Chicago Fire, Portland Timbers Square Off Friday Night at Providence Park

Last week, the Chicago Fire successfully vanquished one of the Western Conference's most formidable opponents. 
Their next task? Conquering a road venue that ranks as one of Major League Soccer's best-protected fortresses. 
The Fire march into Providence Park Friday aiming to build on the momentum gained by an impressive 2-0 victory over FC Dallas five days prior, facing a Portland Timbers side eager to please its home crowd and break a four-match winless streak in the process. The action kicks off at 10 p.m. CT In Portland and will be televised nationally as part of MLS' weekly Viernes de Futbol on UniMas.
It's no secret that Chicago's strong all-around performance in its most recent outing coincided with the nearly full roster available to Frank Yallop for selection, and that's likely to again be the case Friday in Portland. Among the team's regulars, only forward Mike Magee (knee) and midfielder Matt Watson (suspension) have been ruled out of the 18, setting up another opportunity for Yallop to assemble a pacey side that troubled FC Dallas to the tune of 11 shots and six on frame last Sunday.

"It's nice to have everyone back, it's nice to have options depending on how we want to play in certain games," said midfielder Harry Shipp, whose MLS debut came in a 90-minute performance at Providence Park on March 16, 2014. "This past game was one where we were going to sit back, win the ball and counter attack, but I think now we've got pieces where we can play multiple styles depending on the team we're facing.
Of course, the speed offered by the likes of David Accam and Kennedy Igboananike led to yet another penalty kick goal Sunday for the Fire, who rank in a three-way tie for first among MLS clubs with five goals (on six attempts) from the spot in 2015. Shaun Maloney, who drew praise from Frank Yallop Sunday for his box-to-box efforts on the left flank for Chicago, has had the honors of burying the last two.
Goals could be difficult to come by against Caleb Porter's Portland side, which ranks eighth in MLS in goals against average, offsetting a Timbers attack that's averaging only 1.04 goals per 90 minutes -- a figure that's lower than all other teams in MLS save for the Colorado Rapids (0.96). The Timbers, whose 31 shutouts since the start of 2013 are second-most in MLS in that timespan, are riding a seven-match home unbeaten streak but are 0-2-2 in their last four outings with two goals scored and eight conceded. 
Nigerian striker Fanendo Adi has carried the scoring burden for the Timbers in 2015, netting nine goals and two assists despite coming off the bench in eight of his 23 appearances this season. 
For Chicago, the time is right to end a winless streak against an opponent from the Pacific Northwest -- again. The Fire earned their first win in 10 tries over Seattle Sounders FC back on July 11, and Friday will look to take all three points from Portland for the first time in their sixth-ever MLS regular season meeting. The two clubs are much changed from their preseason tilt back on Feb. 25, which ended in a 1-1 draw when a Portland own goal canceled out a 22nd-minute strike by the now-lightly used Michael Nanchoff. 
In addition to the relatively clean bill of health in the team, the Men In Red also have added Brazilian Designated Player Gilberto to the fray, and could well see the striker offer his firepower in a reserve role in Portland. If not, he'll almost certainly be able to boost the team's attacking options when the club heads to Philadelphia Wednesday for a crucial U.S. Open Cup semifinal contest.
REFEREE: Armando Villarreal. AR1 (bench): Jeremy Hanson; AR2 (opposite): Paul Scott; 4th: Alex Chilowicz
MLS Career: 57 games; FC/gm: 22.8; Y/gm: 2.7; R: 16; pens: 14
SUSPENDED: CHI: Matt Watson (through Aug. 16)
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: POR: Liam Ridgewell, Diego Chara, Alvas Powell … CHI: Eric Gehrig
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: POR: Rodney Wallace … CHI: Chris Ritter, Adailton
DISABLED LIST: none
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (5 meetings): Timbers 3 wins, 10 goals … Fire 0 wins, 6 goals … Ties 2
AT PORTLAND (3 meetings): Timbers 2 wins, 7 goals … Fire 0 wins, 4 goals … Ties 1
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