Ahead of tonight's Western Conference clash vs Portland Timbers, SportingKC.com caught up with ESPN's Adrian Healey to preview #SKCvPOR. Live coverage of tonight's match (6:00 p.m. CT) is available on ESPN, ESPN Deportes, WatchESPN, Sports Radio 810 WHB, and La Grande 1340 AM. Check out MatchDay Central for complete online coverage.
What are your thoughts on the play of new arrivals Ilie and Gerso?
I think what's been remarkable is how quickly they have added to the core of players that have been here for years. Sporting KC has a strong identity and you always think of them as playing a certain way. Whenever a new player comes in, the question is can they fit that mold and what's been striking about them is they seem like they've been here for years. Ilie, to my mind, is one of the best defensive midfielders in the league. It's not a sexy position he plays and doesn't get a lot of attention but he has been absolutely stellar in what he's done.
What are your thoughts on Portland heading into Saturday's match?
The first two months of the season they looked like the best in the West and then the last two months have been a very different season. It's hard to assess where they are at this point because they are the sort of team that on any given day can score three or four. They have arguably one of the best offensive collections of players in MLS but defensively they're vulnerable and that's been shown in the last few weeks. It's going to be fascinating how they approach this game and try and shore up what we've seen in the back. How do you come here and play a team that's conceded as few goals as Sporting KC has at home. Their approach to me is going to be interesting.
What matchup are you looking forward to seeing on Saturday?
Lawrence Olum coming back is a big story and who he's going to be going up against. I'm interested to see how Ike and whoever his defensive partner handle Adi and Valeri. They've handled pretty much everything thrown at them, particularly at home they have such a stellar defensive record. Can they continue what they've been doing at the back and negate the Portland offensive threat. That will be a fascinating matchup.
What's your prediction for the match?
It's very hard to predict anything other than a Sporting KC win despite how good Portland are offensively. The team is in this sort of groove that remind me of the 2013 team where teams were going to have to be absolutely on their game to get a result. Portland have not been that lately but are they going to bounce back from recent disappointments. Perhaps they will look at this as an opportunity to right a lot of their wrongs but if I had to put my neck on the line, I'd say 2-1 Sporting KC.
