Little separates these two sides in the table and little is expected to separate them on the pitch, as playoff-chasing FC Dallas welcome Major League Soccer Cup runners-up Portland Timbers on Saturday evening.
Looking to inflict the first defeat of the season on the Timbers, FC Dallas will leapfrog their Western Conference opponents in the table with a victory this weekend.
Match preview
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Following MLS heartbreak last season, Portland have started the season strong and look well versed to challenge at the top yet again.
Unbeaten from their first three games, a points return of five represents a healthy start to the campaign for the Timbers.
Picking up their first win of the season last time out, a convincing performance against Austin FC not only secured a maiden MLS 2022 victory, but also ended their opponents' two-game winning streak.
Looking to stem the flow of another side this weekend, the Timbers will come up against a Dallas side who have experienced an indifferent start to the campaign.
One win, one draw and one loss is not as mediocre as it could be, but the Texas-based outfit will be keen to make it consecutive victories, after seeing off Nashville last weekend.
Picking up their first clean sheet of the campaign against Nashville, the Burn will be hoping to fire themselves up the table in the coming weeks.
However, a match-up against the Timbers might not be the best place for Dallas to start, having won one of the previous four meetings.
Stretch even further back and their record remains questionable, with Dallas winners in just two of the last 10 encounters.
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Team News
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The most notable loss for the Timbers is forward Felipe Mora, whose injury problems from last season have carried over into the current campaign.
Expected to be out until mid-April, Mora is joined in the treatment room by Tega Ikoba, who is also tipped to be missing until next month.
Unfortunately for Eryk Williamson, the same cannot be said for him, with the midfielder facing a longer stint out of the side due to an anterior cruciate ligament problem.
For Dallas, they will be without Nicky Hernandez for the trip North, as the midfielder continues to recover from a foot problem.
Having to rely on their substitutes to score the goal last time out, Alan Velasco netted off the bench for Dallas against Nashville, and the 19-year-old could be in line for a start this weekend.
Dallas possible starting lineup:
Paes; Nanu, Hedges, Martinez, Farfan; Cerrillo, Pomykal, Servania; Arriola, Ferreira, Obrian
Portland Timbers possible starting lineup:
Ivacic; Van Rankin, McGraw, Tuiloma, Rasmussen; Chara, Paredes; Moreno, Chara, Asprilla; Niezgoda
We say: Dallas 2-2 Portland Timbers
With hopes of silverware before the season kicked off, Portland's confidence remains high after a steady first three games in MLS.
Dallas will not be a pushover for the Timbers, yet their unbeaten record is likely to remain intact come the end of the weekend.
Top tip
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 Dallas win with a probability of 58.01%. A draw had a probability of 23.1% and a win for Portland Timbers had a probability of 18.91%.
The most likely scoreline for a Dallas win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.06%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (10.76%) and 2-1 (9.79%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.97%), while for a Portland Timbers win it was 0-1 (6.15%). The actual scoreline of 4-1 was predicted with a 2.6% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Dallas would win this match.
