Game Information
St. Louis CITY SC (3-8-5, 14 points) at Portland Timbers (7-4-5, 26 points)
Time: 6:00pm CT Sunday
How to watch: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
DraftKings Odds
Odds: Portland -135, CITY +295, Draw +290
Total: 3 (over -135, under -105)
CITY Goes For Two Straight Wins
St. Louis CITY SC looks for a second straight win when they travel to face the Portland Timbers on Sunday Night Soccer.
CITY ended an 11-game winless skid with a 2-1 home victory over San Jose last week in the debut of David Critchley as the caretaker manager. Can the “new manager bounce” continue for a second straight game?
CITY Looking More Dangerous
One of the most noticeable differences in CITY last week was their ability to get the ball into dangerous areas of attack. According to Sofascore, they generated 32 touches in San Jose’s penalty area - that’s the most since the very first game of the season against Colorado.
CITY will need to do more of that on Sunday on the road where they have five losses and one draw in their last six games away from home.
Timbers Tough At Home
Portland enters Sunday’s action in 5th place in the Western Conference after a 2-1 home win over Colorado in their last game on May 28th. The Timbers have been tough to beat at home with four wins, three draws, and just one loss this season.
Portland comes into this game in good defensive form in particular having conceded just three total goals over their last five games.
My Lean
This is a tough game to call. It was great to see CITY finally win last week, but I do think luck played a big role with both goals resulting from mistakes by the San Jose goalkeeper. However, I also give CITY credit for putting themselves in a position to get lucky. When you get 32 touches in your opponent’s penalty area, good things are bound to happen.
I’m not going to bet this one because this game is a “wait and see” for me. Maybe the vibes are good with CITY and they can get a result. It would not surprise me to see them create more of their own luck and come away with a draw. The Timbers have only lost once at home this season, but at the same time, they’ve only won half of their home games - meaning you’d have a mediocre record of 4-4 if you bet Portland on the moneyline each home game.
If forced to make a pick, I would take the Timbers to win mainly because their defense has been really good as of late, and I just get the sense CITY’s win last week was more of an aberration rather than the start of a turnaround. But I’m not confident of that enough to want to lay -135, meaning this is just a lean and not a bet.
Lean: Portland Timbers on the moneyline at -135 on DraftKings
Eric Sontag hosts Domesticated Gamblers every Friday on the Sports Hub STL YouTube channel. Follow him on X @GamblingDads, and click here for his daily picks on all of our St. Louis area sports teams. Picks = betting the game - minus odds betting to win 1 unit, plus odds risking 1 unit. Leans = no strong opinion, not betting the game. Disclaimer