St. Louis City Sc Stl vs Portland Timbers Port Picks and Predictions June 8th 2024

St. Louis City Aim to End Winless Rut vs. Improving Timbers

St. Louis City will attempt to snap a four-match winless streak on Saturday night when they host the Portland Timbers, a team showing significant signs of improvement in recent weeks.

Recent Form and Performance

St. Louis (3-4-8, 17 points) has had a mixed run of form lately. Despite the winless streak, they earned an impressive 3-3 draw against Inter Miami last weekend. This match saw them score through Indiana Vassilev and Chris Durkin, although they relinquished the lead three times.

“I saw a lot of good things against a very good counter-pressing Miami team with their full roster,” said St. Louis coach Bradley Carnell. “The way we created chances, the way we gained momentum, the way we put pressure on their back line gives me a lot of hope.”

However, defensive issues persist for St. Louis, as they have conceded multiple goals in four consecutive matches. Despite goalkeeper Roman Burki making seven saves against Miami, they still allowed three goals.

Portland Timbers’ Recent Improvement

Portland (5-7-5, 20 points) has been on an upward trajectory, earning a 2-2 draw at home against the Houston Dynamo in their most recent match. Evander’s contributions were crucial, providing his seventh and eighth assists on goals by Felipe Mora and Nathan Fogaca, helping the Timbers twice come from behind.

Under first-year coach Phil Neville, the Timbers have collected 10 points from their last five matches (3-1-1) and currently sit in ninth place in the Western Conference standings, holding the second wild-card spot. They will be seeking their first consecutive away wins following a 2-0 victory at Austin two matches ago.

“I think what we’ve done over the last five games is we’ve set a benchmark of what’s now our level, in terms of discipline and concentration and shape,” Neville said. “And we’re not going to go away from that.”

Impact of International Duty

Both teams will be somewhat affected by MLS’s decision to continue playing through the international break. The Timbers will be without defenders Kamal Miller and Miguel Araujo, as well as goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau. St. Louis will miss defender Kyle Hiebert.

St. Louis City is seeking to break their streak of no wins while Portland Timbers are hoping to continue their recent strong performance, making this upcoming match a crucial one for both teams in their efforts to move up the Western Conference rankings.