The Portland Timbers will open their 2023 season, their 13th since they joined Major League Soccer in 2011, tonight at 7:00 against Sporting Kansas City. The match was originally scheduled for Saturday, but was moved back two days due to the snowstorm that hit the Portland area late last week.
During their time in MLS, the Timbers have 6 wins, 8 losses, and 6 draws against SKC. The Timbers are 5-4-2 against Kansas City at home, the most recent match a memorable 7-2 win on May 14 when the Timbers scored seven goals for the first time ever.
This will also only be the fourth regular season match the MLS Timbers have played on a Monday. The previous matches were a 3-1 win on March 12, 2012 over the Philadelphia Union (which is their only Monday game at home to this point), a July 4, 2016 0-0 draw with the Colorado Rapids, and a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Galaxy on July 13, 2020 which was played in Orlando as part of the MLS Is Back Tournament in 2020.
Tonight will also see the debut of new Timbers signing Evander, who looks to provide a scoring spark in the midfield. The Timbers are short in defense though with Josecarlos Van Rankin being let go, and Bill Tuiloma being traded. The Timbers did add veteran defender Eric Miller last week to add a little depth.
It will be a chilly match tonight at Providence Park but I look forward to seeing you all there!
What to know as the Timbers’ 13th MLS season kicks off | Timbers website
