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Craig Mitchelldyer/Portland Timbers

Winners of three straight, having gone more than a month without conceding a goal, the Portland Timbers are primed as they head into one of their biggest tests of the season on Saturday: a nationally-televised showdown with high-flying expansion side Los Angeles FC at Providence Park (12:00 p.m., TV on FOX).

The Opponent

LAFC, much as Atlanta did last year, have pretty well taken the league by storm in their debut season.

Numbers-wise, LAFC is off to the best start of any expansion team in MLS history โ€” coming into Saturday with a 6-2-2 record through their first ten games, losing only to the crosstown Galaxy in Zlatan Ibrahimovic's debut and at Atlanta itself.

The team is riding a six game unbeaten streak, having finished their season-opening road swing with wins at Vancouver and Montreal and then completing their first homestand at Banc of California Stadium with two more wins and two draws.

LAFC is set to lose a bevy of key players for the World Cup โ€” including star forward Carlos Vela and captain Laurent Ciman โ€” but all of the World Cup players will be available on Saturday. The one key absence is striker Marco Ureรฑa, who hasn't played since undergoing a facial surgery three weeks ago.

The Tactics

Bob Bradley has long been an attacking, aggressive coach, and his nature has been apparent in LAFC's setup so far: this team wants to play on the front foot, and they'll take risks on the defensive side of the ball to do so.

Without Urena, LAFC have played with a false nine of sorts โ€” lining Vela or Latif Blessing up top. It's worked to an extent, but the club has missed Ureรฑa's holdup play and the shape it provides.

New signing Adama Diamonde, who broke out under Bradley in Norway and arrived from Hull City at the beginning of the month, was expected to fill in anyway while Urena is at the World Cup and could be available for the first time on Saturday.

The Timbers struggled mightily to break down the packed-in Sounders last weekend, but should have more space to work with โ€” and the opportunity to counter โ€” in this game. LAFC will commit players forward, their backline will take chances, and they aren't especially quick through the middle.

Where LAFC does have mobility is up front, including in wide areas. Giovani Savarese has to be concerned about either or both of his fullbacks getting isolated, as well as LAFC's ability to stretch the game vertically in behind Portland's center backs.

The Lineup

1 - Attinella
16 - Valentin
24 - Ridgewell
33 - Mabiala
2 - Powell
21 - Chara
22 - Paredes
11 - Polo
8 - Valeri (C)
10 - Blanco
9 - Adi

โ€” David Guzman and Bill Tuiloma are training and fully fit, but with both Liam Ridgewell and Cristhian Paredes playing well, and the Timbers being especially careful with Guzman ahead of the World Cup, neither are likely to feature.

โ€” Speaking of the World Cup: Andy Polo is in Peru's preliminary squad, and, assuming he makes the final cut, this will likely be his last game in Portland before departing for camp.

โ€” Alvas Powell was subbed off after going down late in the Seattle game, but he's fit and available for selection.

โ€” Barring the unforeseen, Savarese will name an unchanged team for the third straight game.

The Memory

This is the first ever meeting between the Timbers and LAFC, but Bradley has coached in Portland before โ€” with Stabaek in the Timbers' 2015 preseason tournament.

The Pick

LAFC is more than comfortable playing in hostile environments, and they'll pose problems for the Timbers' defense. This should be a fairly open game, and it'll finish 2-2.