Feeling good and riding high, the Portland Timbers play tonight at the LA Galaxy in search of their fifth straight MLS win and sixth straight win in all competitions. This could be the stiffest test yet on the Timbers’ winning streak — the third game in a three-week stretch in which the Timbers play six times — with Los Angeles just starting to hit its best form.
This match marks the Timbers’ first national TV game since mid-April, kicking off a little after 8:00 PM on ESPN2. After this match, Portland’s attention turns to Seattle on Sunday. With all the games, the heat, and the thin margins, this match promises to be a fascinating affair between two of MLS’ best teams.
The History
LA is the second opponent, after Houston last Saturday, that the Timbers face for a second time in 2015. The first matchup between these two was a seesaw battle at a dreary Providence Park in March, in which Portland thought they had grabbed the winner through Fanendo Adi with what is still the team’s best goal of the season, only to see that tally scrubbed out by a last-gasp header from former Timber and noted stoppage time specialist Alan Gordon for the equalizer. The match finished 2-2.
Portland made two trips to LA last season, one over July 4th weekend that resulted in high-scoring, helter-skelter draw, and another in which the Galaxy drubbed the Timbers 3-1. LA hasn’t lost to Portland since Maxi Urruti’s first Timbers goal was a match-winner in a game in the pouring rain here in 2013.
Games between LA and Portland are often memorable, but almost always enjoyable. There are usually plenty of goals, and plenty of mutual respect — Caleb Porter called LA “the best team in the league” on Tuesday.
The Tactics
Both teams are about as healthy as they’ve been all year, but with both of these teams playing this weekend and both still alive in the US Open Cup, the real issue is squad rotation.
Nat Borchers should be back in for the Timbers after being rested this weekend, while Will Johnson — who isn’t going to the Gold Cup with Canada — could be rested in favor of Jack Jewsbury. Diego Valeri also came off the bench this weekend, and should replace Gaston Fernandez in the starting lineup and go about 60 minutes. Along those same lines of rotation, Fanendo Adi should be in for Maxi Urruti, with Ururti returning to start against Seattle.
Rotating the squad anymore outside of those few positions with trusted backups is too dangerous for a game with such major implications — the Timbers and Galaxy are tied on points for third in the Western Conference, and LA is coming off their biggest win of the season over the Philadelphia Union.
Bruce Arena will also have squad rotation questions — the minutes are piling up for Robbie Keane, for instance — and the a big key could be which manager is willing to sacrifice more long-term to win this match.
The Lineup
12 – Kwarasey
2 – Powell
24 – Ridgewell (C)
7 – Borchers
19 – Villafaña
13 – Jewsbury
21 – Chara
22 – Wallace
6 – Nagbe
8 – Valeri
9 – Adi
The Pick
LA are as healthy as they’ve been all year, but Portland are as good as they been all year. With both teams just a tick below full-strength, I think we’ll get maybe sixty minutes of intense action and a 1-1 draw.
