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Craig Mitchelldyer/Portland Timbers

Coming off of their first ever MLS regular season win in Seattle, the Portland Timbers return to Providence Park on Saturday night for their third and final win of the season against the struggling San Jose Earthquakes (8:00 p.m., TV on ROOT Sports).

The Opponent

Halfway in, the 'Quakes are on pace for a franchise-worst campaign: they sit in last place in the Western Conference, having won just two of their first 17 games, and conceded a conference high 35 goals in the process.

Most alarmingly, the team has made zero improvement in its first four months under new manager Mikael Stahre. The Swedish manager turned 43 on Thursday, and he desperately needs answers.

San Jose got one of their better results of the year last weekend, a come-from-behind 3-3 draw in their annual game against the LA Galaxy at Stanford Stadium, but they're still without a win in any competition since May 12.

Stahre has favored a 4-4-2 last year, but the 'Quakes have struggled find the balance in central midfield that would allow them to get the ball to their attacking players in dangerous areas. The defense, meanwhile, has just been bad. The current unit is inexperienced and liable to be overwhelmed.

The Tactics

Responding both to his opposition and various personnel shortages, Giovani Savarese set the Timbers up in two new formations over the last two weeks β€” a 5-4-1 of sorts in Atlanta and a 4-4-2 diamond in Seattle. Both were plenty effective, though certainly reactionary.

Here though, with a bevy of players slated to return from their respective international committments and injuries and the opportunity to get numbers up against what will likely be a fairly conservative 'Quakes in midfield, a return to the 4-3-2-1 could be on the cards.

In any case, this game should be seen as an opportunity for the Timbers to try to play proactive soccer: dominate the ball, dominate territorially, and create chances from attacking positions.

Against teams that pour numbers forward, the Timbers can play on the counter and β€” as we've seen time and again this year β€” be ruthlessly effective. But against teams that make it a priority to nullify Portland's counter, like LA and Sporting Kansas City on the club's last homestand, they need to do more to score goals.

That's the next step in this team's evolution into serious contender.

The Lineup

1 - Attinella
16 - Valentin
18 - Cascante
33 - Mabiala
2 - Powell
21 - Chara
22 - Paredes
11 - Polo
8 - Valeri (C)
10 - Blanco
99 - Armenteros

β€” With David Guzman and Andy Polo having returned from the World Cup, Savarese has as much of his team available as he's had since March.

β€” Besides Guzman and Polo, Fanendo Adi, Sebastian Blanco, and Liam Ridgewell all trained fully this week and should be available.

β€” One spot to watch is fullback. Vytas is fit, but hasn't started a first team game all season. Does he get a chance at the expense of either Powell or Valentin?

The Memory

The Timbers are undefeated against San Jose at Providence Park in MLS play, adding a victory in the U.S. Open Cup earlier this year, and last year scoring a 2-0 win with the aid of a brace from Diego Valeri.

The Pick

Another three points for the Timbers by another 2-0 score.