Preview | Loons Host Timbers to Finish Off Summer of Soccer | Minnesota United FC

Just six games remain in the regular season, and your Loons will be fighting for a third consecutive win as they host the Portland Timbers this weekend. After settling for a tight 1-1 draw after conceding a late goal in their last meeting, nothing but the full three points will satisfy the Black and Blue. Add to that the fact that only three points stand between the Loons and San Diego at the top of the West, who are set to take on Son Heung-Min and LAFC this weekend — it’s a unique opportunity for Minnesota to rise, should San Diego fall. Let’s get into it.

Minnesota United FC
Run of Form: W-W-L-L-D (All Competitions)

After being knocked out of Leagues Cup and falling to Colorado in a disappointing home loss, the Black and Blue have bounced back strong in typical Loons fashion with a series sweep against Seattle and a decisive 1-3 road win over Real Salt Lake. The back-to-back wins have bumped Ramsay’s side up to second in the West, with only four points separating Minnesota from league-leading Philadelphia. With the top of the table so crowded, it’s crunch time for the Loons as they fight to lift the Shield and hone their fine form ahead of a very, very likely playoffs run. (It’s happening, guys, but I don’t want to jinx it before that official clinched status hits.)

Portland Timbers
Run of Form: D-L-L-D-W (All Competitions)

It’s been a tough few weeks for the Timbers, and Phil Neville’s side is in the midst of a critical stretch ahead of the playoffs. Sitting at sixth in the West with only three points separating them from the eighth/ninth place play-in slots, a postseason run for Portland isn’t guaranteed. They have a tough schedule ahead of them, with matchups against the West’s top four (San Diego, Minnesota, Vancouver, and Seattle) still on the horizon. The Timbers have only won four regular-season matches on the road, and despite managing to hold San Diego to a scoreless draw on Matchday 30, they’ll need to be a higher-scoring side going forward if they want to be a serious player in the West.

If we learned anything from Minnesota’s win against Real Salt Lake, it’s that the Loons are flexible. It’s not necessarily new information that our wingbacks like to push forward, but Bongokuhle Hlongwane and Anthony Markanich reached a new level on Saturday in terms of just how attack-minded they’re willing to be. With Tani Oluwaseyi’s availability uncertain as rumors swirl about an impending transfer to Villarreal, that kind of flexibility in position might be just what we need to fill the gap while we wait for new acquisitions to make their way to Minnesota. Joseph Rosales was able to shift into the midfield in this last match, Carlos Harvey has been bouncing between center back and midfielder all year, and the past few games have seen Robin Lod settle into more of a holding midfielder role. Ramsay has shown that he can substitute anyone for anyone, throwing an attacker on the pitch for a defender or vice versa depending on the flow of the game — winger Julian Gressel for striker Kelvin Yeboah, for example, or Oluwaseyi for Rosales — and everyone on the field adjusts accordingly. What starts as a 5-4-1 might change two or three times throughout the match, depending solely on the opposition’s playstyle and the state of the scoreline. Minnesota’s disciplined defense can fan out to fill in for Hlongwane and Markanich should they join the attack, and midfielders like Joaquín Pereyra, Wil Trapp, and Lod can shift to strike that balance between off-the-ball movement in the midfield and more coordinated pushes. The Timbers like to keep possession as close to 50/50 as they can get it, averaging 51.1 percent, which leaves just enough space for the Loons to walk that line. All that to say, don’t read too much into that initial starting formation. Our guys don’t fit into boxes.

It was an eventful transfer window for the Timbers, who signed two DPs in addition to River Plate’s Matías Rojas, who brings previous MLS experience from his 2024 season in Miami. Their biggest pull was winger Kristoffer Velde, who joins from Olympiacos FC and is exactly what Neville’s side needs after forward Jonathan Rodríguez’s injury. They did lose midfielder Santiago Moreno, transferring him to Fluminense FC. But between Rojas, Velde, and midfielder Felipe Carballo, Portland certainly made use of the window, filling their most glaring vacancies with proven players who could give the club the push they need to secure a playoffs slot. Though Matchday 30 saw the Timbers go scoreless, the fact that their trio of debuts held San Diego to a draw says it’s not unreasonable to think the tides are changing for this team. On the other side of the pitch, striker Mamadou Dieng will be available for Minnesota. Formerly of Hartford Athletic, where he set the club record in goals scored, Dieng provides a strong new option up front coming off the bench for Minnesota.

If the Loons win this weekend, they clinch a spot in the playoffs. I spent a solid two minutes doing this math, folks, so be grateful. The most points any of the Western Conference teams currently below the playoffs line can get is 52. A win over Portland this weekend would put Minnesota at 53, the right number to earn that all-important “x” on the MLS website. It would be the earliest the club has ever clinched, the closest being the team’s first playoff qualification in September 2019 — another matchup against the Timbers, though the team had only three matches remaining in the regular season. Victory this weekend would take the Loons one step closer to two of the three trophies they’re still in the running for (the Shield and the MLS Cup). Motivation to win doesn’t get much better than that, right?