The final MLS matchday in March will see the Houston Dynamo seeking their first victory of the new season when they travel to Providence Park to face the Portland Timbers on Sunday.
Last Saturday, Portland triumphed convincingly 3-0 at the Colorado Rapids, while Orange Crush settled for a 0-0 draw with the Seattle Sounders.
Match preview
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A struggling Timbers attack finally woke up against the Rapids, scoring as many goals in that outing as they had in their first four matches of the 2025 campaign.
Phil Neville's men have yet to lose an MLS contest this year when scoring first, while they lost their only two league fixtures after conceding the opener.
When netting multiple times, they have collected at least a point in 13 of their previous 15 domestic encounters while going unbeaten in their last four league games.
Meanwhile, at Providence Park, this team have been much sharper defensively of late, conceding a goal or fewer in four of their last five regular-season affairs at home.
After five matchdays, the Timbers have only found the back of the net six times, which is three fewer goals than they had at this stage of the 2024 campaign.
The Portland Timbers have not won an MLS home game versus a Texas-based club since defeating Dallas 1-0 at Providence Park in June 2023.
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One of the more disappointing stories early on in this campaign has been the poor start to the season for Houston, as the Dynamo are one of three Western Conference sides without a victory thus far.
With just two points after five matchdays, this club have accumulated the fewest points to this stage of an MLS campaign of any Dynamo side ever.
Dating back to the previous regular season, Ben Olsen's men are winless in their last four away matches in this competition, failing to find the back of the net in any of those contests.
At the same time, they have not lost an away match in the league this year and can collect a third successive clean sheet as the visitors, equalling their longest such mark since 2023 (three).
The Dynamo have scored just once in the final 45 minutes this year, while netting the fewest goals in the Western Conference in 2025 (three).
Houston are unbeaten in their last four MLS meetings with Portland, claiming a 2-2 draw in their previous visit to Providence Park in 2024.
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Team News
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In their victory over the Burgundy Boys last week, the Timbers were missing Jonathan Rodriguez with a sore knee, while Juan Mosquera was back in the lineup after sustaining a lower body injury, playing the final 16 minutes plus stoppage time.
Three players who were away on international duty versus Colorado will be available this weekend, including Maxime Crepeau, Ariel Lassiter and Miguel Araujo.
Josh Atencio gifted them the victory with an own goal late in the opening half, while Antony added some insurance and Kevin Kelsy scored his first career goal for Portland.
Several Houston players were sidelined through injury against the Sounders, such as Andrew Tarbell (knee), Nelson Quinones (knee), Duane Holmes (lower leg) and Lawrence Ennali (knee).
Three players will be available to them against the Timbers with Sebastian Rodriguez, Brooklyn Raines and Jack McGlynn all on international duty last week.
Jimmy Maurer left the game in Seattle with just over 20 minutes remaining because of a knock, but Blake Gillingham shut door as the two goalkeepers combined to collect a clean sheet.
Portland Timbers possible starting lineup:
Pantemis; Mosquera, Surman, K. Miller, Bravo; Chara, Ayala; Moreno, Costa, Antony; Mora
Houston Dynamo possible starting lineup:
Gillingham; Dorsey, Bartlow, Awodesu, Escobar; Artur, Urso; Lodeiro, Bassi, Duenas; Ponce
We say: Portland Timbers 0-1 Houston Dynamo
For most of this campaign, the Timbers seem to have overcompensated to fix what was a leaky defensive unit last season, and in doing so, they have struggled to put forth a very dynamic attack.
Houston have been plugging away and holding strong at the back despite several injuries, and we believe their tireless teamwork will pay off on Sunday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
