Phil Neville is preparing his "Portland Timbers" squad for their upcoming MLS fixture against "St. Louis City" with several injury concerns weighing on his mind. The Timbers coach will be unable to call upon Zac McGraw, James Pantemis, and Jonathan Rodríguez due to various injuries as his team looks to build on their recent success.
The Timbers enter this contest with momentum after securing a 2-1 victory over "Colorado Rapids" in their previous outing. During that match, Portland dominated possession with an impressive 71% of the ball and peppered the Rapids goal with 23 attempts.
"We're facing some challenges with injuries, but the squad showed great character in our last match," a confident Neville might say ahead of this fixture.
Goals from Antony in the 59th minute and Kevin Kelsy in the 76th proved enough to overcome Colorado, despite Djordje Mihailović finding the net for the visitors.
Interestingly, Portland has struggled offensively in recent weeks, scoring just 4 goals in their previous 6 outings. That's not exactly lighting up the scoreboard, is it?
"St. Louis City" comes into this matchup following their own 2-1 win against "San Jose Earthquakes." The visitors saw João Klauss score just before halftime, while Eduard Löwen netted a dramatic winner in the 92nd minute.
The last meeting between these sides produced an absolute barnstormer - a 4-4 draw back in August 2024. That day, Portland's Felipe Mora bagged a brace, while Evander and Jonathan Rodríguez also found the net. For St. Louis, goals came from Simon Becher, Eduard Löwen, Cedric Teuchert, and Nökkvi Þeyr Þórisson.
Despite Portland's recent scoring troubles, oddsmakers have installed them as favorites at 1.67, with the draw at 4.1 and a St. Louis victory priced at 4.75.
Will Neville find the right formula to overcome his injury problems? We'll find out when these teams lock horns on June 8th.
