The MLS season continues at the weekend as Dallas welcome Portland Timbers to the Toyota Stadium in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The hosts come into the match sitting in fifth place in the Western Conference table whilst their visitors are in ninth.
Match preview
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Nico Estevez's Dallas have made a decent start to 2023 as they look to improve on last term's third-placed finish and defeat in the playoffs, with seven points from their opening five fixtures putting them fifth in the early- season standings.
Last time out the Texas outfit were beaten 2-1 away at Los Angeles FC with Denis Bouanga netting the winner six minutes from time after Nkosi Tafari had cancelled out Timothy Tillman's third-minute opener for the California side.
Dallas badly need to bounce back from that defeat against Portland as there is already an eight-point gap to the leaders St Louis City, but they could consolidate their position in the top nine and jump above Minnesota United into fourth with a victory over the Timbers.
Jesus Ferreira has started the season well with three goals to his name already this term, including a match-winning brace in their first home match of the season against Los Angeles Galaxy, and the forward will be looking to bag double figures in the league for the second year running after his 18 strikes last term.
The 22-year old also enjoys playing against Portland having scored a hat-trick in a 4-1 rout of Sunday's opponents in this fixture in March 2022, and he may consider himself a good luck charm as Dallas have won the last 13 home games in which he has scored.
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The Portland Timbers have endured an underwhelming campaign so far in Giovanni Savarese's sixth season in charge, despite beginning 2023 with a 1-0 home success against Sporting Kansas City.
That win was followed by three consecutive losses against Los Angeles, St Louis and Atlanta United, with the latter result being a 5-1 hammering in Georgia.
In their last match the Timbers' winless streak was extended to four matches as they could only draw 0-0 with Los Angeles Galaxy, a match in which they conceded 67% of possession and 17 shots to their opponents, and if they continue to be on the back foot in games then the manager's job will surely be under threat.
Portland need to turn their form around quickly if they want to match or improve on 2022's eighth-placed finish and a victory in Texas at the weekend could lift them above Houston Dynamo into that position and just a point off the top seven.
The team from Providence Park won only three of their 17 away games last season and conceded 30 goals in the process. That poor form has continued into 2022 as they are yet to win on the road this season, and have let in 10 strikes in their five fixtures, so they will need to cure their travel sickness if they are to finish in the top half.
The Timbers will not be feeling confident about the trip to Texas at the weekend as they are winless in eight consecutive league matches against Dallas and they have lost the last three matches at the Toyota Stadium by an aggregate score of 10-3, including back-to-back 4-1 reverses in the previous two encounters. The Oregon outfit have the chance on Sunday to record their first victory in Dallas since a 2-1 triumph in the playoffs in 2018.
Dallas' formidable home record makes an away win even more unlikely as the hosts have lost only one of the last 11 matches in front of their own fans stretching back to July 2022, with only Los Angeles and Philadelphia Union picking up more victories in their own stadium in that time too.
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Team News
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The hosts will once again without Tarik Scott against Portland as the winger is out for the long term with a cruciate ligament injury, while right-back Ema Twumasi is serving a suspension after being sent off against Los Angeles.
Giovanni Savarese's team will be missing several first-team players for the clash with Dallas as Dairon Asprilla, David Ayala and Felipe Mora have all undergone knee surgery so Diego Chara, Marvin Loria and Nathan should keep their places in the starting 11.
Portland midfielder Evander has a hip injury so Eryk Williamson and Santiago Moreno will take up the box-to-box midfield roles in a 4-3-3 system.
Sebastian Blanco and Yimmi Chara will be sidelined for the visitors with muscle and knee injuries respectively, so Diego Gutierrez will start on the left flank and Tega Ikoba is likely to feature from the bench as he did in the last match.
Dallas possible starting lineup:
Paes; Jesus, Tafari, Ibeagha, Farfan; Quignon, Cerrillo, Velasco; Obrian, Ferreira, Arriola
Portland Timbers possible starting lineup:
Bingham; Bonilla, Zuparic, McGraw, Bravo; Chara, Williamson, Moreno; Loria, Fogaca, Gutierrez
We say: Dallas 2-0 Portland Timbers
Dallas will be smarting after their loss last weekend, but they will be confident of getting back to winning ways on Sunday given their fine record against Portland. Jesus Ferreira loves playing against the Timbers and he may well be the difference between the teams again.
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