Thanksgiving Day isn’t just about the NFL this year as we have a match in the MLS Cup Playoffs to enjoy too as the Conference semi-finals get underway on Thursday evening when the first Conference finalist will be determined.
The match comes in the Western Conference as the number one seeds Colorado Rapids host the Portland Timbers, who successfully saw off Minnesota United in the first round at the weekend and will be eyeing up another Conference final.
Where to watch
The match will be shown on both the channels who cover the MLS in the UK – Sky Sports Football and Free Sports. The build-up to the contest begins at 9.30pm and the match is due off at 9.40pm.
Colorado Rapids
You have to give a lot of credit to the Colorado Rapids. For much of the season top spot in the Western Conference revolved around the Seattle Sounders and Sporting Kansas City but the Rapids hung around and then when their chance came to assume top spot on Decision Day they ran through the door and secured home field advantage throughout the Western Conference leg of the playoffs. They also earned the first round bye to ensure that everyone is fresh coming in here.
The Rapids ended the regular season with three wins from their last four matches but it is well over two weeks since they will have played a match heading into this game. That will either be a blessing in disguise as they have been able to rest up and prepare thoroughly or it will be a negative because they have had time to lose their intensity. The Rapids haven’t been to this stage of a campaign for a while so it will be interesting to see how they deal with the expectation that comes with being a surprise number one seed.
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Portland Timbers
Those of us who have followed the MLS for the last five years or so will not be surprised to see the Portland Timbers at this stage of the campaign. It is more of a surprise to see them on the road at this part of the season but we’ve all seen in years gone by that this is a team who can go on the road and come away with victories. There are still players in the Timbers team who have played in MLS Cup finals, be it the winning one in 2015 or the one they lost to Atlanta in 2018.
The Timbers have goals from a number of places in the side and in Sebastian Blanco they probably have the difference maker here. That is how they will hope to unlock the door of the Rapids because they will know they were shut out here last month in what was a key regular season match. Portland know they need to defend well here because this will be a tough match to win if they fall behind at any stage in proceedings.
Betting
My hunch is that the Portland Timbers will come away from this one with the victory. I think they carry good momentum forward with them from their win over Minnesota on Sunday and I like their attacking options slightly more than I do the Colorado Rapids. It concerns me that the Rapids don’t have anyone who have scored double figures for goals this season. I much prefer a side who have a potent goalscorer but at the same time I appreciate that the Rapids are tough to beat in home conditions.
With that in mind, I’ll take the over. We’ve seen throughout the time that these ties have been one leg that a goal sparks off all sorts of crazy action and that is what I expect to happen here. There are plenty of goals in this Portland side but you can get at them as well, especially on the road, and while the last Colorado Rapids scored five in their last game, Los Angeles FC were leaving themselves exposed chasing a win. That is significant though because that will be the case here if the Rapids lead early on so the potential for over 2.5 goals is a strong one.
Tips
Back Over 2.5 goals for a 3/10 stake at 1.90 with BetVictor
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