Portland Timbers vs Los Angeles Galaxy – 25/03/2023
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The Portland Timbers welcome LA Galaxy to Providence Park on Saturday as Week 5 of the 2023 Major League Soccer season gets underway.
class=”os_Both sides find themselves at the wrong end of the Western Conference, with the Timbers sitting in 10th place – one point above the Galaxy in 12th.
Saturday Matinee coming ????
On the call and on the screen, @JakeZivin gets you ready for Timbers vs. Galaxy ????#RCTID pic.twitter.com/xJabePltJi
— Portland Timbers (@TimbersFC) March 24, 2023
With high-flying St. Louis City setting the pace at the top with four wins from four, both the Timbers and Galaxy will be eager to move up the standings.
The Portland Timbers kicked off their campaign with a 1-0 victory over Sporting Kansas City, but it’s been all downhill since then.
After losing 3-2 to Los Angeles FC, Portland registered a 2-1 defeat at St. Louis City before suffering a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of Atlanta United last weekend.
As a result, the Timbers head into Week 5 on a three-game losing streak, while only two other sides in the entire league have suffered three defeats this season.
It is also worth noting that Portland hold the worst defensive record in MLS, having conceded 10 goals across their opening four matches.
On the flip side, LA Galaxy find themselves one point behind the Portland Timbers, having only played three matches this term.
After suffering a 3-1 defeat to FC Dallas, the Galaxy played out a goalless draw with Sporting Kansas City before drawing 1-1 with the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Consequently, the Galaxy remain one of only five teams in the entire league without a single win to their name this year.
On top of that, only two teams – Sporting Kansas City and Colorado Rapids – have scored fewer goals than LA Galaxy’s two in 2023.
Head-to-head: It is worth pointing out that Portland thrashed the Galaxy 4-1 in a pre-season friendly back in February.
That said, LA Galaxy are unbeaten in four Major League Soccer meetings with the Timbers, picking up three wins and one draw in that time.
Team news: Portland’s extensive injury list contains Felipe Mora, Sebastian Blanco, David Ayala, Dairon Asprilla, Tega Ikoba, Yimmi Chara, Cristhian Paredes and Evander.
Meanwhile, LA Galaxy are without two key players due to injury, with Javier Hernandez and Douglas Costa sidelined for the foreseeable future.
Given that both sides have struggled during the early stages of the season, Portland and LA Galaxy will be desperate to pick up a positive result this weekend.
With that in mind, Forebet predicts that Portland and LA Galaxy will share the points at Providence Park, both scoring under 1.5 goals in a cagey encounter.
