Orlando City will make the long trip to take on Portland Timbers on Saturday in the fifth round of fixtures in the Major League Soccer campaign.
The hosts suffered their first defeat of the season last weekend, while their visitors made a return to winning ways against Los Angeles Galaxy.
Match preview
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After reaching the MLS Cup final last season, only missing out on the title after a penalty shootout, Portland Timbers had to settle for a steady start to the new campaign, playing out draws with New England Revolution and Los Angeles FC in their first two outings.
They were held to a stalemate in agonising fashion in the latter, leading until the 93rd minute, only for Mamadou Fall to snatch a point for their hosts, but the Timbers were quickly able to put a first win on the board.
In the following encounter, Giovanni Savarese's men defeated Austin FC 1-0 on home turf thanks to Bill Tuiloma's goal, and, in their search for a second straight three-point haul, they travelled to take on FC Dallas last time out.
That did not go to plan for the Oregon outfit, though, as they suffered a 4-1 thrashing with Jaroslaw Niezgoda's goal nothing more than a consolation after Jesus Ferreira had hit a first-half hat-trick.
With five points from their four matches so far, Portland will certainly not be overly pleased with their start and will aim to correct their form with a home victory at the weekend.
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They meet an Orlando City side who also had high expectations for the campaign after reaching the playoffs last time around, albeit having dropped out in the first round following their progression.
The Lions enjoyed a winning start to the 2022 term, defeating CF Montreal 2-0 thanks to goals from Alexandre Pato and Benji Michel, before they were forced to settle for a point following a goalless stalemate with Chicago Fire.
They were then defeated in disappointing fashion on home turf by FC Cincinnati but were able to quickly return to winning ways last time out in a tough meeting with Los Angeles Galaxy.
Facundo Torres gave Oscar Pareja's side the lead inside the opening 10 minutes, and they would hold on for an impressive victory away from home, taking their tally to seven points from four matches.
While the divisions are yet to fully take shape, the Lions will know that they can establish themselves in the leading pack of the Eastern Conference if they can build a winning run on the back of last week's victory, with the aim of making that two in a row when they travel to Portland.
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Team News
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Savarese may look to make changes to his Portland Timbers team after their disappointing defeat last weekend, with the likes of Dario Zuparic and Justin Rasmussen vying for starts after a concerning defensive display.
They will continue to battle through several selection concerns, as Tega Ikoba, Felipe Mora, Eryk Williamson, Hunter Sulte and Cristhian Paredes all remain ruled out through injuries, while key defender Bill Tuiloma is unavailable as he is on international duty for New Zealand.
Yimmi Chara has continued to be a key player going forward in the early stages of the new season, beginning with two goals and an assist in the first four games, while Jaroslaw Niezgoda will again lead the line after netting his first goal of the campaign last time out.
On the contrary to their opponents, Orlando City may only look to make minimal changes for the weekend, with Facundo Torres bound to keep his place in the attack after netting the decisive goal last time out.
Tesho Akindele, Benji Michel and former Chelsea and AC Milan forward Alexandre Pato are all pushing to come into the starting XI, but there is plenty of competition in the attacking areas.
Robin Jansson and Antonio Carlos should again partner up at the heart of the back four after an impressive clean sheet last weekend, while first-choice goalkeeper Pedro Gallese and defensive midfielder Sebas Mendez are on international duty for Peru and Ecuador respectively.
Portland Timbers possible starting lineup:
Ivacic; Rasmussen, Zuparic, McGraw, Bravo; D Chara, Blanco; Moreno, Y Chara, Asprilla; Niezgoda
Orlando City possible starting lineup:
Stajduhar; Teixeira, Carlos, Jansson, Moutinho; Araujo, DeZart; Urso, Pereyra, Torres; Pato
We say: Portland Timbers 1-2 Orlando City
While Portland Timbers fared better in the playoffs last season, Orlando have enjoyed the stronger start to the new season and possess the quality to take all three points home.
With their wealth of attacking talent, we see the Lions outclassing their hosts at the weekend.
Top tip
Sam Varley
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Portland Timbers win with a probability of 54.29%. A draw had a probability of 24.7% and a win for Orlando City had a probability of 21.02%.
The most likely scoreline for a Portland Timbers win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.8%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (10.45%) and 2-1 (9.54%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.69%), while for a Orlando City win it was 0-1 (7.16%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with an 11.7% likelihood.
