Atlanta United vs Portland Timbers: What you need to know

 

Last week, Atlanta United was simply outplayed for 90 minutes. A beautiful Carlos Carmona volley helped make light of a game that was virtually dominated by the Boys in Blue.

This week, the Five Stripes are heading to Portland to play at yet another baseball stadium. Portland, who is coming off a 3-0 loss to the San Jose Earthquakes, is sitting at 4th in the West. With an impressive 3-1-1 record at home so far this season, Atlanta United has a difficult task at hand for tomorrow. Here is what you need to know about the Portland Timbers:

  • The Leading Scorer 

#9 Fanendo Adi, who is #5 in the MLS in goals scored, leads in the scoring category for the Timbers. From playing barefoot in the streets of Nigeria to the biggest stages of the MLS, Adi has definitely made a name for himself in first two seasons. The twenty six year old forward stands at 6-foot-4, which makes him a threat on both the ground and the air. His two goals and one assist in the 2015 MLS playoffs helped the club to their first MLS Championship.

How does this compare to Atlanta United?

Despite missing the last six games, Josef Martinez still leads the scoring category for Atlanta United with five goals in only three games.

  • The Goalkeeper

Jake Gleeson has appeared in 7 matches this season for The Timbers. In his 630 minutes, Gleeson has faced 30 shots in goal and has saved 21. With Gleeson in goal, Portland has won four matches, lost two and tied one.

How does this compare to Atlanta United? 

This season, Alec Kann has saved 34/50 shots in 9 matches for the Five Stripes.

  • The Venue

Providence Park opened on October 9th, 1926 and has since been home to many different teams for many different sports. The stadium has hosted major sporting events including two women’s World Cups, the 2009 Triple-A All-Star game, the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the 2014 MLS All-Star game, and most recently, the 2015 NWSL Championship game. In 2010, renovations were made to the stadium so it could become home for the Portland Timbers a year later.

  • The Fans

In 2016, Providence Park saw an average of 21,144 Timbers fans show up per match. This year, the Timbers have continued to have impressive turn outs for their games, which included a unique tifo for their home opener. Bob Ross, host of The Joy of Painting, frequently uses the phrase “happy little trees” during his TV show. The Timbers fans came out in full force for the opening game with a massive picture of Bob Ross painting the Portland Timbers logo, creating one of the coolest scenes of the 2017 season.

The Timbers are one of two teams who lead Atlanta United in the goal scoring category. Portland has scored 20 goals on 124 shots, finding the net one more time than Atlanta, who has scored 19 goals on 104 shots. Depending on the result of the Chicago Fire – Seattle Sounders match, a 3 point weekend could move the Five Stripes back into that last playoff spot. The win would help boost the confidence of the players and the fans, and could generate momentum and a win streak moving forward.

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