian midfielder Ilsinho.
It’s almost the opposite when their opponents are concerned – Portland Timbers would love to have only one absentee, but they have at least 10!
Should Injury Problems Worry Portland Too Much?
Nine Portland players are on the injury list, including some of their key men, like Andy Polo, Diego Chara, and Larrys Mabiala. They also have two of their goalkeepers injured – Steve Clark and Jeff Attinella.
It’s been like that for a while now, but Portland Timbers don’t seem to care. This team’s coming to Philadelphia after two straight wins, in both of which they had severe problems with absentees. In those two, they beat San Jose Earthquakes and Los Angeles Galaxy, two real MLS heavyweights.
Speaking of wins, Portland Timbers boast an impressive head-to-head record against Philadelphia Union. They beat them in each of their previous five encounters. The most recent of those happened in August when most of Portland’s players were fit.
Still, if you compare Portland’s starting XI in that game with their current bunch of available players, you’ll see that only three players are going to miss out. That said, maybe the injury problems really shouldn’t worry this team too much. At least, not against the Philadelphia Union.
Philadelphia Union vs Portland Timbers Betting Picks
Portland Timbers might not be favored to secure their sixth straight win against Philadelphia Union, but they surely have what it takes to make the match interesting. We do believe that they could cause an upset, but even if they don’t win, they could undoubtedly snatch one point.
Prediction: Portland Timbers +0.75 Asian Handicap – 1.95 Betfair
