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Portland Thorns Vs Chicago Red Stars: Week 19 Preview

By John Carollo III

PORTLAND, OR - AUGUST 11: Portland Thorns midfielder Tobin Heath takes a cross during the Portland Thorns 2-1 victory over the North Caroline Courage at Providence Park, on August 11, 2019, in Portland, OR (Photo by Diego Diaz/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images).
PORTLAND, OR - AUGUST 11: Portland Thorns midfielder Tobin Heath takes a cross during the Portland Thorns 2-1 victory over the North Caroline Courage at Providence Park, on August 11, 2019, in Portland, OR (Photo by Diego Diaz/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images). /
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In a preview of a possible playoff battle to come, the Chicago Red Stars travel back to Portland for another game against the Thorns. Here is a full Week 19 preview.

After letting a full six points slip, the Chicago Red Stars will travel to Portland on short rest to face the number one team in the league, the Portland Thorns.

The Chicago Red Stars have a slew of players listed as questionable: Morgan Brian, Danielle Colaprico, Tierna Davidson, Vanessa DiBernardo, and Alyssa Naeher. I do not believe that this designation will change anything when it comes to coach Rory Dames’ game-day decision, since most of these players have been dealing with these injuries for much of the season, but it is still a little worrying nonetheless.

The Portland Thorns are probably the most fun team to watch in all of the NWSL. They appear to be dangerous at any given moment and we’ve seen that in their recent games, where they dropped five goals on Houston just a month ago and three goals this past week against Washington. They are in first place for a reason.

That reason is the Portland Thorns front four: Tobin Heath and Hayley Raso on the wings, Christine Sinclair at the 10, and Midge Purce on top. While she hasn’t actually scored a goal herself since July, Purce has a strong case for MVP regardless. Ever since she started heating up in late May, Purce has carried Portland through the World Cup. Now that Heath, Raso, and Sinclair are all back, this attack is the most potent in all of NWSL, and they have proven it time and time again.

This is bad news for the Chicago Red Stars, who are going to be coming off of back-to-back losses and going into Providence Park, which is a stadium that they have a very bad history in. Having lost there earlier this season 3-0 and Portland giving some of their best performances in front their home crowd, the Red Stars have their work cut out for them.

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I’m not exactly sure what the Chicago Red Stars can do about it except ‘try your best’. It’s hard to say which Red Stars we’ll see on Sunday. Will it be the dominant team that soundly handled the Seattle Reign or will it be the team that struggled to find any real or meaningful possession against Orlando? No one is going to know until they step out on the pitch, which makes this a very difficult game to predict.

Projected XI:

Chicago Red Stars (4-3-3): Alyssa Naeher; Tierna Davidson, Sarah Gorden, Katie Naughton, Casey Short; Morgan Brian, Julie Ertz, Vanessa DiBernardo; Yuki Nagasato, Sam Kerr, Arin Wright

Portland Thorns (4-2-3-1): Adrianna Franch; Meghan Klingenberg, Emily Menges, Emily Sonnet, Ellie Carpenter; Lindsey Horan, Dagný Brynjarsdóttir; Tobin Heath, Christine Sinclair, Hayley Raso; Midge Purce

Next. Chicago Red Stars Vs Orlando Pride: 3 things we learned. dark

How To Watch:

Sunday, August 25th, 2:00 PM CDT; At Providence Park in Portland, OR, on NBC Sportsnet Chicago, and online with the Yahoo Sports App

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