Portland Timbers at Nashville SC Betting Preview
Western Conference foes will battle on Sunday as the Nashville SC (7-5-5) take on the Portland Timbers (5-7-6). Nashville will host this one at GEODIS Park with game time set for 8:30 pm ET.
After beating D.C. United last Saturday 3-1, Nashville SC dropped their U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal match to Orlando City on Wednesday. After being tied one to one at the end of regulation, they lost in penalty shots 6-5.
Nashville’s Hany Mukhtar had scored the first goal of the match in the 52nd minute, but they allowed the equalizer in stoppage time as Rodrigo Schlegel of Orlando City tied it up.
Going to a penalty shootout, Nashville could not keep up as Eric Miller missed his penalty kick, and Facundo Torres sneaked his through for the game-winner.
Portland is trying to keep the momentum going as they are coming off back-to-back wins. They took down Colorado last Saturday 3-0, and most recently, they beat the Houston Dynamo 2-1 on Wednesday.
Portland went up 1-0 in the 34th minute after Santiago Moreno connected on a penalty goal. Less than two minutes later, Moreno connected on his first career brace, putting Portland up 2-0. Due to his strong play, Moreno was named to the MLS Team of the Week in week 17.
While Darwin Quintero of Houston cut the deficit in half in the 65th minute, the Timbers were able to hold on for the win as their unbeaten streak extended to three games.
Nashville SC is the favorite to win this one playing at home. They are -170 to win, while the Timbers’ moneyline sits at +390. The line is currently set at +280 for the two sides to draw.
Timbers Trying To Move Into Postseason Contention
After making the MLS Cup in 2021, where they lost in penalty kicks to New York City FC, the Portland Timbers are trying to get back into playoff contention in 2022. With the top seven teams moving into the postseason, Portland currently sits eighth.
With 22 points, Portland is just one point behind the Seattle Sounders FC. On Sunday, they will look to take down the fifth-ranked Nashville team and hopefully move one step closer to a playoff spot.
To date, Jaroslaw Niezgoda and Bill Tuiloma lead the Timbers in scoring with five goals apiece. The Timbers have a zero goal differential thus far as they have allowed 27 goals while scoring 27.
Portland ranks 13th in MLS in save percentage at 68.6%. They have allowed 27 goals on 87 shots against.
Nashville SC Trying To Start New Win Streak
In their last home game, the Nashville SC saw their 22-game home unbeaten streak come to an end as Sporting Kansas City beat them 2-1. This also marked the end of a five-match unbeaten streak (3-0-2) for Nashville. On Sunday, they will try to get the next streak started.
They will also look to move up in the standing in the Western Conference. They are currently in fifth with 26 points, and they would like to move ahead of the fourth-place FC Dallas, who also have 26 points to date.
The leading scorer for Nashville SC is Hany Mukhtar, who has eight goals on the season. C.J. Sapong has the second-most with five.
Nashville ranks fifth in save percentage at 72.9%. They have allowed 19 goals on 70 shots.
Take Nashville To Win At Home
This is shaping up to be a really good matchup Sunday. Portland is on a bit of a roll after having won back-to-back games.
Still, while Nashville had their home unbeaten streak snapped in their last home match, they are just a really tough matchup to face off against at GEODIS Park.
Take Nashville SC to win at -170.
