Los Angeles Galaxy will look to bounce back from a shock 4-0 defeat when they return to Major League Soccer action on Saturday, as they play host to Portland Timbers.
Greg Vanney's men were stunned by FC Dallas last Sunday, while their visitors were also defeated at the weekend, narrowly losing 2-1 to Minnesota United.
Match preview
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Los Angeles Galaxy had a strong start to the MLS campaign, winning seven of their opening 10 games to immediately establish themselves at the top end of the Western Conference.
However, for the first time this season, they head into Saturday's game in a dismal run of form, having collected just four points from their five league outings since that eye-catching start to the campaign.
Their strong run was broken by a disappointing 2-0 defeat at home to Sporting Kansas City, but Greg Vanney's men would quickly bounce back by defeating FC Dallas 3-1 thanks to goals from Rayan Raveloson, Kevin Cabral and Ethan Zubak, with Franco Jara's 71st-minute goal for their opponents nothing more than a consolation.
Unfortunately for Galaxy, that result would not trigger another winning run, as they were brought back down by a 2-1 defeat to Vancouver Whitecaps, followed by a slightly disappointing 2-2 draw with Real Salt Lake, although Raveloson did equalise in the final 15 minutes to salvage a point in that game.
Most recently, the five-time MLS champions were handed their sixth league defeat of the season in a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of strugglers FC Dallas, as Ricardo Pepi hit a hat-trick before the hour mark and Jader Obrian added a fourth in the dying minutes.
Despite their poor run of form, Galaxy still occupy third spot in the Western Conference, meaning it can be treated as nothing more than a blip should they make a much-needed return to winning ways on Saturday, as they aim to keep hold of their spot at the top end of the table to ensure they make the playoffs this season.
They take on another side in search of a return to winning ways after Portland Timbers were narrowly beaten last time out.
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Giovanni Savarese's side took an early lead through Felipe Mora in Minnesota last Sunday, and that goal looked to have made the difference until the hosts finally drew level through Chase Gasper in the 74th minute before Robin Lod hit the winner with five minutes left to play.
That game offered a great chance for the Timbers to record three straight wins after crucial back-to-back victories to climb the Conference table.
After a fairly disappointing start to the season, picking up just 13 points from their opening 11 games, Savarese's side were in need of an improvement, following a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Austin FC.
That came in the form of a 1-0 home victory over FC Dallas, with Jeremy Ebobisse hitting the only goal of the game in the 84th minute to snatch all three points for Portland.
They would then make it two straight wins by defeating Los Angeles FC 2-1 on home turf, again thanks to a late goal.
Diego Valeri gave the Timbers a very early lead, but Carlos Vela equalised soon after and the game looked set to end level until Mora hit the net in the 93rd minute to seal an impressive victory.
While they missed the opportunity to build a winning run last time out, Savarese's men should be encouraged by their overall upturn in form, given their poor start to the campaign, and their confidence will be high for Saturday after their last meeting with LA Galaxy, when a Mora brace and a Valeri goal fired them to a 3-0 home victory in May.
They will now look to repeat that feat in order to continue their rise up the table, having recently climbed up to eighth spot, just one point off the playoff places.
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Team News
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Los Angeles Galaxy remain without several key players, including Javier Hernandez, who continues to miss out through injury after hitting 10 goals in the first 10 league games of the season.
His Mexican compatriots Jonathan dos Santos and Efrain Alvarez are also out of contention, as they are away with the national team at the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Defender Sega Coulibaly will also continue a spell on the sidelines through injury, with Derrick Williams expected to lead the back four in his absence.
Portland Timbers have also been hit by several selection concerns, with Andy Polo, Jeff Attinella and Ismaila Jome all out of action with long-term issues.
On the plus side for Savarese, key midfielder Cristhian Paredes recently returned from an injury, featuring off the bench in his first game back before starting last time out, and he should again be deployed from the start, although the manager may opt to substitute him off again in the second half to ease him back into regular football.
While they do not have a clear goalscorer, Felipe Mora did hit his fourth of the season last time out, and he should again lead the line with experienced Colombian striker Yimmi Chara.
Los Angeles Galaxy possible starting lineup:
Bond; Araujo, Steres, Williams, Villafana; Kljestan, Saldana, Raveloson; Grandsir, Vazquez, Cabral
Portland Timbers possible starting lineup:
Ivacic; Bonilla, Mabiala, Zuparic, Van Rankin; Loria, Pareses, D Chara, Asprilla; Y Chara, Mora
We say: Los Angeles Galaxy 1-1 Portland Timbers
Given LA Galaxy's relative poor form and the fact that they come into the game without several key players, we would not be surprised to see Portland Timbers take at least a point from Saturday's game.
Savarese's side have certainly improved in recent weeks, and should take advantage of a clash against a side in a serious dip in form in their pursuit of a playoff place.
Top tip
Sam Varley
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 Los Angeles Galaxy win with a probability of 43.77%. A win for Portland Timbers had a probability of 31.72% and a draw had a probability of 24.5%.
The most likely scoreline for a Los Angeles Galaxy win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.09%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (8.71%) and 2-0 (6.91%). The likeliest Portland Timbers win was 1-2 (7.54%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.46%). The actual scoreline of 4-1 was predicted with a 1.9% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Los Angeles Galaxy would win this match.
