The Opponent
While they're not as shorthanded as the Seattle Sounders were for their Open Cup game against the Timbers last week, the Galaxy are missing a number of key contributors heading into tonight's match.
Jonathan dos Santos and Uriel Antuna are with the Mexican national team at the Gold Cup, where Antuna scored a hat trick down the road at the Rose Bowl against Cuba over the weekend, while both Sebastian Lleget and Romain Alessandrini are hurt.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic did not appear in the club's fourth round victory against the Orange County Blues in Carson last week, and while he should be available tonight, it seems less than likely that the Galaxy will risk him on turf in this competition.
LA should have the rest of its team available, including dynamic young Efrain Alvarez and a number of MLS veterans familiar to the Timbers, but with a league game in Cincinnati looming on Saturday, Guillermo Barros Schelotto might not play his best available team anyway.
The Tactics
The Galaxy have been somewhat up and down this year, though they're currently sitting in second place in the West and appear to be on their way to their first playoff appearance since 2016.
At their best, they've dominated games in midfield, moved the ball fluidly, and shut things down at the back. But just as frequently they've been content to ping crosses towards Ibrahimovic and play plodding, narrow attacking soccer.
If Ibrahimovic plays tonight, he'll be a focal point. But if it's some combination of Favio Alvarez, Efrain Alvarez, and Ema Boateng up top, the Galaxy will sit a number of players behind the ball look to stretch the field vertically when they have the chance. The Timbers' backline will have to be alert.
Giovani Savarese is facing similar lineup decisions to his South American counterpart Schelotto. The Timbers have a hugely important league game on Saturday against the Houston Dynamo — potentially complicating Savarese's lineup ahead of this match.
If he plays a similar team to the one that won in Tacoma, the Timbers will also look for their chances in transition, as they always do, home or away, but they'll also, you would assume, want to play more on the front foot than they did against Seattle.
The Lineup
1 - Attinella
16 - Valentin
18 - Cascante
33 - Mabiala
2 - Moriera
21 - Chara
40 - Zambrano
10 - Blanco
8 - Valeri (C)
17 - Ebobisse
7 - Fernandez
— Blanco is suspended on yellow card accumulation for the game on Saturday, so he's a lock to start.
— With Steve Clark having taken the upper hand in the goalkeeping battle, Attinella figures to play tonight and in Montreal next Wednesday night while Clark gets the games against Houston on Saturday and Dallas the following Saturday.
The Memory
The Timbers faced the Galaxy at Providence Park at this stage of competition last season as well, and won 1-0.
The Pick
The Timbers will have the best players in the game, and, at home, enough for a 2-1 win.
