MLS conference championships open Sunday

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The Major League Soccer playoffs re-start on Sunday, with the Portland Timbers hosting Sporting Kansas City and Atlanta United hosting the New York Red Bulls.

The two leg conference championships come following a two-week international break.

For Atlanta coach Tata Martino, the conference final has added meaning: A shot at the MLS Cup in his final season with the team. Martino, the MLS Coach of the Year, will leave United following the season and could become Mexico's coach.

The MLS Cup final is set for Dec. 8.

A look at the two conference finals:

WESTERN CONFERENCE: Portland Timbers vs. Sporting Kansas City

Sporting KC: Sporting finished the season as the top seed in the Western Conference and earned a knockout-round bye before a 5-3 win on aggregate over Real Salt Lake in the conference semifinals. The team led the Western Conference (and was second in the league) with 65 regular-season goals, a club record. Sporting has won a pair of MLS Cups, in 2000 and 2013. The team has lost in the knockout round in each of the last four seasons since winning the league title. Sporting will be without forward Diego Rubio for the opening leg because of yellow card accumulation.

Portland Timbers: The Timbers advanced to the conference final on penalty kicks to cap a wild semifinal with rival Seattle. Portland is the only team that played a knockout round match to get to this stage. The Timbers won the MLS title in 2015. Last season Portland was eliminated from the playoffs in the conference semifinal against Houston and afterward coach Caleb Porter and the Timbers parted ways. The Timbers are playing their first season under Giovanni Savarese.

Quotable: "Extremely proud that that we continue to go forward and now we are in the final, one of the last four teams surviving still. Credit to the guys, they've been working very hard, they work together. Anybody that steps on the field wants to contribute, and it gives us the chance for us the coaches the chance to continue to work, which is what we love," Savarese said.