Portland Timbers v Los Angeles FC – MLS
It is finally here, or should we say, they are finally home. The construction of Providence Park is completed and with it, Portland Timbers got themselves a home stadium to play on. They had to endure a long and hard run of 12 consecutive away matches, however, everything comes around at some point. Playing their first home match of the season, Portland Timbers will want to impress their home fans and build on their 14 points they gathered in the run of 12 away games, which to be fair is not a terrible sum of points, not at all. Looking at their form, Timbers managed to grab 3 wins in the last 5 games, which spells out a good form, which they will hope it will carry into the next match when they will have to face the best Western team, LAFC, who have only lost once this season.
What else can we say about LAFC except that they are playing great football. Holding a 10-4-1 record in the 15 games played, they deservingly sit at the top of the Western Conference and will hope they can continue with their impressive performances for the remainder of the season. As it stands now, LAFC seem to be a class above their opponents and I firmly believe they are more than capable of winning the supporters shield, in fact I would be surprised if they don’t end up doing just that. WHat works in the team is basically everything. LAFC conceded only 11 goals, the least in the West, which clearly points to a good defence, but as strong as their defence is, LAFC boast an incredibly deadly offence. Rossi, Rodriguez and Vela have been in amazing form, helping their team score 36 goals in 15 games and they don’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. Furthermore, LAFC are a 3-3-1 on the road, and while their record is not perfect, LAFC gold a +11 goal difference with 16 goals scored and only 5 conceded in 7 away games.
Portland Timbers will surely fancy their chances at home, with all the hype surrounding their first home match of the season. Fans expect nothing less than a win, while Timbers know they are in for a hard match against deadly LAFC. Ahead of the match, it’s the away side who are favorites, which is fair considering their incredible form. On the other side there are some arguments to be made in favor of TImbers, who held the best home record in the West and are expected to do so again this season. With all the expectations of them performing up to par and fans eagerly waiting for their favorite team’s first home match, Timbers are expected to give it all to put up a fight against LAFC, who at the moment look unstoppable.
Taking everything into consideration, the upcoming match looks like it will serve us with great football. LAFC who are the best away team by far will go head to head with the best home team of last season. What we expect is a fast-paced match with plenty of goalscoring opportunities. LAFC have the best offence in the west, while Portland are not a bad attacking team neither. WIth a lot of attacking pace, I believe Timbers are more than capable of exposing LAFC defence and score at least one goal. We expect to see this one ending in at least 3 goals, which could easily end in up to 5.
Prediction: Over 3.00 goals
Odds: 1.80 Pinnacle
