2025 Schedule
- First game/Home opener: Feb. 23 - 4 pm ET vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC
- Full schedule
- Watch on MLS Season Pass
- Buy the 2025 jersey
Armchair Analyst's Breakdown
- Strength: Forty-five goals and 32 assists between their three star attackers last year. Add in another 12g/20a from their two young(ish) wingers and you can’t say that the guys who were paid to win matches came up short. Nobody in MLS – not even Inter Miami – got more production from their top-end players.
- Weakness: That lasted until the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, when they lost 5-0 at home. The best of their top-end players (Evander) demanded a trade or transfer basically immediately after that game, and he just got it. It’s pretty easy to spot where regression is likely.
Key Departures
- Evander: The Timbers' club-record signing was traded to Cincinnati for an MLS trade-record $12 million plus incentives, one season removed from providing 34 goal contributions (15g/19a).
- Eryk Williamson: After six seasons with Portland, the versatile midfielder was dealt to Charlotte for up to $350k GAM.
Key Signings
- David Da Costa: Arriving from Ligue 1 side RC Lens for reportedly around $6 million, Da Costa is Portland's Evander replacement. He'll slot into the No. 10 role.
- Jimer Fory: A Colombian youth international defender, Fory was acquired from Independiente Medellín in his country’s top flight.
- Kevin Kelsy: The Venezuelan striker moves to Portland from Shakhtar Donetsk. Kelsy was on loan at FC Cincinnati last season, scoring six goals in 29 all-competition matches.
- Joao Ortiz: The presumptive heir apparent to the legendary Diego Chara, the Ecuadorian international midfielder arrives from Independiente del Valle in his home country.
- Full roster
Projected Starting XI
Predictions
- Osvaldo Alonso: 10th in Western Conference
- Matt Doyle: 9th in Western Conference
- Miguel Gallardo: 7th in Western Conference
- Michele Giannone: 11th in Western Conference
- Antonella Gonzalez: 8th in Western Conference
- Sacha Kljestan: 12th in Western Conference
- Kaylyn Kyle: 8th in Western Conference
- Dax McCarty: 14th in Western Conference
- Bradley Wright-Phillips: 11th in Western Conference
Odds & Ends
- Head coach: Phil Neville
- Stadium: Providence Park
- Last year: 12W-11L-11T, 47 points, 9th in Western Conference
- Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs: Western Conference Wild Card
