Timbers MatchDay: vs. Crew

Columbus at Portland

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. today at Jeld-Wen Field.

TV: KPTV 12 (cable Ch. 12/712).

Radio: 750 AM (940 AM Spanish broadcast).

Tickets: A sellout of 20,438 is expected. Extra and obstructed-view seats are often put on sale on the day before home matches. Check Ticketmaster for availability. NOTE — Starting with Saturday’s game, The KeyBank Club entrance will open two hours prior to kickoff; Gate 3 serving the Timbers Army opens 90 minutes before kickoff. All other gates will open 75 minutes before kickoff.

Where they stand: Portland (2-5-1, 7 points) is ninth (last) in the Western Conference; Columbus (2-4-1, 7 points) is ninth (of 10 teams) in the Eastern Conference.

Last season: Portland won 1-0 at home and the Crew beat the Timbers 1-0 at Columbus.

Storyline: Two teams searching for a winning combination meet, with a combined four wins, nine losses and two ties. Desperation should produce a high-intensity clash. The team that can also produce some attacking rhythm figures to have the edge.

Leaders: Goals — Kris Boyd and Darlington Nagbe (3) lead Portland; midfielder Eddie Gaven (2) leads Columbus. Assists — Eric Alexander (3) leads Portland; no Crew member has more than one assist.

Injury impact: Portland goalkeeper Troy Perkins is expected to play wearing a mask after leaving last Saturday’s match at Montreal with a facial gash that needed two tubes of surgical glue. Steve Purdy (concussion) is out because of his collision in Montreal. Timbers midfielder Kalif Alhassan (knee injury) is still out. … Columbus’ long list of injuries includes goalkeeper William Hesmer.

Question of the day: Will any lead be safe? Allowing goals late in matches has been an issue for Portland all season. Columbus has been scored on inside the final 16 minutes in each of its last two matches.

Follow Paul Danzer all Timbers season on Twitter at www.twitter.com/col_timbers