MLS conference championships open up Sunday

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.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

ATLANTA UNITED VS. NEW YORK RED BULLS

ATLANTA UNITED >> Atlanta won a playoff series for the first time by beating New York City 4-1 on aggregate in the semifinals. United was the highest-scoring team in the league during the regular season and was in the race for the Supporters’ Shield up to the final day but fell short after losing at Toronto. United’s scoring prowess is paced by Josef Martinez, who won the Golden Boot with a league-record 31 goals. NEW YORK RED BULLS >> The Red Bulls, who have never won an MLS Cup, advanced on a 3-1 aggregate semifinal victory over the Columbus Crew. The Red Bulls captured the Supporters’ Shield this season for the third time since 2013. The previous two times the Red Bulls won Supporters’ Shield they failed to make MLS Cup. New York was knocked out in the conference semifinals by Houston in 2013 and beaten by Columbus in the Eastern finals in 2015.