Sporting Kansas City vs Portland Timbers Picks and Predictions April 13th 2025

Sporting KC Eyes First Win Streak of Season, but Prolific Timbers Loom

Sporting Kansas City enters Sunday’s clash against the Portland Timbers looking to do something it hasn’t done all year: win back-to-back games. Fresh off snapping a 13-match winless streak, SKC will try to carry momentum forward against a red-hot Portland side that’s finding its rhythm offensively and tightening up on the defensive end.

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Sporting KC Begins Post-Vermes Era With Relief — and Resolve

Last week’s 2-0 victory over St. Louis City wasn’t just SKC’s first win of the season — it was a symbolic turning point. Coming just days after the departure of longtime manager Peter Vermes, the result snapped a club-record 13-match winless run and ushered in the Kerry Zavagnin era with a breath of fresh air.

Dejan Joveljic led the way with a second-half brace, boosting his team-leading total to four goals. Now 1-5-1 on the season, Sporting KC will attempt to build on the emotional high of their first three-point performance.

“The leadup to last week’s game, we talked about not being able to do anything about the past,” said interim boss Kerry Zavagnin. “Despite the fact that it was a positive result now, there’s nothing we can do about that anymore, and so we’re on to the next.”

The question now: can SKC replicate the intensity and cohesion that powered them to last week’s victory without the raw emotion that fueled it?

Portland Riding Momentum With Balanced Attack

The Timbers (3-2-2, 11 points) are unbeaten in their last four matches and come into Children’s Mercy Park with confidence on both sides of the ball. They’ve conceded just two goals over that four-game span and posted consecutive wins — 3-1 over Houston and 3-0 at Colorado — before settling for a 0-0 draw in Austin last week.

A big reason for their surge is Brazilian winger Antony, who has found the net four times in recent outings and emerged as a central figure in Phil Neville’s attack.

“You just hope that Antony now rises to that challenge, and that’s the key,” Neville said. “You’ve got to rise to the challenge.”

Neville also hinted at a possible return for Uruguayan playmaker Jonathan Rodriguez, who scored 16 goals in 27 appearances last season but has missed all of 2024 with a knee injury. While it’s unlikely Rodriguez starts, his presence off the bench could be a game-changer.

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Kansas City’s Resolve Meets Portland’s Firepower

SKC finally put one in the win column, but they now face a Portland squad that has been steadily building form and getting healthier. For Kansas City to earn a rare win streak, they’ll need to match the Timbers’ creativity on the flanks and avoid defensive lapses against one of MLS’ more balanced attacks.

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With Antony in form and Rodriguez potentially returning, the Timbers won’t make it easy.