Game Info
Kickoff: 6:10pm CT
Watch: Apple TV
Location: Q2 Stadium - Austin, TX
All-Time H2H Record
Austin FC has a 4W-2D-6L all-time record against Portland Timbers.
It’s been just over two months since these two clubs met for the first time in the 2026 season, a 2-1 road victory for Austin FC on August 29th behind a 25th minute goal from Facundo Torres and a second half stoppage time winner from Oleksandr Svatok.
Portland will always hold a special place in the hearts of day one Austin FC fans, as the Timbers were the opponent in the club’s first ever home win. Those highlights are always a special watch for the Verde faithful.
Portland Timbers Recent Form
The Timbers have everything to play for coming into Saturday’s Decision Day clash at Q2 Stadium. They enter the league’s final weekend sitting in eighth place in the Western Conference, with the ability to climb out of the wild card game and end up in the seven slot with a win and an LA Galaxy draw or loss. They can also fall as far as 12th place with a loss and other results going against them.
Portland has 12 wins this season, but three of those came in an eight day span last week, with home wins over Charlotte FC and Houston Dynamo sandwiching a road victory against U.S. Open Cup champions St. Louis City SC.
As I lamented on Wednesday’s Episode 348, the Timbers recent surge followed a seven game winless run and a stretch of one win in ten. That means they were sitting on 34 points (the same total as Austin FC currently has) just 13 days ago. Portland having control of their postseason destiny headed into the weekend is a testament to the idea that as long as you’re mathematically alive for a postseason berth in this league, you should go for it. Those of you who have kept up with the show over the last two weeks know that I don’t necessarily think our favorite team has done that to the best of the their ability.
Portland is also a team that made significant structural changes in the middle of the season. They fired manager Phil Neville as the league paused for the World Cup break and hired Marti Cifuentes as their new head coach in July. As you can tell from the whiplash in form for the team, it’s been a rocky road over the new gaffer’s first few months in the PNW, but what matters to the club and its fanbase is the fact that Portland are favored to qualify for the postseason.
This team scores a ton, with their 60 goals for being the second highest total for any Western Conference club behind only the top seeded Vancouver Whitecaps. They’ve also conceded nearly as much as Austin FC, allowing 61 goals to Austin’s 63, ranking as the fourth most goals allowed in the West. Despite that, the Timbers faithful should feel uber confident in their club’s chances come Saturday, considering that the home side has nothing to play for and that fact has been on display over the last couple of games.
Austin FC Recent Form
The Verde and Black will host their third Decision Day match in club history and it will be the third time that the fixture has been meaningless to the team’s postseason fate. Now, that sounds a little more negative on the surface than reality. The 2022 Decision Day match against the Colorado Rapids wasn’t going to change the team’s outcome because they were already locked into the Western Conference’s second seed headed into the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs. And although the team was eliminated in 2024 when they once again hosted the Rapids (and coached by Davy Arnaud in his first interim stint for the club), they did pull off a comeback in second half stoppage time to turn a 2-1 deficit to a 3-2 victory to send fans home smiling.
A result like that feels pretty farfetched coming into this game. With the Timbers having everything to play for and the way Austin FC lined up against LA Galaxy on the road last Saturday, it would be a disaster for Portland to do anything but win this match.
But this is Major League Soccer. Crazier things have happened.
One thing that’s consistent no matter the team’s standing in the table on Decision Day is the fact that the end is near for some members of the team. Brendan Hines-Ike is out of contract after this match and Ilie Sanchez has a team option. With how much Sanchez has been playing down the stretch, we’ve recklessly speculated on the show that this could be a sign that the team’s captain may be hanging up his boots after the final whistle this Saturday.
The club also has contract options on Žan Kolmanič, Jorge Alastuey and Riley Thomas. We may have already seen the last of Kolmanič after his straight red card in second half stoppage time against the Galaxy last Saturday. He’s one of three remaining “OGs” from Austin FC’s expansion side and while he’s never made a giant impact in the counting stats, it’s at the very least unfortunate that he may not get the chance to play one last time in front of the Verde faithful after spending such a large portion of his career with the club.
If you’re making the final trek to Q2 Stadium this Saturday you should expect to see a similar lineup to the one the team rolled out there against the Galaxy, with multiple depth pieces playing larger roles and a clear focus on preserving the long term health of some of the team’s core pieces who will be around when training camp starts up in two months time. From my own personal fan perspective, I’m hoping we can see at least a half from one or two of the team’s DPs to help the younger lineup find more stability than what was on display last weekend to close out the year in front of the home fans.
Injury Report
ATX:
Jon Bell (Out - Lower Abdomen)
Chris Applewhite (Out - Quad)
Žan Kolmanič (Out - Suspended)
POR:
Zac McGraw (Out - Back)
Alex Bonetig (Out - Shoulder)
Brandon Bye (Out - Knee)
Juan Mosquera (Out - Knee)
Portland Timbers Players to Watch
Kristoffer Velde - The 26-year-old Norwegian left winger whom I’ve referred to as “Bud Light Bouanga” on past episodes has been one of the main driving forces of Portland’s late season playoff run. He’s up to 10 goals and 10 assists across his 32 appearances, including four contributions over the last two games. Velde is a force to be reckoned with and a big assignment for Mikkel Desler or whomever starts at the right center back spot for Austin on Saturday.
David Da Costa - The Timbers other DP is the 25-year-old Portuguese attacking midfielder. Da Costa has really rounded into form following the World Cup break this season, now up to seven goals and 11 assists across his 29 appearances. Like Velde, he’s also been on a heater of late, recording an identical four goal contributions in the last two matches and seven over his last seven appearances. Da Costa spent the entirety of his youth and professional career with RC Lens in France prior to arriving in Portland before the 2025 season.
Austin FC Keys to the Game
Don’t Get Hurt - I’m keeping this the exact same as E had it last week. It’s an unknown how many of the players currently on the roster will be returning for training camp in January leading up to the sprint season. But with those practices just about two months away and 15 weeks from the season opener against FC Dallas once the final whistle blows in this game, it’s imperative that none of the holdovers pick up any knocks against Portland that could effect their availability into 2027. If the team is able to pull a result out of their butts, I’ll take that too. Just not counting on it as we head to “Soccer Church” one last time for the season.
Predictions
ZG - 3-1 Portland Timbers
E - 2-0 Portland Timbers
