Portland Timbers

Breakdown

The Timbers are on a six match losing streak in league play, not having won a league game since a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Thunder on June 15, and have lost seven straight matches against USL First Division opponents, including a 3-2 loss in US Open Cup play to the Charleston Battery. The Timbers will face a team on Thursday that they have never beaten, going 0-2-2 in four previous matches against the Mariners. Their last visit to the Sportsplex was on September 2, 2005 when the Timbers lost 2-0.

The Timbers have had better luck against the Toronto Lynx, who they are 3-1 against lifetime. The Timbers beat the Lynx 2-1 earlier this year at PGE Park. In their last visit to Toronto, the Timbers won 1-0 on a penalty kick from Dan Antoniuk.

The Timbers finally started recovering from the injury bug in the past few weeks, but now the Timbers will be missing some key players for other reasons. Midfielder Mamba Chisoni is still in Zimbabwe, after the death of his mother last week. Defenders Mike Randolph and Jacobi Goodfellow will also miss the Charleston match, Randolph because of a red card in the last match against Seattle, and Goodfellow for yellow card accumulation.

The Timbers defense has been getting shelled in recent matches, giving up 15 goals in the past 5 matches against USL First Division opponents.

The Timbers forward combination of Byron Alvarez and Drew McAthy has not scored in awhile, but the Timbers are still looking for Jaime Ambriz to join the Timbers strike force soon. Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar and Luke Kreamalmeyer should start in midfield, with either Oral Bullen or Troy Ready likely to fill the spot left by Chisoni. Alejandro Gutierrez could also see time at either midfield or forward, and Lee Morrison is expected to fill his position at defensive midfield.

In defense, the Timbers will almost certainly start Scot Thompson, Michael Nsien, Josh Brown, and Salim Bullen, as they are the only defenders available for the Charleston match, with Randolph and Jacobi likely to replace Brown and Bullen for the Toronto match. With two matches in three days, it's possible Bayard Elfvin (who played for the Mariners last year) or Martin Hutton could see time on this trip as well as regular starter Josh Saunders.

Current form

After going undefeated in eight matches, including an impressive 5 points on a trip to Minnesota, Rochester, and Montreal, and only a late goal by Rochester preventing the Timbers winning that one as well, the Timbers have lost every league match since then, now totalling six matches. They also lost 3-2 to the Charleston Battery in a US Open Cup 3rd round match during that stretch. The Timbers did have a good showing against English Championship side Coventry City on July 8, winning 4-3 in penalties after a 1-1 draw in regulation.

Virginia Beach Mariners

Breakdown

The Mariners, who have only two wins (over Toronto and Minnesota) in their past twelve league matches (2 wins, 4 losses, 6 draws) are looking to get back into the playoff race with four straight home matches, starting with the Timbers match on Thursday.

Greg Simmonds leads the team with six goals, with Jakob Fenger (2), Ryan Mack, John Barry Nusum (3), Leepaul Scroggins, Steve Shak, and Alan Woods (2) also having scored. Woods and Shak have seen the most time this year on the pitch, long with midfielder Jeff Bilyk and defenders Kupono Low and Christopher Shwarze.

Matthew Nelson has started all but two games in goal, with 5 wins, 4 losses, 6 draws, and a goals against average of 1.003.

Current form

Since a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Thunder on June 17 (two days after the Timbers had their last win, also over the Thunder), the Mariners have one win, three losses, and two draws in league matches, in addition to a 2-1 loss to Real Salt Lake in the 3rd round of the US Open Cup.

Series history

• The Timbers have never beaten the Mariners (0-2-2 lifetime). The only other current teams the Timbers have never beaten are Miami (0-2) and Rochester (0-5-1).
• The Timbers are 19-4-1 on Thursday nights

Breakdown

After getting no wins in their first 11 matches, the Lynx have been on a tear lately, with 3 wins, 1 loss, and 1 draw in their past five games.

Jamie Dodds and Darien Pottinger lead the team with three goals each, with Kevin Jeffrey, Osni Neto, and Matthew Palleschi (2) also having scored. Osni Neto's one goal was a late goal against the Timbers in a 2-1 Timbers win at PGE Park on May 21. Defender Andres Arango leads the team in minutes, and defenders Rick Titus and Marco Bedenikovic, midfielders Jamie Dodds, Chris Williams, and Joe Mattacchione also having seen over 1,000 minutes of play so far this season.

Theo Zagar has started in goal in 11 matches, with 3 wins, 6 losses, and 2 draws, and a 1.349 goals against average. Richard Goddard (formerly of Salem's Cascade Surge) has played in six matches, with 0 wins, 4 losses, 1 draw, and a 1.6 goals against average.

Current form

After going winless in their first 11 matches (0 wins, 9 losses, 2 draws), the Lynx have three wins and one draw in their past five matches. They are undefeated in their past three home matches.