The Western Conference champions will be crowned on Saturday night when the Portland Timbers play host to Real Salt Lake for a place at the MLS Cup final next weekend as the 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs draws closer to a conclusion.
These two sides have singlehandedly disposed of the three best teams in the Western Conference in the regular season and now they meet at Providence Park with everything on the line in what should be a cracking encounter.
Where to watch
The match will be shown live and in full on the Sky Football channel with the build-up to the big game beginning at 11.50pm before the game kicks off at 11.55pm.
Portland Timbers
The Portland Timbers go into this Western Conference final having made it through to the MLS Cup final on two occasions in the last six seasons so they will know all about peaking for the big occasion. Given that they finished fourth in the regular season they will know it is a massive bonus that they are hosting this match but the Timbers will be desperate to take advantage of the stroke of fortune that has come their way.
They have seen off two competitive sides in the playoffs so far. They took it to Minnesota United in their first match and then took the best the Colorado Rapids had to offer in the semi-final before delivering the knockout punch in the last minute. The Timbers will know they have won all three meetings between these two sides this season so really everything has fallen into place for them. They now just have to deliver the goods.
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Real Salt Lake
When you consider that Real Salt Lake only made it into the postseason in the final minute of the regular season, everything in the playoffs would have been a bonus. That has not stopped them going on the road to take care of the Seattle Sounders on penalties and then seeing off Sporting Kansas City late on in their semi-final. In both matches they have played with a poise that suggests that they fancy their chances of going all the way.
One thing this Real Salt Lake side has is scoring options whether from the start of the match in seasoned MLS campaigners such as Damir Kreilach or rising stars from the bench in the form of Anderson Julio. If those players stand up and are counted then Real Salt Lake have a chance of an unthinkable trip to the MLS Cup final. They know they will be away for it but that hasn’t been an issue for them in this playoff campaign so far.
Betting
Given that neither of these sides were expected to make it this far in the competition there is a massive chance for them both to deliver something quite special. There is no doubt in my mind that Portland Timbers have the experience factor on their side but that hasn’t bothered Real Salt Lake so far in this playoff run. If regular season meetings mean anything then Portland certainly have the advantage as they have 3-2, 6-1 and 3-1 wins over RSL this term.
I’m always wary about teams beating the same team four unanswered times in a season though and actually rather than take the Portland Timbers I’m going to go with the other trend those outcomes throw up which is the goals. Last season their two matches ended 2-1 and 4-4 so clearly when these two come together goals are very much on the menu. There is a chance the occasion dries that up but I don’t think either have come this far to sit back and eek their way through now. I think over 2.75 goals has every chance here.
Tips
Back Over 2.75 goals for a 3/10 stake at 1.88 with BetVictor
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