Chivas USA to play expansion Timbers at Portland

CHIVAS USA TONIGHT When: 8 p.m.

Where: Jeld-Wen Field, Portland.

On the air: TV: Prime Ticket and KWHY Channel 22; Radio: 690.

Records: Chivas USA 7-8-10; Timbers 8-12-5.

Record vs Timbers: 1-0.

Update: Chivas USA, in sixth place in the West and playing the last of five consecutive road games, can either increase its two-point lead over seventh-place Portland on Wednesday night or be overtaken by the expansion Timbers. “We all know how big the game is,” said Portland Coach John Spencer. “We haven’t . . . been good enough consistently on the road, so we know that these home games are vitally important to get three points.” The Timbers are coming off a 2-1 home win over the Vancouver Whitecaps and are 7-4-2 at home. Recent acquisitions Juan Pablo Angel of Colombia and Laurent Courtois of France each scored their first goals for Chivas in a 2-2 tie at the defending MLS champion Colorado Rapids last weekend, further boosting the team’s playoff hopes. Chivas has won two, tied two and lost one of its previous five matches and, with only nine regular-season games left, the players realize the value in every point. “They know what they have to do to get in the playoffs,” Chivas Coach Robin Fraser told MLSsoccer.com. “As we get sharper and sharper, the belief gets higher and higher.”

—Grahame L. Jones