(Getty)
Late injuries could force major changes in the lineups for MLS Cup on Sunday.
Columbus Crew striker Kei Kamara, who paced MLS with 25 goals this season, injured his right leg during training on Saturday. Manager Gregg Berhalter has stated that Kamara will play, but it’ll be interesting to see what Berhalter does if Kamara’s mobility is restricted.
Because against Portland, the Crew will need all the help they can get. Kamara scores the goals for Columbus, but eight different players scored postseason goals for Portland this season. Unlike Colombus, who lost their away fixtures during the playoffs, Timbers went unbeaten (5-0-3) in the MLS postseason. Their closest call came in the knockout round, when they narrowly edged Sporting KC in penalty kicks.
Today’s game is a big one for soccer in the state of Ohio. It’s the second MLS Cup to be played at Mapfre Stadium, where in 2001 Columbus won their first Cup in the stadium’s inaugural season. Also on these rosters are six players from the nearby University of Akron. That includes USMNT and Timbers midfielder Darlington Nagbe, as well as his manager Caleb Porter.
Here are the basics:
DATE: December 6, 2015
CHANNEL: ESPN in the US, Sky Sports 1 in the UK
KICKOFF TIME: 2:45 p.m. Eastern
LOCATION: Mapfre Stadium, Columbus
LIVE STREAM: Click here for all the live stream information.
THE LINEUPS
Portland Timbers: Kwarasey, Powell, Borchers, Ridgewell, Villafaña, Chara, Nagbe, Valeri, Melano, Adi, Wallace
Columbus Crew: Clark, Francis, Sauro, Parkhurst, Afful, Tchiani, Trapp, Meram, Higuain, Finlay, Kamara
Find out how to watch this game in Spanish at AhoraMismo.com