A third of the way through their season-opening road trip and still winless, the Portland Timbers on Saturday will have a golden opportunity: a matchup in San Jose against a last-place Earthquakes team that was outscored 14-2 in March (5 p.m., TV on ROOT Sports).

The Opponent

The 2017 Earthquakes were, quite comfortably, one of the worst teams in MLS history. They conceded a single-season record 71 goals, finished last in the overall league table by seven points, and won just four out of their 34 games.

It was a mess. To fix it, the 'Quakes spent big to bring aboard a marquee manager: Argentinian Matías Almeyda, the reigning CONCACAF Champions League winner with Chivas Guadalajara, a former River Plate player and coach, and a far cry from Dom Kinnear or Mikael Stahre.

But the 'Quakes did not make similarly heavy investments in their roster in the offseason, and, perhaps unsurprisingly, they've endured a nightmarish start to 2019. They're the only team in the league still without a point, and just last weekend were drilled 5-0 at home by LAFC — matching the club's record defeat.

Almeyda said after the LAFC that his is a four-year project in San Jose, but though he's certain to have a long leash, his team needs to pull itself up off the mat this weekend. Attendances at Avaya Stadium have cratered, and it's not difficult to understand why.

The Tactics

Tactically, Almeyda has long defined himself with an unusual man-marking defensive system that he used to great success over the last four years with Chivas.

At its best, Almeyda's system can be suffocating. But it requires exceptionally clean, committed defending, and San Jose's current collection of players haven't looked for a moment like they're up to the task of successfully implementing it.

The damage has been 14 goals conceded over four games, with the 'Quakes especially susceptible in second halves after running themselves into the ground early in games.

Given what we saw in March, the Timbers on Saturday should have chance to isolate their top attackers against the 'Quakes' fullbacks and center backs, who are often left without cover in Almeyda's system, and try to open up the kinds of gaps that LA exploited so ruthlessly last weekend and the New York Red Bulls exploited similarly two weeks before.

The big question for Timbers manager Giovani Savarese is whether he will again opt for the five-man backline he deployed against the LA Galaxy last weekend or revert to the four-man backline that he started the season with.

The Timbers were better defensively against the Galaxy than they were in their first three games, but they were limited going forward. Savarese might not feel that the 'Quakes, without a center forward of Zlatan Ibrahimovic's quality, demand a particularly conservative approach.

The Lineup

1 - Attinella
16 - Valentin
25 - Tuiloma
33 - Mabiala
2 - Moriera
20 - Guzman
21 - Chara
11 - Polo
10 - Blanco
8 - Valeri (C)
17 - Ebobisse

— With Larrys Mabiala returning from suspension and Bill Tuiloma healthy, the Timbers should have their top center back pairing intact for the first time all season.

— Savarese preferred Zarek Valentin to Jorge Villafaña at left back in LA last weekend, and there's no reason to believe he won't again this weekend.

— There is, on the other hand, reason to believe that Savarese has grown frustrated with Andy Polo, who is without a goal or an assist in his last 12 MLS appearances. If the Timbers play a back four, can Polo get back into the team?

— Though there is no sign suggesting that it will happen anytime soon, Foster Langsdorf should be getting Lucas Melano's minutes backing up Jeremy Ebobisse.

The Memory

The Timbers won this game last year 1-0, on the strength of a terrific late free kick from Diego Valeri.

The Pick

Bad they've been to start this season, there's still a gulf in class between the Timbers and these Earthquakes. Portland gets its first win of the season by a score of 2-1.