The road to MLS Cup runs through Portland.
That is not a sentence that I anticipated writing a week ago, and yet here we are. The Portland Timbers stand one game away from making their third appearance in an MLS Cup final. A final which, by virtue of being the team with the highest number of regular season points remaining, they would host at Providence Park.
The stakes and potential rewards are high — and the opponent is as tricky as they come. A showdown with Real Salt Lake marks the next hurdle the Timbers have to clear if they want to have a shot at lifting a trophy in 2021.