Dallas will try to win at Providence Park for the first time ever when they battle the Portland Timbers on Saturday in Major League Soccer action.
Portland are looking to end a three-match losing run, while the Toros had their two-game undefeated streak snapped last week, 3-1 by the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Match preview
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After suffering a 4-1 defeat to the newest MLS side in Austin FC, manager Giovanni Savarese will hope that a 16-day break can give his team some time to rest up and recharge as they prepare to play four games in less than two weeks to wrap up the month of July.
Trying to find some chemistry within this team will be vital through their next stretch of games, as they have a long list of injured players right now and a pair of critical components who are missing because of international duty at the Gold Cup and the Olympics.
Savarese has employed a different formation in each of their last three games, but neither the 5-4-1, 5-3-2 nor 4-4-2 system have been good enough to generate three points.
The last time they faced Dallas, they lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, which did not succeed as they conceded four goals to the Toros, losing 4-1.
Given the number of changes to their lineup and the formation shifts, it is impressive in a way that they are still in the thick of the playoff race in the Western Conference, only two points behind Minnesota United for the final spot and having played the fewest games among MLS clubs (11).
The Timbers made many errors in their last match, and Austin made them pay as their high-pressure system created several turnovers in the midfield, and those are errors that Portland will want to correct this weekend.
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Just when they seemed to be turning the corner, Dallas were hit for three goals last week and knocked right back down to earth with a 3-1 defeat to the LA Galaxy.
Before that, there was a lot for Luchi Gonzalez to like about his side, who had beaten the Eastern Conference leaders, the New England Revolution, before coming from behind to draw the Vancouver Whitecaps on Independence Day.
The Toros were trailing by two goals inside of 30 minutes last week, the seventh consecutive match in which they have conceded at least one goal in the first half.
If they are looking for a way to regain their confidence, winning on the road could be one solution, as Dallas have lost all five of their road matches this year, failing to score in three straight before last week.
Just like the Timbers, Dallas are not that far off when it comes to a playoff position as they go into this fixture on Saturday only four points behind Minnesota, so they should be just as desperate for three points as their opponents will be this weekend.
They will hope that they can continue a familiar trend this year of bouncing back from a defeat, as they have yet to lose consecutive matches this season.
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Team News
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Several Timber players will not be suiting up anytime soon, including left-back Ismaila Jome, who has an Achilles tendon rupture and striker Jaroslaw Niezgoda, who is suffering from a cruciate ligament rupture.
Midfielder Cristhian Paredes has a thigh muscle strain, and winger Andy Polo is still recovering from a tendon crack.
Midfielder Eryk Williamson is with the United States for the Gold Cup, while left-back Claudio Bravo will miss his second game after being named to the Argentina squad for the Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Dallas goalkeeper Kyle Zobeck still has a hamstring injury, left-winger Beni Redzic continues to recover from ankle surgery and midfielder Thomas Roberts has been loaned out to SK Austria Klagenfurt.
Midfielder Paxton Pomykal became the sixth home-grown player in club history to play in 50 MLS matches for Dallas when he came on as a second-half substitute versus the Galaxy, and midfielder Bryan Acosta is with Honduras for the Gold Cup.
Franco Jara notched only his second goal of the season in their last fixture, while Jesus Ferreira has become a solid provider for the Toros with an assist in each of his previous three matches.
Portland Timbers possible starting lineup:
Clark; Van Rankin, Mabiala, Tuiloma, Bonilla; Asprilla, Chara, Zambrano, Loria; Valeri, Ebobisse
Dallas possible starting lineup:
Maurer; Nelson, Burgess, Bressan, Che; Ricaurte, Cerillo; Hollingshead, Ferreira, Schon; Pepi
We say: Portland Timbers 1-0 Dallas
Dallas have struggled all season when playing outside of Toyota Stadium and have lacked consistency on the road, while being far too passive in front of goal.
The Timbers have also lacked consistency this year, but they still have some depth players who can get the job done.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
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 51.96%. A win for Dallas had a probability of 25.11% and a draw had a probability of 22.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a Portland Timbers win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.7%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (8.82%) and 2-0 (8.06%). The likeliest Dallas win was 1-2 (6.39%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (10.61%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with an 8.8% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Portland Timbers would win this match.
