A week after clinching their first victory of the season in Columbus, the Portland Timbers are heading east again for a Saturday matinee matchup with a rejuvenated Toronto FC side that leads the Eastern Conference in scoring (12 p.m., TV on ROOT Sports).
The Opponent
Since winning MLS Cup in convincing fashion in 2017 and coming so close to winning the Concacaf Champions League the following spring, things have not gone according to plan in Toronto.
TFC missed the playoffs last season, finishing ninth in the Eastern Conference and averaging just a shade over a point per game, and then sold several of their top players in the winter — including club legend Sebastian Giovinco, whose departure for Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia was acrimonious at best.
In addition, general manager Tim Bezbetchekno, the architect of the club’s best ever teams, departed for Columbus. Former New York Red Bulls sporting director Ali Curtis was hired in his place, and his first major action was to replace Giovinco with a new DP: Spanish playmaker Alejandro Pozuelo.
Toronto started the season hot, winning their first three games for the first time in club history, but have struggled defensively in April — conceding eight goals in their last three games. The good news is that the offense, fueled by Pozuelo, has done plenty to compensate. They’ve scored multiple goals in every game they’ve played so far this year.
The Tactics
Having finally found a winning formula last weekend, a 4-4-1-1 of sorts reminiscent of last spring’s Christmas tree formation, Giovani Savarese seems set to stick with it for the foreseeable future.
This means that, at least until they get home in June, the Timbers will be primarily a counter-attacking team — parking their central midfielders just ahead of the center backs, ceding possession, and making themselves difficult to break down in the final third.
Against the Crew, the Timbers defended as well as they have all season. But they were also opportunistic going forward and got a goal on a set piece — a feat they may very well need to repeat against an attack with the quality of Toronto’s.
TFC coach Greg Vanney has favored a back-five setup of late, with a three-man central midfield and Pozuelo lined up behind a center forward. That center forward has been Jozy Altidore, who went for four goals and two assists in Pozuelo’s first four starts, but the American injured his hamstring a week ago and is out for this game.
Jordan Hamilton is one candidate to replace him, but Vanney’s bigger concern might be his defense: Drew Moor is injured again, Laurent Ciman is enduring one of his worst-ever stretches in MLS, and Alex Bono has struggled somewhat in goal.
The Lineup
1 – Attinella
2 – Moriera
33 – Mabiala
25 – Tuiloma
16 – Valentin
21 – Chara
22 – Paredes
14 – Flores
10 – Blanco
8 – Valeri (C)
17 – Ebobisse
— A first-choice back four seems to have emerged, with no place for Jorge Villafaña. He has his work cut out for him to get back on the field.
— Andy Polo is still struggling with an injury, and Andres Flores’ positional discipline when deployed on the right side of the four-man midfield has, as Richard Farley pointed out this week, given Jorge Moreira plenty of license to get forward. He’ll likely get another start.
The Memory
This will be the Timbers’ first trip to BMO under Gio Savarese. Their last visit, which came two years ago during the Reds’ Cup-winning season, ended in a rout.
The Pick
Toronto has struggled defensively in April, and they’ll be without Altidore, but they’ll still have enough offense to beat the Timbers 2-1.
