The second Cascadia derby takes place as the Seattle Sounders host the Portland Timbers at Lumen Field.
Despite a 1-0 defeat by San Jose with Jeremy Ebobisse scoring the only goal of the match, Seattle sits atop the Western Conference ahead of defending champions LAFC and expansion side St. Louis.
The Timbers are winless in their last three league outings, suffering a heavy 4-1 defeat to Kansas City on Wednesday and they tenth in the West, two points behind Houston for the final playoff spot.
Portland has won the last four matchups against Seattle, the longest streak since the rivalry began in 2011.
Team news
Sota Kitahara (right quad strain) and Jordan Morris (left adductor strain) are out while Obed Vargas is away on international duty.
Cody Baker and Cristian Roldan are in concussion protocol and are listed as questionable while Ethan Dobbelaere has a right ankle sprain and his status is up in the air.
Portland Timbers
Felipe Mora (left knee), David Ayala (left knee), Eryk Williamson (right knee), Pablo Bonilla (right hamstring) and Yimmi Chara (left hamstring) are all out.
Predicted lineups
Seattle Sounders: Frei; Nouhou, Ragen, Yeimar, Baker-Whiting; João Paulo, Rusnák; Chú, Lodeiro, Teves; Héber
Portland Timbers: Ivacic; Bravo, McGraw, Zuparic, Mosquera; Chara, Paredes; Asprilla, Evander, Moreno; Boli
Ones to watch
Leo Chu (Seattle Sounders)
With the absence of leading scorer Jordan Morris and the struggles of the Seattle forwards, Chu will be counted on continue a breakout season that has seen him register six assists as well as rank second in appearances (15) and fourth in minutes (791).
Dairon Asprilla (Portland Timbers)
His spectacular individual in the first Cascadia Derby this season showcased his quality and Asprilla has always performed well against Seattle, scoring four goals, including three in a row, and an assist in 14 career matches.
Previous meetings
On April 16th, Portland scored four unanswered goals in the final 19 minutes to pick up a 4-1 victory over Seattle in the teams' first meeting of 2023.
Raul Ruidiaz opened the scoring in the 58th minute for the Sounders, who created the majority of the chances to that point.
The match changed after a brilliant piece of individual skill by Dairon Asprilla on 71 minutes as with his back to goal, he pivoted and leapt backward, bringing his right leg over his body and whipping a ferocious shot that left goalkeeper Stefan Frei little chance.
Nathan Fogaca made it 2-1 five minutes later as he split Yeimar and Jackson Regan and then finished on the counterattack.
On 80 minutes, Jaroslaw Niezgoda took advantage of a misplay by Frei and finished a rebound from close range and Juan Mosquera completed the scoring a minute from time.
How to watch
The match will be streamed nationally on Apple TV + with Keith Costigan serving as the play-by-play announcer and Maurice Edu handling analyst duties.
Kickoff is set for 4:30pm Eastern time.