Timbers back to work quickly with Impact in town

Challenged by injuries, travel and a quick turnaround, the Portland Timbers host the Montreal Impact on Wednesday at Providence Park.

Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. The match will be televised on Root Sports.

The Timbers (6-6-7, 25 points) sit seventh in the Western Conference. They are unbeaten in their last seven Major League Soccer matches (three wins, four draws). They played scoreless draws in road games July 4 at Colorado and on Sunday against the New York Red Bulls.

Montreal (6-4-7, 25 points) is third in the Eastern Conference. The Impact are unbeaten in their last five games (a win and four draws).

The lineup choices for Timbers coach Caleb Porter will be impacted by injuries and the suspension of midfielder Diego Chara, who misses this match because of yellow card accumulation. Midfielder Diego Valeri (foot injury) is expected to miss his third consecutive match. Winger Darren Mattocks suffered a hamstring strain in the first minute of Sunday’s match at New York and is expected to miss eight weeks.

Montreal star Didier Drogba is expected to miss his third match in a row with a thigh injury. He tweeted this week that he plans to return for Montreal’s home match on Sunday.

Portland is 2-1 against Montreal, with the road team winning all three MLS matches between the club.

This is the start of a three-game home stretch for the Timbers. Seattle visits on Sunday for the first of three matches between the rivals. The L.A. Galaxy visits on July 23.