Portland Timbers are preparing to take on arch rivals Seattle Sounders in the Cascadia Cup this weekend and the players are extremely eager for the clash.
An expected crowd of around 67,000 will watch the former NASL enemies take each other in MLS play and the likes of Darlington Nagbe, Bright Dike and even Timbers assistant Sean McAuley are thrilled to be a part of it.
"It's the biggest crowd I've ever played in front of," Nagbe told The Oregonian. "It's going to be exciting."
Dike added: "The game is going to have a different feel to it. I'm so hyped for the game and everybody else will be really pumped for the game."
Whilst McAuley offered the following: "You have to let the players understand that when you play in a derby game, it's different. Some players will need to calm down, because we don't want them going into it overanxious. Sometimes too much anxiety can affect performance."
"The anxiety that's created, because of the crowd and the magnitude of the game, I think will lift some players."
Seattle's CenturyLink Field ould play host to the second-highest single-game attendance for a regular-season fixture in MLS history with the expected 67,000 to trail the league opener for the LA Galaxy way back in 1996.
