Los Angeles FC host Portland Timbers at the Banc of California Stadium on Wednesday evening as coach Bob Bradley looks for his side to enter the MLS playoff spots.
The Black and Gold have lost their last two games, including a 2-0 defeat to San Jose Earthquakes last time out, while the visitors are flying high at the moment after their 6-1 win over Real Salt Lake.
Match preview
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The two sides met in the match prior to their last, which ended in a 2-1 home win for Portland, and so they will be very familiar with each other as they head into this one.
LAFC followed up their loss against the Timbers with a 2-0 defeat away to San Jose to record consecutive defeats as they hunt for an MLS playoff spot.
However, Bob Bradley's side did win the three matches prior to their last two defeats, which were against Sporting Kansas City, Real Salt Lake and Austin FC respectively, and they will be glad to return back to the Banc of California Stadium here following three consecutive away matches in the MLS.
Deploying a 3-4-1-2 system against the Quakes, LAFC did manage to create chances but were not clinical enough as the hosts took all three points.
The Black and Gold have not played at home since September 13 and will be looking to get back to winning ways as they sit in eighth place in the MLS Western Conference and aim to make the playoffs once again as they did last season, finishing seventh.
They will need to keep an eye out for the Vancouver Whitecaps, however, who sit just one place behind them in ninth but are level on points with a game in hand.
Nonetheless, LAFC have still managed to take nine points out of their last five games in what has been a very inconsistent season, even though they have had to deal with a plethora of injury issues throughout, including key men Carlos Vela and Eduard Atuesta, and the same will occur up against Portland.
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The visitors are on a fine run of form and have not lost in their last six matches, winning five and drawing one, including an emphatic 6-1 win at home to Real Salt Lake at the weekend.
There were six different scorers last time out with Felipe Mora, Dairon Asprilla, Yimmi Chara, Diego Chara, Jaroslaw Niezgoda and Cristhian Paredes all getting on the scoresheet.
Despite sitting in fourth in the MLS Western Conference, Portland have the second-worst defensive record, with FC Dallas conceding just a single goal more than the Timbers, but they have made up for it with their attacking intent having scored the joint-second most goals in the conference along with Real Salt Lake.
Mora bagged his 11th goal of the season last time out and is Portland's top goalscorer in the MLS, also providing four assists, and he is set to continue to lead the line on Wednesday against LAFC.
Giovanni Savarese's side have won the last two matches against LAFC, both 2-1 and at Providence Park, and are also unbeaten in four, drawing the other two matches 1-1, whilst the Black and Gold last defeated Portland in September 2020 in a six-goal thriller at the Banc of California Stadium which ended 4-2.
The Timbers defeated Los Angeles FC 2-1 under two weeks ago at their home ground in Providence Park with Asprilla and George Fochive providing the goals either side of a Cristian Arango penalty for LAFC to earn all three points and they will be hoping for a similar story on Wednesday night.
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Team News
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Los Angeles FC are set to miss a host of players as their injury issues continue with Vela, Atuesta, Tristan Blackmon, Erik Duenas, Julian Gaines, Kwadwo Opoku, Alvaro Quezada and Eddie Segura all expected to be out here.
Star man Vela has missed the last six matches due to a quad injury but coach Bradley is hoping that he will return for their derby match coming up against Los Angeles Galaxy at the beginning of October.
Brian Rodriguez and Astuesta were both listed as questionable with respective hamstring and ankle injuries prior to the match against San Jose but neither player made the squad.
Arango is set to continue up front for the Black and Gold and will be hoping to continue with his fine form where he has scored seven goals in his last six appearances as he looks to push LAFC towards the playoffs.
The Timbers will also have a few men missing with Jeff Attinella, Ismaila Jome and Andy Polo all out with long-term injuries, as well as Eryk Williamson who has also missed the last five matches due to a knee injury.
Mora is Portland's top goalscorer in the MLS this season with 11 goals but Asprilla has also performed well, providing seven goals and two assists in 26 matches this season, and has also scored two in his last two games.
Los Angeles FC possible starting lineup:
Romero; Fall, Murillo, Ibeagha; Kim, Ginella, Crisostomo, Palacios; Cifuentes; Musovski, Arango
Portland Timbers possible starting lineup:
Clark; Van Rankin, Tuiloma, Zuparic, Bravo; Fochive, D. Chara; Asprilla, Blanco, Y. Chara; Mora
We say: Los Angeles FC 2-1 Portland Timbers
Portland are on a good run of form but with the support of the home crowd for LAFC, we think they will just edge this one as they look to provide a late run for the playoffs.
The matches between the two sides have been historically tight so expect a match that could still go either way.
Top tip
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 FC win with a probability of 64.1%. A draw had a probability of 19.8% and a win for Portland Timbers had a probability of 16.11%.
The most likely scoreline for a Los Angeles FC win was 2-0 with a probability of 10.17%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.91%) and 1-0 (9.5%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.25%), while for a Portland Timbers win it was 1-2 (4.5%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with a 4.5% likelihood.
