New York City FC vs Portland Timbers Prediction: New York City are out of order at the moment.

A win is the most important result for New York City right now and to do it in front of thousands of fans will surely go a long way to calm the anxiety around the club. Their start to the campaign has been quite horrible after they suffered 2 defeats in the opening 2 games and they need to reassure the fans that they are capable of playing good football this season.

Portland Timbers will be playing away from home against New York City. They had a win and a draw in their 2 games so far this season and they are ready to pile more misery on New York City.

It's New York City against Portland Timbers in game week 3 and Portland Timbers are feeling tempted to steal all 3 points but New York City are not in the mood for any more poor results.

New York City

2 defeats in the opening 2 games can have serious effects on the cohesion and psychology of any team. New York City are in a state of anxiety as they watch other clubs advance on the table while they are yet to win a single game this season. So here they are, at a very defining time when they have to prove the doubters wrong or brace for a very tough season.

New York City lost both games against Charlotte FC and St. Louis City. And they failed to score a single goal in both games. 

The loss to Charlotte FC surely called for a drastic change and it was clear in the next game against St. Louis City. New York City manager Nicholas Cushing reverted to a 4-3-3 formation against St. Louis City as opposed to the 4-2-3-1 he played against Charlotte FC in the first game. New York City managed to control 55% of the possession against St. Louis City, but they managed just 1 shot on target and 1 big chance was created throughout the game. From all indications, the attacking set up had yielded little result and Nicholas Cushing might need to look for an alternative ahead of the next game. 

James Sands will miss the upcoming game against Portland Timbers after getting a red card in the 82nd minute. Julian Fernandez is most likely going to replace James Sands on the left flank against Portland Timbers.

Portland Timbers

Portland Timbers would be insane not to press down on a bleeding New York City FC team. At the moment, they are in better form while New York City are still sorting out the style of play that will yield results. 

Portland Timbers won Colorado Rapids 4-1 on the opening day of the season and there were huge expectations of a similar performance in the second game. But they ended up with a 2-2 draw against DC United in the second game. 

Portland Timbers were a little bit disappointing in the game against DC United. They looked out of pace and were second best despite playing at home. Stats showed they had 41% possession, 3 shots on target and 4 corner kicks. They had 2 big chances and Maxime Crépeau made 8 saves in that game.

At the end a point was shared by Portland manager Phil Neville will be critical of his side's performance and he will demand a better performance in the coming game. He is expected to stick to the 4-4-2 formation in the coming game and most likely the starting lineup too.

Head to Head

The h2h shows Portland Timbers and New York City have played only 10 games against each other. Portland Timbers won 6 games, while New York City won 2 games and they drew 2 games.

Analysis and Predictions

New York City are running out of options quickly. They are still out of order and Nicholas Cushing is yet to present a working pattern for the new season. Makes one wonder what they were doing all through the preseason. Portland Timbers will come into the game feeling like the superior team and if they can play at their best, there's no reason why they can't win the game.

According to the h2h Portland Timbers are unbeaten in the last 3 meetings and New York City are without a clean sheet in the last 10. There were less than 2.5 goals scored in 5 of the last 6 meetings and both teams scored in 4 of the last 5 meetings. 

• Portland Timbers to Score Over 1 Goal at 2.14 Odds
• Both Teams to Score at 1.82 Odds
• Both Teams to Score at 1.80 Odds