There is a crucial match in the last match-day of the regular season, where two teams in horrible form will fight to place themselves inside the playoff spots. Portland are sitting inside and even a draw here would grant them a ticket to the post-season. San Jose are sitting outside and Dallas are in-between in the standings. The Quakes can enter the post-season with a win here, so this is going to be intense.
San Jose (13-15-5) are coming off yet another loss, this time by 1-0 at home against Seattle. That was their fifth consecutive loss, and eighth in their last ten matches (2-8-0). The Quakes are now sitting at the 8th spot of the Western Conference with 44 points, one behind Dallas and two behind Portland. A win here would grant them a ticket to the playoffs, but they have won just three of their 16 away matches this season (3-10-3). And they have lost each of their last six on the road.
Portland (13-13-7) scored a late equalized to hold out for a 2-2 draw on the road against Kansas. That was their second 2-2 draw in a row, their third draw in a row, and the fifth consecutive match without a win (0-2-3). The Timbers are sitting at the 6th spot of the Western Conference with 46 points, with Dallas one point behind and San Jose two points behind. Portland have not been very good at home this season (7-5-4), mostly due to their inability to win matches there in the past two months (2-4-2).
