Colorado Rapids vs. Portland Timbers Prediction, Preview, and Odds - 10/23/21
Colorado Rapids vs Portland Timbers
The Colorado Rapids battled at home to a 1-1 draw with the first-place Seattle Sounders on Wednesday in their most recent MLS fixture. Colorado took a 1-0 lead in the 66th minute on a goal by Dominique Badji, but the Rapids gave up an equalizer to Seattle in the 81st minute and had to share spoils with the Sounders. Colorado does not have any players listed on its injury report.
Portland is coming off a disappointing 3-2 loss at home to the Vancouver Whitecaps on Wednesday. Portland opened the scoring with a goal in the 15th minute by Yimme Chara and increased their lead to 2-0 with a goal in the 42nd minute from Dairon Asprilla. However, Portland's back line and goalkeeper could not hold off the Whitecaps second-half surge as Vancouver scored three unanswered goals to defeat the Timbers. Portland will play without Ismaila Jome, Jeff Attinella, Andy Polo and Eryk Williamson, while Claudio Bravo and Bill Tuiloma are questionable
Colorado battling for second place in the West
Colorado is third in the MLS Western Conference standings with a record of 14-10-6, 52 points and a +11 goal difference. Colorado is tied on points with second-placed Sporting Kansas City but trails in victories and goal difference and the Rapids have played one more match then Sporting KC. Colorado has extended its lead over 4th place Portland to six points. The Rapids have two victories and one draw to go along with two losses in their last five matches in the MLS.
Michael Barrios is the leading goal scorer for Colorado with 8 and Jonathan Lewis has scored five. Three other players - Cole Bassett, Andre Shinyashiki and Diego Rubio have each scored four. Jack Price has a dozen assists to lead the Rapids. Goalkeeper William Yarbrough has appeared in 29 of Colorado's 30 matches and has allowed 28 goals. Colorado has scored 43 goals and allowed only 32.
Portland sliding down the standings out West
The Portland Timbers are fourth in the MLS Western Conference standings with a record of 14-4-12, 46 points and a -1 goal difference. Portland is six points behind third-place Colorado, one point ahead of 5th place LA Galaxy and two points ahead of sixth-place Minnesota. The Timbers are four points clear of eighth place with only the top seven qualifying for the postseason. Portland has lost each of the last two after winning four straight.
The leading goal scorer for Portland is Felipe Mora with 11, while Dairon Asprilla has scored nine and Yimmi Chara has six. Sebastian Blanco has six assists to lead Portland, while Chara has four. Goalkeeper Steve Clarke has appeared in 20 of Portland’s 30 matches this season and has allowed 27 goals. On the season, Portland has scored 48 goals but has allowed 49.
Pick: Colorado Rapids -124
In the only meeting between these two this season the match ended in a 2-2, but was played in Portland. This season Colorado has had much success at home as the Rapids are unbeaten in 14 of 15 matches, with the only blemish a 3-1 loss to Austin in the second match of the season back in late April. Portland on the other hand has one win, one draw and three losses in its last five on the road. Colorado has conceded only 32 goals this season for an average of 1.07 goals per match, while Portland has conceded 49 goals for an average of 1.63 goals per match.
Total: Over
Although Colorado is allowing an average of only 1.07 goals per match, the total has finished over the 2.5 goals per match threshold in 4 of Colorado's last five matches. Portland has given up 49 goals this season for an average of 1.67 per match and the total has finished over 2.5 goals in six of Portland's last seven matches. In the first and only match of the season between the two, four goals were scored.