Timbers Match Day: New England at Timbers

New England at Timbers

When/where: 8 p.m. Friday at Jeld-Wen Field.

TV: Live on Fox Soccer (Comcast cable channel 401).

Radio: AM 750/FM 101 (AM 940 Spanish broadcast).

Records: New England is 5-11-12, eighth in the East. Portland is 9-12-6, sixth in the West (3 points out of the last playoff spot).

Why to watch: The Timbers have only three home games left, and probably need to win all of them to reach the playoffs.

PROJECTED STARTERS

Portland Timbers

Forwards: Kenny Cooper, Jorge Perlaza.

Midfielders: Sal Zizzo, Jack Jewsbury, Diego Chara, Kalif Alhassan.

Defenders: Mike Chabala, Eric Brunner, Mamadou “Futty” Danso, Lovel Palmer.

Goalkeeper: Troy Perkins.

Key alternatives: F Bright Dike, M/F Darlington Nagbe, M James Marcelin, D David Horst, D Rodney Wallace, D Steve Purdy, M Peter Lowry, GK Jake Gleeson.

New England

Forwards: Milton Caraglio, Rajko Lekic.

Midfielders: Chris Tierney, Sharlie Joseph, Benny Feilhaber, Monsef Zerka.

Defenders: Darius Barnes, A.J. Soares, Ryan Cochrane, Kevin Alston.

Goalkeeper: Matt Reis.

THE MATCHUP

Who starts up top? Jorge Perlaza (illness) missed several days of practice. If he can’t go, Darlington Nagbe, Brian Umony or Bright Dike are options to start alongside Kenny Cooper.

Strong in the middle: New England has a strong tandem in the center of midfield with veteran captain Sharlie Joseph teaming with national teamer Benny Feilhaber.

Is a lead safe? Both New England and Portland have struggled to hold leads this season, though Portland’s defense has become more reliable, as evidenced by its two consecutive shutouts.

NOTABLE

• Scoring leaders: New England — Shalrie Joseph 8 goals. Benny Feilhaber 4 assists, Chris Tierney 4 assists. Portland — Jack Jewsbury 7 goals and 8 assists.

• Attendance record: Capacity for Friday’s match will be 20,323. In an experiment to see how the stadium handles larger crowds, the Timbers sold almost 2,000 more tickets for Friday’s match and the Oct. 14 home finale against Houston. The extra seats sold out the day they were put on sale.

• Injury report: Timbers — Out: GK Adin Brown (concussion); DF Kevin Goldthwaite (knee ACL rupture); DF David Horst (groin strain); FW Eddie Johnson (concussion); FW Spencer Thompson (knee); Probable: DF Mamadou Danso (hamstring strain); GK Troy Perkins (hip soreness). Revolution — Out: MF Stephen McCarthy (shoulder surgery); MF Sainey Nyassi (knee sprain); Questionable: MF Pat Phelan (concussion); Probable: DF Kevin Alston (hamstring irritation); DF Darrius Barnes (quadriceps strain); MF Monsef Zerka (quadriceps tightness).

• Suspended: none. Suspended next yellow: POR: Mike Chabala, Rodney Wallace. NE: Pat Phelan.

Fan guide

Tickets: Only a few individual seats remained on Thursday.

Gates open: 90 minutes before kickoff.

Getting there: Parking is extremely limited near the stadium. MAX light rail runs extra trains on match days.