Football Season Guide

The MLS is Back Tournament winners are coming back to be serious contenders for the MLS Cup as well. They ended up 3rd in the West last season but their playoff campaign ended soon as they were eliminated in the first round. The good news for the Timbers is that their best player and leader Sebastian Blanco is back after an ACL injury which left him out for most of the past season. Before getting injured, he was competing in MVP level. The only position there were significant changes in was at left back as Villafana and Farfan left while Claudio Bravo came to replace them and get the starting place. Portland has a lot of depth in their roster and that's for sure a competitive advantage throughout a season. The main problem for them is that two of their key players, Blanco and Niezgoda, are coming from serious injuries and they will probably need some time to adapt.