Minnesota United FC vs. Portland Timbers, Prediction, Preview and Odds - 7/24/21
Minnesota United will be going for their second consecutive win when they face the Portland Timbers on Saturday night. United is coming off a 1-0 lead over Seattle. The Timbers are coming off a 2-1 win over LAFC.
Minnesota is 5-1-2 in eight games against Portland.
Minnesota Going For Series Sweep
United bounced back from their loss to Colorado with a win over the Western Conference-leading Seattle Sounders in their last game, moving them into seventh place in the conference standings. They will try to leapfrog the Timbers in the standings with a win on Saturday, which will give them their second win in a row as well as the series sweep.
Minnesota isn’t very good offensively, with 13 goals in 13 games. They scored a goal in their last game, with two of their 11 shots on target.
Robin Lod scored the lone goal for United, giving him a team-leading three goals for the season. Niko Hansen picked up his first assists of the year.
Minnesota has done a better job defensively, giving up 16 goals this season. They shut out the Sounders in their last game and will need a similar effort if they want to get the win.
Timbers Going For Third Consecutive Win
The Timbers followed up their two-game losing streak by winning their last two games. They are sixth in the Western Conference standings and will try to move up the standings with a win over United, which will give them their third win in a row.
Portland has played well offensively, scoring 17 goals in 13 games. They scored two goals in their last game, with three of their seven shots on target.
Felipe Mora saved the day for the Timbers after scoring the game-winning goal in the third minute of stoppage time. Diego Valeri also scored for the Timbers.
Portland isn’t very good defensively, with the team giving up 20 goals in 13 games. They gave up a goal in their last game and will need to do a better job if they want to pick up the road win.
Side: Minnesota United -120
United has been on an impressive run over the past two months and have only one loss in their last nine games. They aren’t great offensively, but they have picked up the pace in recent weeks, with six of their 13 goals coming in their last five games. The Timbers don’t travel well and they’ve won only one of their six road games. Their defense has been a liability and will cost them once again, so go with United to get the win.
Total: Under 3
The Timbers are averaging 1.30 goals per game and one goal per game on the road. They averaged 0.33 goals per game in their last three games against United. With Minnesota giving up 0.71 goals per game at home, they will keep the Timbers under their average. United is averaging one goal per game and 1.14 goals per game at home. They averaged 1.33 goals per game in their last three games against the Timbers. Even though Portland is giving up 2.33 goals per game on the road, Minnesota won’t score enough goals to push the score over the total. United and the Timbers played under the total in two of their last three meetings.