New York City FC vs Portland Timbers 8/1/20 - MLS Picks & Predictions

On Saturday, the New York City FC will play the Portland Timbers in a quarterfinal match in the MLS is Back Tournament. NYCFC squeezed through to the knockout stage by being one of the top two third-place finishers in the group stage. NYCFC was helped by playmaker Maxi Morales in the round of 16, while Valentin Castellanos scored for the first time in 2020 helping the club push through to the quarterfinals.

New York City FC opened its tournament play with a 1-0 loss to Philadelphia Union and followed that with a 3-1 loss to Orlando City and a 1-0 victory over Inter Miami. Those three points earned against Miami pushed NYCFC into the round of 16 where it defeated Toronto 3-1 to reach  it's quarterfinal matchup on Saturday. Although the results have not been that good with just two wins and two losses in four matches played, NYCFC has as good a chance as any club to win the tournament.

Portland has displayed a competitive spirit and fight in it's four matches during a tournament. In a competitive Group F, Portland was able to earn a 2-2 draw against LAFC and defeat LA Galaxy 2-1. Sebastian Blanco has been a key figure for the Timbers making key plays in each of the first four matches played while Polish striker Jaroslav Niezgoda debuted for Portland in this tournament and has already scored twice in two appearances.

The Timbers opened play in the tournament with a 2-1 victory over LA Galaxy followed by a 2-1 victory over the Houston Dynamo and 2-2 draw against LAFC. In the round of 16 fixture, Portland fought to a 1-1 draw with FC Cincinnati and then proceeded to earn the victory in penalties. Portland has scored 8 goals during the tournament and has allowed five.