San Jose Earthquakes vs. Portland Timbers | 2020 MLS Match Preview

2020 MLS Regular Season – Week 7
San Jose Earthquakes vs. Portland Timbers
Earthquakes Stadium – San Jose
August 26 – 10:30 PM ET

STREAMING: MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US; MLS LIVE on DAZN in Canada

LOCAL TV: FOX 12 Plus (KPDX), NBC Sports California Plus

After a positive MLS is Back Tournament performance, the San Jose Earthquakes resume their season at Earthquakes Stadium Wednesday against a Portland Timbers side coming off a stinging 3-0 home defeat to the Seattle Sounders.

Thanks to a pair of wild wins and a draw during the group stage in Orlando, Matias Almeyda's Quakes are above the playoff line in the West with eight points from five matches. The MLS is Back champion Timbers are in fourth in the standings, but sit just two points ahead of San Jose.

The teams split a pair of regular season games a year ago, with the Quakes winning 3-0 at home thanks to three goals inside the opening 35 minutes. It was the team's first points under Almeyda.

San Jose Earthquakes

The Earthquakes were one of the pleasant surprises of MLS is Back, capturing the attention with their swashbuckling style and that dramatic comeback against Vancouver. They were ultimately undone by a superior Minnesota side, but that hasn’t put a damper on the positivity coming out of the South Bay heading into the remainder of the regular season.

They resume the season, though, without a key cog in their midfield as Magnus Eriksson transferred back to his former club Djurgardens IF in Sweden for an undisclosed fee. He had 13 goals and 14 assists in 69 matches with the Quakes.

• Updated team roster
• Injury Report:
  • QUESTIONABLE: Jack Skahan (M)- thigh injury
• Suspended: None
• Suspended after next caution: None
• International duty: None

Portland Timbers

The Timbers were unbeaten in seven matches in Orlando and capped their stay with an MLS is Back title and a berth in the Concacaf Champions League. On Sunday it was back to the regular season, back to Providence Park and back on the field against the most familiar of foes in the Seattle Sounders. 

It was also back to reality as Portland received a "hard wakeup call" according to coach Giovanni Savarese courtesy of a 3-0 Cascadia Cup defeat. But there's little time to stay focused on the loss with the Quakes on the horizon.

“I think we're all going to sleep a little bit poorly tonight, but it's gotta be a quick turnover," defender Chris Duvall said. "We’ve got training tomorrow, and we start preparing for San Jose immediately because we’ve got another game in three days. So regardless of how long it would usually take us to bounce back from something like this, we don’t have time to sulk on it, we don’t have time to think about what just happened, we’ve got to move on. So it’s gonna be a sleepless night, and then tomorrow we get back to work.”

• Updated team roster
• Injury Report:
  • OUT: Dairon Asprilla (M) - left knee injury
  • QUESTIONABLE: Yimmy Chara (M) - right thigh injury
• Suspended: None
• Suspended after next caution: None
• International duty: None

Series Matchup at Earthquakes

• Earthquakes: 5 wins, 17 goals
• Timbers: 2 wins, 10 goals
• 4 draws

Officials

• Referee: Timothy Ford
• Assistant Referees: Cameron Blanchard, Chris Elliott
• 4th Official: Michael Radchuk
• VAR: Fotis Bazakos