All eyes are on the World Cup final on Sunday afternoon, but the biggest rivalry in Major League Soccer resumes later in the night, a few hours after the World Cup concludes. The Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers face off at CenturyLink Field, and Caleb Porter's team is in need of an upset win.
Seattle Sounders vs. Portland Timbers: Kickoff time, TV schedule and how to watch online
Can Portland recover from their midweek loss and get back into the playoff race with an upset victory over Seattle?
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Seattle aren't missing any of their stars for sure, but they're lacking depth at the moment, with a number of key bench players out. All of Damion Lowe, Kevin Parsemain, Djimi Traore, Dylan Remick and Andy Rose are listed as out. Obafemi Martins has been hobbled recently as well, but he's expected to play, as are returning USMNT stars Clint Dempsey and DeAndre Yedlin.
Diego Chara is the big absence for the Timbers. The star central midfielder is suspended due to yellow card accumulation. New designated player Liam Ridgewell is also not yet available, while Pa Modou Kah, Norberto Paparatto and Ben Zemanski are listed as questionable, which will likely leave the Timbers with a patchwork defense again.
The two sides met earlier in the week in the U.S. Open Cup at the Sounders’ training complex, Starfire Stadium. The match went to extra time thanks to a 93rd minute equalizer by Portland, but for the fourth time since 2007 and the fourth consecutive time that they’ve met in the Open Cup, the Sounders went on to win the match. This time the Sounders got a pair of goals in the second overtime period, taking advantage of a Chara red card.
Chara’s red card drew the ire of Porter and set the stage for what is expected to be another epic battle, this time in front of more than 60,000 spectators.
Match date/time: Sunday, 10:30 p.m. ET, 7:30 p.m. local
Venue: CenturyLink Field, Seattle, Wash.
TV: ESPN2 (U.S. - English), ESPN Deportes (U.S. - Spanish), BT Sport 1 (U.K.)
Online: Watch ESPN (U.S.), BT Sport (Canada), MLS Live (Canada)
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