Portland Timbers vs San Diego: Kelsy vs Ingvartsen Preview
Portland Timbers host San Diego FC on Wednesday night in a Major League Soccer regular-season fixture. Kickoff is set for 7:30 PM PT. After a 2-1 defeat at Chicago Fire on Sunday, the Timbers look to get back to winning ways under new head coach Martí Cifuentes, while San Diego arrive buoyed by a 1-0 victory at LAFC last time out.
Team News and Injury Latest
Both sides reported a clean bill of health heading into the matchday. No absences have been flagged for either camp, giving Cifuentes and San Diego head coach a full selection. Portland are expected to line up in a 4-3-3 with Pantemis in goal protected by Fory, Miller, Surman and Bye; Chara, Velde and da Costa in midfield; and Lassiter, Bassett and Kelsy leading the attack. San Diego’s 4-3-3 sees CJ dos Santos behind a back four of Sargeant, Duah, McVey and Thorhallsson, a midfield unit of Valakari, Tverskov and Alvarado, and a front three of Vazquez, Ingvartsen and Dreyer.
Key Personnel
Portland’s threat flows through Kevin Kelsy, who has scored 9 goals in only 993 minutes this season, averaging a goal every 110 minutes. Kristoffer Velde adds creativity from deeper areas, having delivered 35 chances and 4 goals in 1441 minutes, while Cole Bassett has chipped in with 3 goals and 18 chances created. San Diego answer with Marcus Ingvartsen, their most direct route to goal with 11 strikes from 44 shots, and Anders Dreyer, who has created 45 chances and netted 7 times.