Sports Mole previews Sunday's Major League Soccer clash between Portland Timbers and Austin FC, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Portland Timbers will welcome Austin FC to Providence Park on Sunday in the final game of the regular season in the MLS.

The hosts are looking for their third consecutive victory ahead of the playoffs, while Austin are looking to end their inaugural season on a high.

Match preview

Portland Timbers head coach Giovanni Savarese directs his team against Real Salt Lake during the first half at Providence Park on August 7, 2021 © Reuters

Portland Timbers know that whatever happens on Sunday that they will finish in fourth position in the Western Conference.

Giovanni Savarese's side are coming into form at the right stage of the season, having won their last two fixtures, and a victory on Sunday would be the perfect preparation for the playoffs.

The Timbers followed a victory against San Jose Earthquakes with a 3-1 win in midweek, when they faced Real Salt Lake.

In that contest, they scored all three goals in the first half, which included a brace from Sebastian Blanco, and a late Real Salt Lake goal could not prevent the Timbers from claiming all three points.

Portland have been in fine goalscoring touch this season, scoring 53 times, and they will be aiming to add to that tally on Sunday.

Austin FC huddles before the first game on June 20, 2021 © Reuters

Austin have experienced how tough the MLS can be in their inaugural season, but they will be aiming to finish their first campaign on a high.

They could move up to 11th place with a win on Sunday, and after collecting three points last time out, Austin could end the season with consecutive victories.

Josh Wolff's side hosted Sporting Kansas City in midweek with goals from Sebastian Driussi, Julio Cascante and Jared Stroud helping Austin to a 3-1 victory.

Sunday's visitors have struggled for goals this season, and they are the lowest scorers in the Western Conference, scoring just 35 goals this term.

Recent away results will not give Austin confidence ahead of Sunday's encounter, having lost their last eight away matches.

Portland Timbers Major League Soccer form:

Austin FC Major League Soccer form:

Team News

Portland Timbers forward Dairon Asprilla (27) celebrates after scoring a goal off a penalty kick against Real Salt Lake during the first half at Providence Park on August 7, 2021 © Reuters

Eryk Williamson, Andy Polo, Jeff Attinella and Ismaila Jome are all expected to miss the remainder of Portland's campaign.

The Timbers will have to cope with the absence of Claudio Bravo, who is suspended due to yellow card accumulation.

Savarese is expected to bring Pablo Bonilla into the side to replace Bravo at left-back.

Austin are unable to call upon the services of Ulises Segura and Aaron Schoenfeld, who are both absent with knee injuries.

Meanwhile, the trio of Ben Sweat, Rodney Redes and Danny Hoesen are all set to miss the remainder of the season.

Driussi has scored two goals in his last three games, and he will feature in Austin's forward line on Sunday.

Portland Timbers possible starting lineup:
Clark; Van Rankin, Tuiloma, Zuparic, Bonilla; Paredes, D. Chara, Blanco; Y. Chara, Asprilla, Niezgoda

Austin FC possible starting lineup:
Stuver; Gallagher, Cascante, Ring, Kolmanic; Stroud, Pochettino, Pereira, Fagundez; Driussi, Djitte

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We say: Portland Timbers 2-1 Austin FC

Both sides will be wanting to end the regular season on a high note, but given their struggles away from home, we think Austin will leave Portland empty handed on Sunday.

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Portland Timbers win with a probability of 61.91%. A draw had a probability of 19.4% and a win for Austin FC had a probability of 18.65%.

The most likely scoreline for a Portland Timbers win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.68%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (8.28%) and 1-0 (7.33%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (8.57%), while for an Austin FC win it was 1-2 (5.01%). The actual scoreline of 3-0 was predicted with a 6.2% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Portland Timbers would win this match.