
Columbus Crew SC and the Portland Timbers survived frenzied finishes in Sunday night’s Conference Championships to secure spots in the 2015 MLS Cup final and earn a chance to grab a 2016-17 CONCACAF Champions League berth. The match heads to MAPFRE Stadium – Major League Soccer’s first soccer-specific stadium – for the second time, with kickoff set for 4 p.m. ET on Sunday, Dec. 6 (ESPN, WatchESPN, UniMás, TSN, RDS2).
In many ways, this is an old guard versus new guard matchup.
On the field: expect fireworks. Both clubs will likely employ an attacking mindset from the opening whistle. Columbus finished the regular season with 58 goals – 22 from Golden Boot runner-up Kei Kamara - second only to the New York Red Bulls (62). Since Caleb Porter made a pivotal formation adjustment - shifting Darlington Nagbe inside and moving one of his defensive midfielders - the Timbers attack has exploded with 18 goals in going unbeaten over their last eight games.