Whitecaps at Timbers
Kickoff: 2 p.m. Sunday at Providence Park.
TV / radio: ESPN / AM 750.
Tickets: Limited tickets remained as of Saturday. Timbers.com or 888-736-6849.
At stake: This is the first of the two games in this Western Conference semifinal matchup, with total goals over the two matches determining who advances to the conference finals against either FC Dallas or Seattle. The second match will be played Nov. 8 at BC Place in Vancouver.
Format: The team that scores the most goals after both games wins. If the teams score the same number of total goals, the team with more goals as the visiting team will win. If both total goals and away goals are even at the conclusion of the Nov. 8 match, the teams will play 30 extra minutes. If still tied, a penalty-kick tiebreaker will determine the winner.
Timbers notes: Portland had a loss (2-1) and two draws (0-0 and 1-1) in the regular season against Vancouver. … The Timbers had a recovery session on Friday and a short training session on Saturday to prepare for this match following Thursday’s wild win over Sporting Kansas City. On the status of midfielder Diego Chara, who missed Thursday’s match with a foot injury, coach Caleb Porter said on Saturday that “It’ll be a game-time decision. (Chara) did a little more (Saturday), but it’s a little sore still.” … Porter said Will Johnson, who has been available in the last two games, is not yet ready to play a full match but could see time off the bench depending upon the game situation. Porter noted that Johnson is a more of a box-to-box player than a holding midfielder, and that the team has a good rhythm with George Fochive coming off the bench. … This will be the 11th playoff match all time between the Whitecaps and Timbers, but the first as MLS rivals. The teams previously clashed in NASL and USL playoff rounds. In MLS regular-season play, Portland is 6-2-6 against Vancouver, including 3-1-4 at home. Four Timbers got yellow cards on Thursday and will miss next week’s game if they pick up a caution on Sunday: Diego Valeri, Liam Ridgewell, Rodney Wallace and Fochive.
Whitecaps notes: Vancouver earned the bye into this round be finishing with one more win than Portland at the end of the regular season. The teams tied with 53 points, second to FC Dallas in the final Western Conference standings. … In the running for first place in the Western Conference for much of the season, Vancouver went 2-3-2 in league play in September and October to finish tied for second with the Timbers. … Injuries played a part on Vancouver’s inconsistent finish to the season. Team captain Pedro Morales (hamstring) is doubtful for Sunday and has not played since Oct. 3, and players who have missed time include midfielders Mauro Rosales and Cristian Techera. … Octavio Rivero leads a balanced Vancouver attack with 10 goals, but five of those came in the first six games of the season. Left winger Keketu Manneh (7 goals, 6 assists) and right winger Techera (7 goals, 5 assists) have been two of the most consistent attackers for Vancouver.
