Two teams who have made less than ideal starts to their respective Major League Soccer campaigns lock horns on Saturday as Portland Timbers play host to Los Angeles Galaxy.
The home side are currently on a run of three straight defeats, while their visitors make the trip to Providence Park still in search of their first win this term.
Match preview
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Portland Timbers came away empty-handed from Sunday's meeting against Atlanta United at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where they suffered a 5-1 thrashing.
Giovanni Savarese's men found themselves three down in under an hour thanks to strikes from Caleb Wiley, Thiago Almada and Georgios Giakoumakis after which goals from Luiz Araujo and Almada either side of Tega Ikoba's consolation added more gloss to the scoreline.
As a result, the Timbers have dropped down to 10th in the Western Conference standings, three points adrift of the last automatic playoff spot having played a game more.
Awaiting them next is the challenge of an opposing outfit who have only been beaten in one of the last five editions of this fixture, winning three of the other four.
However, that solitary defeat did come in the most recent encounter back in February, when Saturday's hosts strolled to a comprehensive 4-1 friendly victory.
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Los Angeles Galaxy had to make do with a share of the spoils for the second game running courtesy of a 1-1 stalemate against Vancouver Whitecaps at the Dignity Health Sports Park on Sunday.
Greg Vanney's went behind to Tristan Blackmon's 14th-minute opener but managed to draw level before the half-time whistle thanks to Kelvin Leerdam's equaliser.
Picking up two points from their three outings so far, the Galaxy sit 12th in the Western Conference, just one point clear of bottom club Colorado Rapids, albeit with a game in hand.
Having failed to keep a clean sheet in all but one of their last 16 away matches across all competitions, Saturday's visitors will need to shore up at the back to bolster their chances of emerging triumphant.
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Team News
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Felipe Mora, David Ayala and Dairon Asprilla have all had knee surgeries over the last few months and are unavailable to feature for Portland Timbers.
The hosts will also have to cope with the absence of Yimmi Chara and Evander, who are currently sidelined due to muscle and hip problems respectively.
Nineteen-year-old Tega Ikoba found the back of the net on his return to action from an injury layoff and will be pushing for a place in the starting XI here.
LA Galaxy forward Javier Hernandez has not played any of the last five matches due to a muscle injury which is set to keep him out of Saturday's contest.
Despite having already served his suspension for a sending-off last season, Douglas Costa remains out of contention for the visitors through a torn muscle.
Jonathan Bond came off with an injury scare less than 30 minutes into his side's last outing, and the Englishman could be replaced by Jonathan Klinsmann.
Portland Timbers possible starting lineup:
Ivacic; Bravo, McGraw, Mabiala, Zuparic, Mosquera; Moreno, Chara, Williamson; Niezgoda, Fogaca
Los Angeles Galaxy possible starting lineup:
Klinsmann; Edwards, Caceres, Neal, Leerdam; Brugman, Delgado, Puig; Alvarez, Boyd, Joveljic
We say: Portland Timbers 2-1 Los Angeles Galaxy
Portland Timbers were beaten in their last home encounter but have not suffered back to back defeats on home turf in almost two years, which certainly makes for good reading. We are backing the hosts to narrowly get the job done in what should be an open and end-to-end affair.
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