NBCSN's Major League Soccer Coverage Continues Friday

NBCSN's coverage of Major League Soccer continues this Friday, October 17, when Real Salt Lake visit the Portland Timbers and midfielder Diego Valeri at 10 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Valeri led the Timbers to a crucial victory over the San Jose Earthquakes last Wednesday, scoring two goals in their 3-0 win.

Real Salt Lake, third in the Western Conference, secured their spot in the 2014 MLS Cup Playoffs with a 2-0 win against San Jose last Saturday. A Portland Timbers win on Friday, coupled with a Vancouver Whitecaps loss or draw on Saturday, would put them in the fifth and final Western Conference spot for the 2014 MLS Cup Playoffs with one regular season game to play.

NBC Sports Group's lead MLS play-by-play announcer John Strong calls the match, and is joined by former Jamaican National Team player Robbie Earle and host Russ Thaler.

Immediately following NBCSN's Premier League coverage at 3 p.m. ET this Saturday, October 18, FC Dallas host the Colorado Rapids. FC Dallas earned a playoff berth for the first time in three years last Sunday against the LA Galaxy, when forward Fabian Castillo scored an 87th-minute goal, leading the team to a 2-1 win.

Colorado Rapids' lead play-by-play commentator Richard Fleming calls the match, alongside former MLS player Brian Dunseth and CSN Houston reporter Sebastian Salazar.

Strong on this weekend's matches: "Friday night's game will feature varying degrees of desperation. The Timbers know they need to win to keep themselves alive in THE HUNT for a playoff spot, while Real Salt Lake will be motivated by pressure from below to try to stay in third-place to avoid the knockout round game. Saturday will feature a Rapids team trying to make sense of a season that's slipped away from them, but FC Dallas have plenty on the line: chasing RSL for third, holding off Vancouver for fourth, and trying to follow up Sunday's impressive comeback win against the Galaxy."