The Houston Dynamo are hoping to end a winless run that goes back months when they host the Portland Timbers on Friday from BBVA Compass Stadium.
Orange Crush are without a victory in their last 15 regular-season encounters, while Portland moved back into a playoff spot in the Western Conference with a 2-0 win over the Seattle Sounders.
Match preview
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A season that began with so much promise has gone south for Tab Ramos and the Dynamo, who look destined to miss the postseason for a fourth successive year.
With only one defeat in their first five matches, there was hope that this season might have a different outcome, but they have either fallen short or shared a single point in their matches played over the past few months.
Last Saturday, they jumped out to an early lead, with a goal in the first minute, while also putting Minnesota United on their heels for much of the first half, but they could not maintain that momentum in half number two.
They have had their share of good scoring opportunities throughout their current homestand, but a couple of critical errors has been their undoing.
Ramos has seen his side struggle with consistency in the middle of the park, inexplicably losing possession with lazy passes and unable to hold onto the ball for long stretches when they have had the lead.
After finishing their 2018 campaign in ninth in the conference, they have been steadily declining year after year, coming in 10th in 2019, 12th last year and currently sitting dead last in MLS.
If there is a silver lining for Houston right now, it could be the fact that they are not mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, and three of their next four games will be on their home field.
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It has been a roller-coaster season for the Timbers, who are on the upswing at the moment, following an impressive 2-0 win over the Rave Green.
Giovanni Savarese saw his team play an impressive opening half-hour against the defending Western Conference champions, but unlike their last match against them, they were able to stay patient and maintain their focus in the second half, and they eventually got their breakthrough.
Their defending on set-pieces was a little suspect on several occasions in the second half last weekend, but they were able to stay disciplined while also being bailed out by some solid goalkeeping from Steve Clark.
This win not only propelled them back above the playoff line in the Western Conference, but it should give them some confidence away from home, as it was their first road win this season since May 15.
In the end, all Portland did last week was earn three points, but after suffering a 6-2 humiliation to Seattle three games prior, it had to have meant a lot to rebound the way they did on Saturday.
Portland showed a ton of consistency in what was a real team effort last weekend, and now they will want to be more consistent in their results, having failed to win more than two successive fixtures all year.
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Team News
Ramos will have to omit at least five players from his Dynamo lineup on Friday with Adalberto Carrasquilla on international duty with Panama for their World Cup 2022 qualifier, Darwin Ceren has been called up for El Salvador, Maynor Figueroa and Boniek Garcia will be with the Honduran side and Ariel Lassiter is representing Costa Rica.
Nico Lemoine is out with a right groin strain, while Tyler Pasher and Corey Baird are questionable with lower-body injuries.
Fafa Picault, their leading goalscorer this year, notched his team-leading third assist in their defeat last weekend and goalkeeper Michael Nelson made his first career MLS start, replacing Marko Maric, who had started in every game this year before then.
Felipe Mora notched his eighth goal of the season last Sunday deep into injury time as he already has more strikes than he did all of last year, while Santiago Moreno made his Portland debut, replacing Yimmi Chara with just over 15 minutes remaining.
Josecarlos Van Rankin will not be available after receiving another yellow card in their previous match, while Sebastian Blanco scored the winner versus Seattle, his first goal in his last three games.
The Timbers are getting healthier but will not have Ismaila Jome available after he went through left Achilles tendon surgery, Jeff Attinella had season-ending right rectus femoris surgery, Andy Polo is done for the season, going through right quad and knee surgery and Claudio Bravo remains questionable with a right leg injury.
Houston Dynamo possible starting lineup:
Maric; Valentin, Parker, Junqua, Lundqvist; Rodriguez, Corona, Jones; Pasher, Urruti, Picault
Portland Timbers possible starting lineup:
Clark; Bravo, Zuparic, Mabiala, Tuiloma; D. Chara, Paredes; Asprilla, Blanco, Y. Chara; Mora
We say: Houston Dynamo 1-1 Portland Timbers
Houston are reeling at the moment and desperate for something good to happen, and this could be their opportunity to catch a break, although with so many key players away on international duty, it is hard to know who will step up.
The Timbers should be full of confidence, but this team have not shown that they can maintain any momentum this season, and they look a lot less dangerous on the road than they do at home.
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 Houston Dynamo win with a probability of 49.58%. A win for Portland Timbers had a probability of 26.57% and a draw had a probability of 23.8%.
The most likely scoreline for a Houston Dynamo win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.58%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (9.4%) and 2-0 (8.04%). The likeliest Portland Timbers win was 1-2 (6.66%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.18%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 3.9% likelihood.
