The Thorns take on the Chicago Red Stars on the road tomorrow. It’s a top-of-the-table-type matchup that will bump Portland into second place if they get the win. It’s also, unlike the last time these teams met, way back in April, a fixture between two squads that have legitimately proven they belong in the top four positions. Here’s a rundown of what the weekend could hold:
Starting XI
Portland is still a little thin headed into Saturday, with no removals from the D45 list, Nadia Nadim not likely to play the full 90 (Mark Parsons said this week that she would meet the team from Chicago, after some well-deserved celebrating back home in Denmark), and Allie Long on an “excused absence.