Fire, Timbers clash, riding strong stretches

Few teams have performed as well as the Portland Timbers since the resumption of the MLS season following the World Cup break.

Looking to extend their unbeaten streak to five straight games, the Timbers will hope to continue their momentum under new head coach Marti Cifuentes on Sunday night against the host Chicago Fire.

Since parting ways with head coach Phil Neville on May 25, Portland (7-8-3, 24 points) went 3-0-1 under interim coach Jack Cassidy. The team then hired Cifuentes, who coached the Timbers to a 3-1 victory over Club Tijuana in their final Leagues Cup match on Thursday.

With nothing but MLS play ahead, Cifuentes is excited to take the reins for the streaking group.

"One of the reasons I joined the Timbers is because I really like the way the players play and I think that there is a very good foundation," Cifuentes said. "We're going to hopefully add more dominance during the game, a higher press and more continuity in the way we attack."

Portland won their last MLS game on August 1, rallying for a 2-1 triumph over the Seattle Sounders. Kevin Kelsy's nine goals lead the Timbers, while Kristoffer Velde adds four goals and six assists.

Chicago (9-6-2, 29 points), meanwhile, are in the midst of a hectic stretch of the schedule. The Fire were the only MLS team to win all three of their Leagues Cup games outright, putting them through to the quarterfinal round against CF Monterrey on August 25.

Despite the successful run, veteran head coach Gregg Berhalter is making sure his team stays levelheaded going into Sunday.

"We're just taking it one day at a time," Berhalter said. "We have a big game on Sunday against Portland. We achieved an objective of going to the next round in this tournament. You want to win games, and we won all three games. So we're doing okay, but we need to keep getting better."

Philip Zinckernagel's five goals and eight assists pace the Fire, who will be in search of their first set of consecutive MLS victories since winning three in a row from May 13-23.