Los Angeles Galaxy will look to continue their strong start to the Major League Soccer season on Saturday, as they travel to Providence Park to take on Portland Timbers.
A run of four wins from their opening five games has seen Greg Vanney's side move into second spot in the Western Conference, while their opponents will hope to continue to turn their fortunes around after returning to winning ways last time out.
Match preview
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Portland Timbers picked up an important victory last time out, as they travelled to take on San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday.
They led for the majority of the encounter thanks to Yimmi Chara's opener in the fifth minute, and Marvin Loria put the game out of sight as he doubled the Timbers' lead in the final 15 minutes.
That followed consecutive defeats in league action for Giovanni Savarese's side, having fallen to a heavy 4-1 loss away at FC Dallas and a 2-1 defeat at home to Seattle Sounders.
As a result, the Oregon outfit currently occupy ninth spot in the Western Conference with just six points from their opening five matches, but they could quickly move into the playoff places if they manage to win on Saturday and other results go their way.
Savarese's men do not face a simple task though, as they welcome an LA Galaxy side who have started the campaign in strong form.
The visitors recorded a second consecutive league victory last Saturday, as they defeated Austin FC 2-0 thanks to goals from Sebastian Lletget and Javier Hernandez.
Before that, Greg Vanney's men picked up a narrow 2-1 win over city rivals Los Angeles FC, as Galaxy won thanks to a late Jonathan dos Santos winner after Diego Rossi cancelled out Hernandez's opener.
That was an important return to winning ways after a disappointing 3-0 defeat to league leaders Seattle Sounders, which followed back-to-back victories to start the season.
Galaxy have now picked up an impressive tally of 12 points from the 15 available, sitting second only to the Sounders in the Western Conference as a result.
After a poor season last year, with a 10th-placed finish in the conference, Vanney's men will be desperate to continue their strong form to keep themselves at the top end of the division and ensure they finish in the playoff spots this time around.
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Team News
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Portland Timbers come into this game with an unenviable list of absentees, as the likes of Sebastian Blanco, Diego Chara and Larrys Mabiala all remain out of action.
Steve Clark and Cristhian Paredes will also continue spells on the sidelines through injury, leaving a bare squad for Savarese to pick from.
Meanwhile, goalkeeper Jeff Attinella could miss the remainder of the season through injury, with Logan Ketterer stepping in between the sticks in his absence.
Given the unfortunate circumstances, the likes of Yimmi Chara in midfield and Marvin Loria in attack will play an even more important role for the Timbers if they are to pick up a result on Saturday.
On the contrary to their hosts, LA Galaxy come into this game with a clean bill of health, given Victor Vazquez's recent return to the side.
The line will be led by Javier Hernandez, who has netted seven goals as well as an assist in the first five games of the season to fire his side to the top end of the Western Conference.
He will be supported by Sebastian Lletget, who netted an important goal last time out, while Vazquez will also hope for a return to the starting side after he made the bench for that victory.
After a solid display and a clean sheet, their defence should remain unchanged, with Julian Araujo, Daniel Steres, Derrick Williams and Jorge Villafana expected to line up in a back four in front of goalkeeper Jonathan Bond.
Portland Timbers possible starting lineup:
Ketterer; Rankin, Tuiloma, Zuparic, Bravo; Williamson, Chara, Valeri; Loria, Polo, Ebobisse
Los Angeles Galaxy possible starting lineup:
Bond; Araujo, Steres, Williams, Villafana; Santos, Saldana; Alvarez, Lletget, Vazquez; Hernandez
We say: Portland Timbers 1-3 Los Angeles Galaxy
LA Galaxy have looked a formidable outfit at the beginning of the season, and we see them securing a fairly comfortable victory over a Timbers side who have been hit hard by injuries all over the pitch.
Their edge in experience and quality, especially with the likes of Hernandez in attack, should see Vanney's men to their fifth win of the campaign.
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 Portland Timbers win with a probability of 52.5%. A win for Los Angeles Galaxy had a probability of 24.68% and a draw had a probability of 22.8%.
The most likely scoreline for a Portland Timbers win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.73%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (8.84%) and 2-0 (8.14%). The likeliest Los Angeles Galaxy win was 1-2 (6.31%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (10.56%). The actual scoreline of 3-0 was predicted with a 5% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Portland Timbers would win this match.
