Timbers at FC Dallas
Kickoff: 5:30 p.m. Saturday.
TV: ROOT Sports.
Radio: AM 750.
Playoff scenario — The Timbers can make the playoffs with a draw if Colorado wins at Vancouver, or with a win if Colorado ties Vancouver. A Whitecaps win over Colorado eliminates Portland, no matter what the Timbers do at FC Dallas. If Portland earns the No. 5 seed, it will return to Frisco, Texas, on Thursday for the wild-card playoff match.
Timbers (11-9-13, 46 points) — Will this be the final game in a disappointing season, or a result that starts an unexpected playoff run? The road team has never won the series between Dallas and Portland, but the Timbers have a solid 6-6-4 road mark this season.
The Timbers traveled to Dallas after a disappointing loss on Tuesday in Honduras that knocked them out of the CONCACAF Champions League tournament. Seven recent regulars did not start in that match, though top scorer Diego Valeri along with Fanendo Adi and Darlington Nagbe came on in the second half as Portland tried to score a second goal.
Defender Norberto Paparatto is suspended for yellow card accumulation. It is likely that Pa Modou Kah will return to the lineup alongside Liam Ridgewell. Kah has not played since the Sept. 27 loss at Toronto. Kah scored the tying goal in the 94th minute of a 2-2 draw with Dallas in Portland on June 11, the last time these teams played. Dallas beat visiting Portland 2-1 on March 29. Portland is 2-1-2 since Ben Zemanski replaced injured captain Will Johnson (including the match at Toronto when Johnson broke his leg in the opening seconds).
FC Dallas (16-11-6, 54 points) — Dallas has plenty of incentive. With a win Dallas will jump Real Salt Lake into third place in the West and not need to play next week’s 4 vs. 5 match. Of course, losing to Portland could mean facing the Timbers again on Thurday in the loser-out playoff round. Dallas — which in recent years has faded after fast start — has surged into the playoffs by winning 10 of its last 15 matches. Most recently, Dallas has won three of its last four with wins over Seattle and Los Angeles, who meet earlier Saturday to determine the Supporters Shield winner as the best regular-season team. Dallas is fourth in the league with 55 goals scored, but has allowed nine fewer goals (43) than Portland’s 52.
Viewing parties — Dublin Down, 823 Main St., Vancouver (Timbers Army Northern Alliance); Rose and Thistle, 2314 N.E. Broadway, Portland (Timbers official viewing party).