By Tony Álvarez
This has been a tale of two ends and Portland Timbers will try everything in their power to keep it that way, as they face a Club Querétaro that has struggled and will look to put them away this Saturday at Providence Park at 11:00 p.m. ET on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
- First ever matchup between the sided
- Record at Leagues Cup: Timbers (3-3), Querétaro (3-4)
LAST FIVE GAMES
- Portland Timbers:
- 2 Wins,1 Draws, 2 Losses
- Coming off 4-0 rout of Atlético San Luis in the opener
- Currently in 5th place in MLS Western Conference
- Club Querétaro:
- 1 Wins, 0 Draws, 4 Losses
- Coming off 4-1 loss to Minnesota in the opener
- Currently Last place in Liga MX standings
MAIN STORYLINES
- Portland Timbers had four different players with a goal in Leagues Cup opener
- James Pantemis looking for a second straight clean sheet
- Portland Timbers have only lost twice at home this season
- Club Querétaro has only scored two goals in four games since the start of the Apertura 2025
- Seeking to avoid 5th straight loss which would match their longest losing streak since January-February 2019
KEY FACTORS
- Portland Timbers:
- 21-year-old, Kevin Kelsy, collected his seventh goal across all competitions in the Timbers opening win
- Felipe Mora scored in Wednesday win to put an end to a 13-game scoring drought
- Timbers have gone back-to-back games without allowing a goal for the first time since June 2023
- Club Querétaro:
- Have allowed 10 goals during current four game losing streak, can they shore the defense
- Jhojan Julio scored their lone goal in the opener, his first goal with the club since joining them for start of Apertura 2025
- Ángel Zapata will not be available as he is suspended for receiving a red card
WHAT TO EXPECT?
The final scores in the respective first matches of each club in Leagues Cup 2025 speak for themselves. The Timbers dominated Atlético de San Luis even after having less shots, passes, corner kicks and possession percentage. At the end of the day, the stat that matters the most are the goals, and they got four while keeping a clean sheet.
The all-around performance from the team generated the opportunity for four different players to score, such as David Da Costa, Kevin Kelsy, Ariel Lassiter and Felipe Mora, as they all put the ball in the back of the net and the total team effort was noticeable, which makes them a scary group.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Club Querétaro has not looked good on both sides of the pitch. They have only managed to score once in Liga MX, where they sit in last place, and lost their Leagues Cup opener 4-1 to Minnesota United. Between both tournaments, they’ve conceded 10 goals and things do not look good for Benjamín Mora´s squad. The opportunity for players that have not seen many minutes will present itself in this encounter.
Portland Timbers are the clear favorite but if Leagues Cup has taught us something, it´s that no team is ever out of a game, which makes this matchup a very entertaining one to keep an eye on as these two teams battle for a spot in the knockout round.
