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NederlandThe San Jose Earthquakes shall attempt to pick up consecutive victories on Thursday when they travel to Providence Park to take on the Portland Timbers, who have been suffering from mixed consistency as of late.
The Quakers have proven to be difficult to defeat recently, while Portland must look to bounce back from a 4-1 defeat against LA Galaxy as they search for their first victory in two games.
Match preview
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Giovanni Savarese's side will be hoping to respond from back-to-back losses on Thursday following defeats to both LA Galaxy and Minnesota in their most recent games, with the team having only picked up two victories in their last six league fixtures.
Portland Timbers were comfortably beaten 4-1 by LA Galaxy, despite Jeremy Ebobisse levelling things up in the 29th minute, and it proved to be a difficult test that the team will now be looking to respond to with an immediate result.
The goal marked Ebobisse's fourth of the season to draw level with Felipe Mora at the top of Portland's scoring charts - a major reason why Savarese's men have scored in all of their last five games.
However, with only three clean sheets since April, one of which came against San Jose in their previous meeting, the defensive side of the game is where Savarese will be wanting his team to improve.
The Timbers currently sit eighth in the MLS Western Conference, just one point behind Real Salt Lake, which is a gap they will aim to close against The Goonies, though the team is far behind the third place they finished last season.
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Portland will take confidence from the fact they are currently undefeated at home this season in the league, having made Providence Park a fortress with five victories and two draws, which is a record that is only topped by LA Galaxy in the MLS Western Conference.
Meanwhile, San Jose have struggled on their travels throughout this campaign with just two victories on the road so far, having drawn three and lost four of their fixtures away from home.
History is also not on the side of Matias Almeyda's team either, as The Earthquakes have only picked up five victories across 29 meetings with The Timbers, while Portland have won 16 times in their previous encounters.
The Goonies have also never won a game at Providence Park, with three draws being the best that they have managed with the most recent taking place in 2014 when the two teams battled out a 3-3.
San Jose will have taken confidence from their most recent outing though, with the side travelling to Seattle where a strike from man of the match Christian Espinoza was enough to secure a 1-0 victory.
The Earthquakes currently find themselves in 11th, yet a victory will see the club overtake their opponents in the league table as The Goonies attempt to improve upon the eighth place they managed last season.
Almeyda's squad have grown in confidence as of late and have proven themselves to be a stern test for any side, as they have not lost in their previous five fixtures, although four of those games have been draws, which is why they will now be hoping to kickstart a run of victories.
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Team News
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Portland Timbers still remain without Andy Polo, Jeff Attinella and Ismaila Jome, all of whom are on the sideline due to long-term issues which the team have had to adapt to throughout the campaign.
Cristhian Paredes continued his journey back from injury against LA Galaxy, coming on from the bench in the 59th minute in order to get more game time under his belt, meaning he could be in contention for a starting spot at this point.
With Ebobisse finding the back of the net last Saturday, he is likely to retain his place in the team and continue leading the line for The Timbers, but with Savarese having made five changes during the defeat to LA Galaxy, there is a chance that he could choose to shake things up with his lineup.
San Jose have their share of long-term injuries as well with Matt Bersano currently on the shelf, while both Tommy Thompson and Benji Kikanovic are out of action due to knee injuries, all of which are lengthy problems.
While the Gold Cup has now wrapped up with USA picking up the trophy, it is unlikely that Jackson Yueill will be eligible, although this should be the final fixture that Almeyda will be missing his midfielder following his international duty.
However, San Jose were boosted by the returns of Judson and Marcos Lopez in the last fixture after suspension, while Carlos Fierro will also be available for the team after his red card.
Portland Timbers possible starting lineup:
Clark; Bonilla, Mabiala, Tuiloma, vVn Rankin; Paredes, Chara, Valeri; Asprilla, Loria; Ebobisse
San Jose Earthquakes possible starting lineup:
Marcinkowski; Alanis, Cardosa, Beason; Jungwirth, Abecasis, Judson, Salinas; Cowell, Lopez, Espinoza
We say: Portland Timbers 2-2 San Jose Earthquakes
Portland Timbers have made their home ground a difficult place for anybody to visit, and considering the fact that San Jose have not been picking up regular victories as of late, they will likely make life tough for the visitors.
However, San Jose have been in consistent form in terms of picking up points, albeit not always with victories, which is why they will likely battle it out to a draw.
