Skip to content

Timbers-Galaxy Preview

Behind stout defensive play and the offense of Gaston Fernandez and Maximiliano Urruti, the Portland Timbers have the longest winning streak in team history.

They seek a fifth straight victory Wednesday night when they visit the Los Angeles Galaxy, who are trying to take advantage of a home-heavy stretch.

The Timbers (7-5-4), tied with Los Angeles for third place in the Western Conference, have three shutouts in their last four games. They had never won more than two in a row prior to this season, and their recent play also includes a 3-1 U.S. Open Cup victory against Seattle last Tuesday.

Fernandez and Urruti scored in Saturday's 2-0 home win over Houston, and both have two goals and an assist in the last four contests. Fernandez had been without a goal in his first 12 matches before scoring twice in the last three.

Portland has seven goals during its winning streak after totaling 10 in the first 12 matches.

"Their relationship has been huge," captain Will Johnson said of the duo. "It's gotten us quite a few points, especially the last four or five games. ... They play off each other really well."

These teams have drawn three times in the last four meetings, including 2-all at Portland on March 15. Fanendo Adi scored twice for Portland, while Alan Gordon equalized in the second minute of stoppage time.

The Galaxy (6-5-7) own a plus-nine goal differential at home, tied for the highest in the league, compared to minus-eight on the road. They're 6-1-2 at home and 4-0-2 all-time there against Portland. This is the second in a five-game stretch that includes four home matches.

Los Angeles won for the first time in four matches Saturday with a 5-1 victory against Philadelphia. Five players scored with Gyasi Zardes finding the back of the net and assisting on two goals to earn the league's Player of the Week honors.

Coach Bruce Arena tried to temper the magnitude of the win, however.

"That (victory) was completely deceiving," he told the team's official website. "I think we deserved to win the game, but we expect our team to be making progress at this point and we have areas we can get better.

"That's what our focus is on. We're not naive enough to believe everything is perfect at this point."

The Galaxy's five-goal outburst matched their total from the previous six matches. Los Angeles has already been shut out five times, one more than last season.

"I think it's definitely much more positive than it was," midfielder Sebastian Lletget said of the team's mood. "We do have guys back and it's important because so many games are coming back and forth. Every week it seems like it's three games a week now. It's intense."

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox