After taking a heavily rotated team to Montreal and falling against the Impact four days ago, a well-rested, first choice Portland Timbers team will be back at Providence Park tonight with another chance to gain ground on a Western Conference playoff rival in FC Dallas (8 p.m., TV on UniMás and KPTV).
The Opponent
There was a change in management in Frisco in the offseason, when Oscar Pareja, after five years, a Supporters’ Shield, and a number of disappointing playoff losses, departed for Club Tijuana in Liga MX and was replaced by the club’s academy director Luchi Gonzalez.
Given his background, Gonzalez was expected to place an even heavier emphasis on youth than his predecessor did — and sure enough, academy products from Paxton Pomekyl to Jesus Ferreira to Edwin Cerillo have been key contributors for a team that feels refreshed after stagnating in Pareja’s final years.
Dallas is currently placed fourth in the Western Conference, though they are entering a stretch in which they’ll play three of their next four league games on the road — a potential problem given that, as good as they’ve been at home, they’re yet to win away from Toyota Stadium so far this year.
They might, however, get a lift for this game with the return of Carlos Gruezo and Bryan Acosta, whose international teams were knocked out of the Copa America and Gold Cup respectively last week. With those two players back, the club’s only remaining player out on international duty is the U.S.’s Reggie Cannon.
The Tactics
Dallas had a midweek game as well, but Gonzalez chose not to rotate his team at all and watched them blow a home lead against Vancouver and drop two points.
If anything, those dropped points add just a bit of pressure to what otherwise might have been a nothing-to-lose trip for Dallas. They’re only three points clear of the red line in the West, and should be, like most of the rest of the conference, looking over their shoulder with concern at the Timbers.
With that in mind, and despite their excursions on Wednesday, expect Gonzalez to play mostly his first string. Pomekyl is a joy to watch in the playmaking role, while Michael Barrios will, as always, be a handful on the wing.
Dallas has used the ball better this year under Gonzalez than they did last year under Pareja, but they’re not going to be able to outscore the Timbers in this game. They need their back six, led by center backs Matt Hedges and Reto Ziegler, to contain the game much better than Houston’s back six did last weekend.
The Timbers will mainly be looking to pick up where they left off against the Dynamo. The best player in that game was Diego Valeri, who was as active and mobile as he has been all year, but Portland’s star was, as ever, the counter attack.
Given how much Dallas likes to pass the ball short and build from the back, the Timbers should get their opportunities in transition again. If they’re as ruthless as they were with those opportunities last weekend, they’ll be in very good shape.
Alan Chapman, who also had this game last season, will referee. Brian Fernandez will go for the record for most consecutive appearances with a goal to start an MLS career.
The Lineup
1 – Clark
4 – Villafaña
18 – Cascante
33 – Mabiala
2 – Moreira
21 – Chará
22 – Paredes
44 – Loría
8 – Valeri (C)
17 – Ebobisse
7 – Fernandez
— The big question in this lineup is over the fitness of Sebastian Blanco, who missed the Montreal game with a knee injury and is listed as questionable for tonight. If he’s fit, Loría will be sacrificed.
— Either Cristhian Paredes or Renzo Zambrano will partner Chará in midfield. Three starts in eight days would be a big lift for Zambrano, but with Paredes coming off of an illness, it’s not inconceivable that Savarese would turn to him again.
— Of the eleven listed above, only three players started against the Impact and only five made the trip to Quebec at all.
The Memory
Dallas pretty well suffocated the Timbers in their trip to Providence Park last fall in this 0-0 draw. Despite what Pomekyl is saying, they’d almost certainly take the same result tonight.
The Pick
Dallas will put up a fight, but they won’t be able to keep the Timbers quiet for all 90 minutes. Portland wins 3-1.
