Our prediction for this MLS match:
Portland Timbers play host to Colorado Rapids at their Providence Park in the opening match of their MLS campaign. Portland were anything but impressive in preseason, but they are still seen as hot favourites to beat Colorado Rapids in front of home fans. Marvin Loria remains on the sidelines with a long-term injury, while Claudio Bravo will be out of contention until late April.
The Rapids, on the other hand, suffered a 3-2 loss to Orlando City in their last warm-up game. As Colorado are eager to pick up all three points from their opener as well, we believe that there is a big value in betting on both teams to score. New signings Zack Steffen, Lamine Diack, and Sam Vines should play some part in Sunday’s encounter. Chris Armas should have a full squad to choose from for the Providence Park showdown.
Highlighted Player (Dario Zuparic):
Dario Zuparic is a Croatian footballer, who plays for Pescara as a defender. Zuparic played for the likes of Sladograna Zupanja, NK Granicar Zupanja and Cibalia during his youth career. He continued playing for Cibalia at senior level and he made 57 league appearances for the Croatian outfit from 2011 to 2013.
In 2013 he signed a contract with Pescara and made 21 appearances for the team in the 2013/2014 Serie B campaign. Zuparic quickly established himself as a first-team regular at Pescara and it has to be noted that he played 36 games for the Delfini in the 2015/2016 season. The Pescara highly rated defender was born in Croatia, but he started playing for Bosnia and Herzegovina.
He has 3 caps for Bosnian and Herzegovina U19 team, but he eventually decided to represent Croatia on the international stage. Zuparic has 5 caps for Croatia U20 and he played three matches for Croatia U21. The 188-cm-tall footballer was born on 3 May, 1992 in Zupanja.
Highlighted Team (Colorado Rapids):
Colorado Rapids is a Major League Soccer club and they compete in the USA professional soccer league as a member of the Western Conference. Colorado began their play in MLS back in 1996 and 14 years later they managed to win the MLS Cup trophy. The Rapids recorded a 2-1 win over FC Dallas in the final of the tournament, with George John scoring the winner for Gary Smith’s team in the extra time. Colorado made it to the MLS Cup final in 1997 as well, but D.C. United proved to be a big catch for the club in the title game.
The Rapids play their home games at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park and the venue has been Colorado’s home ground since 2007. It has to be noted that the likes of Tim Howard, Carlos Valderama, Claudio Lopez and Jermaine Jones were all part of the club in the past. Colorado’s colors are red, sky blue and white, but they were yellow shirts and blue shorts when playing on the travels.