Following a much-needed week off for the March international break, the Portland Timbers are back in action this week in Southern California — trying to right the ship after two straight defeats against a rejuvenated LA Galaxy side (6:00 p.m., TV on ESPN2).
The Opposition
The Galaxy again changed their general manager and head coach in the offseason, but this time, they made two impressive hires: former Mexico national team director Dennis te Kleose as GM, and former Boca Juniors boss and MLS MVP Guillermo Barros Schelotto as manager.
The pair spent the winter reinforcing the Galaxy’s defense and midfield while parting ways with a cadre of highly-paid players including Giovani dos Santos and Ola Kamara, and the early returns have been promising: a 2-0-1 start, with wins at home over Chicago and Minnesota bookending a road loss at Dallas.
The Galaxy’s last outing, two weeks ago against the Loons, was particularly impressive. The team’s three-man midfield of Jonathan dos Santos, Sebastian Lleget, and Joe Corona excelled, with the team — sans Zlatan Ibrahimovic — moving the ball as quickly and effectively as they have in the post-Bruce Arena era.
Whether LA can play similarly with Ibrahimovic back in the lineup, and whether the team’s defense can hold up long-term remains to be seen. But this is as optimistic as the Galaxy have had reason to be in several years.
The Tactics
In their 4-1 loss at LAFC three weeks ago, the Timbers were simply outplayed. In their 3-0 loss at Cincinnati the following week, they were a mess: disorganized at the back and soft going forward. It was a dreadful performance.
The question Savarese has to contend with is whether the Timbers problems at this point have more to do with the system they’re playing — a fairly standard 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-2 — or the personnel they have comprising it.
Whatever Savarese decides to do in terms of the system, he needs better individual play throughout his team. To compete in this game, the Timbers are going to have be better in transition moments than they were last time out and vastly more cohesive from back to front.
Schelotto’s Galaxy, meanwhile, have been playing a 4-3-3, with the central midfield trio lining up behind a front-line composed of two wingers flanking the center forward.
If Ibrahimovic is the center forward on Sunday, returning from injury after missing two games, he’ll certainly be the focal point — but it’s worth noting that Timbers struggled badly with the Galaxy wingers last season, and have long had trouble with Emanuel Boateng in particular.
If the Galaxy can move the ball as they did against Minnesota, the Timbers are going to be in trouble. If LA can’t replicate that tempo with Ibrahimovic on the field, Portland should have opportunities to get out on the counter so long as they get some sort of a contribution from their own forward.
The Lineup
1 – Attinella
4 – Villafaña
25 – Tuiloma
18 – Cascante
2 – Moreira
22 – Paredes
21 – Chará
11 – Polo
10 – Blanco
8 – Valeri (C)
17 – Ebobisse
— Jeremy Ebobisse is a lock to come in for Lucas Melano up top, and Andy Polo seems likely to start in place of Dairon Asprilla on the wing.
— Jorge Moreira has had about a month-and-a-half to acclimate, and he should get his first start on Sunday.
— The Timbers need Bill Tuiloma at center back with Larrys Mabiala suspended, and, while he certainly wasn’t great in the first two games of the season, Julio Cascante should get the nod alongside him ahead of Claude Dielna.
— David Guzmán got benched for the game in Cincinnati, and deservedly so. Cristhian Paredes should keep the second central midfield spot for this one.
The Memory
The Giovani Savarese era began in Carson on Opening Day of last year, with the Galaxy beating the Timbers 2-1. Of the 22 players who started that game, nine are no longer with their respective club.
The Pick
This is a vastly improved LA team, and it’ll hand the Timbers a third straight loss by a score of 3-1.
