Portland Timbers vs Nashville SC

Providence Park forms the backdrop for only the fourth-ever Major League Soccer meeting between Portland Timbers and Nashville SC.

Portland squandered a halftime lead in a goal-glutted 3-2 defeat at Dallas FC last time out, relinquishing an impressive seven-game unbeaten MLS run (W5, D2) while failing to extend a narrow one-point lead on 10th-placed Minnesota United in the Western Conference. Back to home turf, where they’re unbeaten in five (W4, D1), including back-to-back victories against Minnesota and Vancouver Whitecaps, the Timbers seek another precious triumph to consolidate their playoff hopes. Despite entering this fixture as considerable pre-match favorites, Portland can’t take anything for granted after netting precisely once in their two previous home league meetings with Nashville (W1, D1). Against this low-scoring backdrop, Phil Neville’s men have bagged 2+ goals across their last five home league outings.

As for Nashville, a 2-0 loss at Columbus Crew condemned the visitors to their second consecutive defeat, complicating their quest to maintain a perfect record of securing a playoff berth in all five MLS seasons. Nashville’s patchy form is a reason for concern, with the Coyotes generating a disappointing win ratio of only 28.57% across their 21 league matches in 2024 (W6, D8, L7). It gets worse on the road. Rumba Munthali’s men have won just 22% of their MLS away fixtures this season (W2, D3, L4), largely thanks to their misfiring frontline. No team in the Eastern Conference has netted fewer away goals than Nashville’s six, suggesting a slow start could put this game beyond their reach.