Fresh off of their triumph in Seattle last weekend, the Portland Timbers return home on Saturday night to face another marquee Western Conference opponent: Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s LA Galaxy (7:30 p.m., TV on Fox Sports 1).
The Opponent
The Galaxy got what is by far their biggest win of the season last Friday night, when an Ibrahimovic hat trick powered them past LAFC in the first El Tráfico of the year in Carson.
It was, considering the stage and quality of the opposition, an outstanding performance from the Swede — likely his best since arriving in MLS, even accounting for his unforgettable debut in the derby game last spring.
The fact that he didn’t end it suspended, though, is a minor miracle. Ibrahimovic entered the game sitting on four yellow cards, one away from a ban, and elbowed Mohamad El-Munir with such force in stoppage time that he fractured the Libyan fullback’s skull.
But Ibrahimovic escaped without a card on the field, and the MLS Disciplinary Committee could not unanimously conclude that the foul was worthy of a two-game suspension — the standard for retroactively suspending players not issued a red card on the field. It issued Ibrahimovic a formal warning instead, which, predictably, has him feeling aggrieved.
So Ibrahimovic will travel to Portland, as will Sebastian Lletget and Perry Kitchen, who have both missed time over the last several weeks injured. The Galaxy won on penalties in the Leagues Cup against Tijuana on Wednesday night,
The Tactics
Guillermo Barros Schelotto has most often set up his team this year in a 4-2-3-1, with Jonathan dos Santos and Joe Corona forming a skillful central midfield partnership. The Galaxy won’t blow you away, but they’re a competent team with a nice blend of youth and experience and one transcendent player.
To wit, LA’s attacking approach is straightforward: get the ball to Ibrahimovic. It’s not often pretty, and it almost always results in a ton of crosses, but it’s been effective enough so far. Ibrahimovic has 16 goals in 17 games, and the Galaxy are on pace for their best point haul in five years.
Coming into Portland, where they were blown up with a weakened side 4-0 by the Timbers in the U.S. Open Cup last month, they won’t try to break the mold. They’ll stay compact defensively, and try to hit their forward when they have the chance.
The Timbers, it’s safe to say, have a higher ceiling than the Galaxy. But they’ll be without Diego Chará on Saturday, as the midfielder picked up his fifth yellow card of the year in Seattle for a stoppage time challenge of his own on Christian Roldan and is suspended.
It means that Cristhian Paredes and his central midfield partner will have a big job trying to marshall the game against dos Santos and Corona, just as Larrys Mabiala and his center back partner will have a big job trying to contain Ibrahimovic.
Onee major question is how much the Galaxy will have in the tank for this game. They played with their hair on fire against LAFC — to the extent that Bob Bradley said their intensity took his team “out of our game” — and played on Wednesday night in the Leagues Cup, albeit with a rotated side, as well.
Alan Chapman, who had Timbers-LAFC game in June, will referee.
The Lineup
12 – Clark
4 – Villafaña
25 – Tuiloma
33 – Mabiala
2 – Moreira
22 – Paredes
14 – Flores
10 – Blanco
8 – Valeri (C)
17 – Ebobisse
7 – Fernandez
— You hate for Chará to miss any game, especially a conference game, but this might not be a terrible weekend for him to rest. He has to be in Orlando for the All Star game on Wednesday night, and the Timbers have three games the following week.
— Andrés Flores traveled to Seattle while Renzo Zambrano did not, and Giovani Savarese may opt for the Honduran’s experience over the young Venezuelan in Chará’s stead.
— Bill Tuiloma is fit again, and with Julio Cascante struggling somewhat, this may be the moment to bring him back into the starting lineup.
— Andy Polo missed the Seattle game injured, and while he may be available this weekend, Jeremy Ebobisse is still favorite to start on the left wing.
The Memory
The Timbers couldn’t quite handle Ibrahimovic in the other league meeting between these teams in March, as he won and converted two penalties in a 2-1 Galaxy win.
The Pick
The Galaxy are fairly well-equipped to grind out a result, and with Chara suspended, they’ll manage a 1-1 draw.
