New York Cosmos defender Hunter Freeman believes Columbus Crew will be the side under pressure to win the MLS Cup final.
Columbus won the Eastern Conference Championship by beating New York Red Bulls 2-1 on aggregate.
They will face Portland next Sunday, who who beat Dallas 5-3 on aggregate after a 2-2 draw at the weekend.
Both teams were underdogs to progress from their individual play-offs but Freeman believes the situation is now completely different for Columbus, who will have home advantage for the end-of-season showpiece.
"It might have been a little bit of a surprise because a lot of people were picking Dallas and New York to get to the final," Freeman said.
"But both Portland and Columbus had two-goal leads after the first legs and that was crucial.
"Columbus were the underdogs against New York and now they're playing on their own field the pressure will be on them a little bit. It will be interesting to see how they handle that."
Freeman believes the presence of experienced defender Nat Borchers in the Portland side will be critical to their chances of winning the Cup.
The 34-year-old moved to the Timbers from Real Salt Lake in the summer, where he made more than 200 appearances, and his leadership qualities will be highly valued in the high-pressure situation of a final.
"This is one of the reasons why they signed Nat Borchers," said Freeman. "He is a guy who has played for Real Salt Lake, won an MLS Cup, been in a final which they lost and been in numerous CONCACAF Champions League games.
"They needed a leader and that's why they brought him in, for the nitty gritty of the play-offs games. He's someone they will look to, someone to use his experience of playing in big games."