The last four meetings between the Timbers and Revolution have ended in score draws. Seven of the 10 all-time meetings have finished level (Portland W2, New England W1), with the 70.0 percent draw rate the highest of any MLS head-to-head matchup played at least 10 times.
Portland is coming off its third MLS Cup appearance (won in 2015, lost in 2018), losing to NYCFC on penalties last December. The Timbers have had a post-MLS Cup slump following each of their last two appearances at the showpiece event, winning just three of their first 12 games in 2016 (D3 L6) and collecting just one point from six games to start the 2019 campaign.
New England set an MLS record with 73 points last season and tied a post-breakaway shootout era (since 2000) record with 22 victories (with the Red Bulls in 2018). Eighteen of those 22 victories were by one-goal margins, well ahead of the previous mark of 13 one-goal wins in a single season (4 times).
Portland was a different team with and without Sebastián Blanco in 2021. During the regular season, the Timbers won eight of the 12 matches in which he started, scoring 2.3 goals per match, but won just nine of the 22 games in which he didn’t start, averaging 1.3 goals per match.
Carles Gil recorded an MLS-high 18 assists in 28 regular season appearances in 2021 as he became second Revs player to be named MLS MVP after Taylor Twellman in 2005. Gil created 130 chances for teammates, nearly 40 more than any other player in MLS in 2021 and the most in a single regular season since Opta began detailed MLS data collection in 2010.
