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By Will Conwell
GAME 9: Portland Timbers (4W-3L-1T) @ Seattle Sounders (3W-3L-4T)
Saturday, May 14, 8:00 p.m. ESPN2
Previous match-up(s): 3/4/11, Timbers 2 – Seattle 0 (Cascadia Summit)

The rivalry between Portland and Seattle has existed for decades, played out time and again between different incarnations of the Timbers and Sounders. It has simmered away for the last three years since the Sounders left the USL and joined Major League Soccer only to come to a boil in time for this match. Five hundred members of the Timbers Army will be traveling north to represent Portland, brave the cavernous Qwest Field, and face down the 36,000 Sounders fans contained within.

The Seattle Sounders have so far been good across the board but have failed to really excel in any particular space since the brutal injury to important play-maker Steve Zakuani that badly broke his leg three weeks ago. Forward Freddy Montaro has started scoring for the Sounders, after a long drought, and is currently on two goals and two assists; midfielders Brad Evans and Mauro Rosales have looked dangerous but have suffered from minor injuries of their own.

Evans will likely be ready to play, but Rosales is still listed as questionable. Although Seattle has been characterized as an offensive team, they are solid defensively and will be bringing a healthy defensive corps into the match.

The Timbers, meanwhile, will be returning the same line-up that has seen action in the last two games. Although many teams have suffered from serious fixture congestion, the Timbers have only been burdened with one fixture a week since their unfortunate exit from the US Open Cup against San Jose. As such, the Timbers have been able to avoid the fatigue and injury that effected them at the beginning of the season and continues to effect other teams currently.

Seattle did not have a mid-week game this week, but they did play two matches in each of the last two weeks, a schedule that has certainly contributed to the number of small injuries that they have suffered.

STRATEGY
Seattle has proved itself to be potent in many areas, but where they have looked most dangerous is on the wings with the contributions of players like Steve Zakuani. However, the present state of their squad has forced Seattle to play more through the center as they currently lack true wingers. Luckily, Seattle has a very powerful spine anchored by their defensive midfielder, Osvaldo Alonso, who is capable of playing a killer pass or taking a long shot but who is primarily known as a winner of the ball. The midfield battle will be rough and tumble as both Alonso and Diego Chara have shown that they are tenacious players with no compunctions about getting stuck in. The referees will need to keep a firm hold on the match or it could get out of control quickly.

While the central midfield match ups are interesting, the key match-up will be Portland's wingers against the fullbacks of Seattle. James Riley and Tyson Wahl both like to get forward to provide the width for Seattle's formation and it will be up to Darlington Nagbe and Khalif Alhassan to pin them back and prevent them from getting involved in Seattle’s attack. While Khalif has been doing this all season, so far Nagbe has primarily served to slow the attack and calm things down, whereas today he will need to be ready and able to press the attack when necessary. If the Timbers can accomplish this, they will relive pressure from their defense and will certainly win a significant number of free kicks, one of their most effective attacking options and a situation that Seattle has been punished in previously.

LEADING GOAL SCORERS
Kenny Cooper – 3
Jorge Perlaza – 2
Jack Jewsbury – 2
Rodney Wallace -2
Mamadu ¬Å“Futty¬Â Danso – 1

NEXT 5 MATCHES
5/21 vs Columbus Crew
5/25 vs Ajax (Friendly)
5/29 vs DC United
6/4 @ Chivas USA
6/11 vs Colorado Rapids

CASCADIA CUP MATCHES
5/14 Timbers @ Seattle
6/11 Vancouver @ Seattle
7/10 Seattle @ Timbers
8/20 Vancouver @ Portland
9/24 Seattle @ Vancouver
10/2 Portland @ Vancouver

BOTTOM LINE
The Timbers need to win on the road in order to show that they are a legitimate playoff contender. The Sounders need to win at home to show that they are the title competitors that many assumed they were at the beginning of the season. Regardless of the outcome, this will be the start of the most intense rivalry in Major League Soccer and, along with the return leg later this year, will be one of the must watch soccer games of the season.

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Pipeline's Portland Timbers  coverage by:

Will Conwell

Will Conwell is an aspiring novelist who spends his free time unloading trucks in warehouses. His passions in life are soccer, beer, and writing, which he has found are best enjoyed in concert. Will can be contacted at william.conwell@gmail.com or on twitter at TimbersPipeline.