The Colorado Rapids (5-6-4, 19 pts) will play their second consecutive road match as they visit the Portland Timbers (3-6-7, 16 pts) at Providence Park on Saturday, June 25 (8:30 p.m. MT; Altitude Sports, Altitude Sports Radio 92.5 FM).
Saturday’s match will be the second and final regular-season encounter between the Rapids and the Timbers after the two sides faced each other at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on April 30th, which ended in a 2-0 win for a 10-man Rapids. The Timbers sit 13th in the Western Conference and are winless in their last four matches and have posted two wins in seven matches at Providence Park this season. New Zealand international Bill Tuiloma currently leads the Timbers’ golden boot race with five goals in his 2022 account, while midfielder Sebastián Blanco leads the side with five assists in 2022. Slovene goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic has recorded three shutouts for Portland, with the most recent shutout recorded on April 23 against Real Salt Lake.
Robin Fraser’s side travel to Providence Park to play their second of two road matches in the month of June. The Burgundy Boys are coming off a 1-1 draw at Yankee Stadium against the defending MLS Cup Champions, New York City FC, last Sunday. Forward Michael Barrios opened the scoring in the 68th minute with his first goal of the season an assist from Canadian international Mark-Anthony Kaye, who recorded his first assist of the 2022 season. The goal was Barrios’ 40th career strike in the regular season and makes him one of just five active players to have reached 40 career goals and 50 career assists in MLS; only 29 players in the history of the league have achieved that feat.
Colorado goalkeeper William Yarbrough is currently tied for second-most clean sheets in MLS with six and his 23 career shutouts with the club are one away from surpassing Tim Howard for fourth-most in club history. The two-time Liga MX champion has recorded three shutouts in four appearances against the Timbers. Meanwhile, midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye has scored four goals in ten career appearances against Portland, his current career high against an individual team.
The Rapids will be without defender Lalas Abubakar and midfielder Bryan Acosta, as both players will miss the trip to Portland due to yellow card accumulation. Abubakar has helped the Rapids post five shutouts this season, while Acosta has completed 282 passes and has kept an 86% passing completion rate in 2022. Colorado will welcome back their current leading goal scorer in Diego Rubio as he returns from a suspension of his own. The Chilean has scored three goals over his last six appearances and opened the scoring in the club’s last meeting against Portland, a well-placed free kick that proved the game-winner.
