Marti Cifuentes believes his experience of taking over teams midway through a season will be beneficial for the Portland Timbers, but said his team are still in transition. 

Cifuentes was appointed in July as Phil Neville's successor and has taken charge of 15 matches across all competitions, winning 10 of those (D2 L3).

The former Queen's Park Rangers boss has overseen four games in the MLS but has won just once, and he was on the wrong end of a 2-1 defeat to Austin FC last time out. 

Antony thought he had rescued a point with an 89th-minute penalty, only for Oleksandr Svatok to score a stoppage-time winner for Austin at Providence Park. 

"It's a process. I said when I arrived here, it's the fifth time I have joined a club in the middle of the season, but it's given me some knowledge," Cifuentes told reporters. 

"But, as you know, every league is different, every team is different. It's not as though you can press the same buttons every time.

"It's clear that, in my experience, it always takes some time because it's a process because of the way I coach and the way I train. 

"It takes time, but at the end of it all, I think we always got the results and always managed to improve the performances of the teams I have coached."

Portland are 11th in the Western Conference and one point behind the final playoff place, which is currently occupied by Minnesota United, their next league opponents. 

Minnesota also conceded a stoppage-time goal in their entertaining 3-3 draw with Orlando City SC, having turned round a two-goal deficit in just four second-half minutes. 

However, Tyrese Spicer salvaged a point for Orlando at Allianz Field, though Minnesota boss Cameron Knowles expressed his disappointment about letting their lead slip. 

"It was an incredible comeback in that span of time," Knowles said. "I mean the energy that was in the stadium when the third goal went in was a great experience. 

"But there was disappointment in not holding on for the last three minutes and seeing out three points which would have been an incredible win for us."

Knowles was asked about how he would address the mistakes made leading to the goals conceded, and he said conversations would be had individually, and as a group.

"We address it as a team, it's something we need to talk about as a team," Knowles added. "But there is also individual conversations. Largely when things go wrong in the game, the guys know what went wrong. 

"It's just a reflection that those are the fine margins in games, and you see an unbelievable pass from a high-quality player that, ultimately, makes the difference."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Portland Timbers – Antony

Antony scored Portland's only goal last time out from the penalty spot, as each of the Timbers' last five penalty attempts in the regular season have been taken by different players.

It's tied for the Timbers' longest streak of distinct penalty takers in the regular season since joining MLS in 2011.

Minnesota United – Kelvin Yeboah

Yeboah has scored three goals over his last two games, bringing his goal total to 11 this season in MLS play.

The only Minnesota player to score more goals in a single MLS regular season is Christian Ramirez, who netted 14 goals in the team's first MLS season in 2017.

MATCH PREDICTION: PORTLAND TIMBERS WIN

Minnesota recorded a 2-0 home win over Portland in April, and the Loons have won 11 of the 20 all-time meetings between the two clubs (D4 L5). The 11 victories are tied for their most against any opponent across all competitions since joining MLS (also 11 against the Houston Dynamo).

The Loons' 3-3 draw with Orlando was preceded by a 5-1 road win over San Jose. The only time Minnesota have scored more than eight goals in a span of two regular-season MLS matches was when they netted 10 times between June and July 2019.

Portland, meanwhile, saw their unbeaten run in MLS play since the World Cup break (W3 D1) come to an end against Austin at Providence Park. The Timbers have not lost consecutive regular-season home matches since losing to D.C. United and the New York Red Bulls in September 2019.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Portland Timbers – 48.3%

Draw – 23.8%

Minnesota United – 27.9%