The Timbers will spend the Fourth of July in Los Angeles, where they are slated to take on the LA Galaxy on Friday (8pm PT, NBCSN). For Portland, making up ground after a tough loss to Sporting Kansas City on June 27 could catapult them above the Galaxy and into the Top-5 in the Western Conference. Currently, both the Timbers and Galaxy sit on 20 points and are chasing down Vancouver Whitecaps and FC Dallas, who have 22 and 23 points, respectively, for those spots just above the red line. Let's take a look at five stats to know before the fireworks and hot dogs are broken out on Friday.
+1 The Timbers have been one of the best road teams in MLS since April. Portland hasn't had a road loss since they fell 1-0 to Real Salt Lake back on April 19. Since then, Maximilliano Urruti, Fanendo Adi and Gastón Fernández have been busy racking up goals. Portland is 4-0-1 on the road since that loss to RSL, and have a goal differential on the road of +1, second-best in MLS.
FOURAn extra buzz always seems to be in the air when these two clubs square off. In recent history, the momentum in the Timbers-Galaxy all-time MLS series as swung in Portland's favor as the Timbers are unbeaten in their last four meetings with the Galaxy, including a pair of shutouts. It's been sometime since the Timbers have visited StubHub Center to take on the Galaxy; that last matchup in SoCal was June 19, 2013.
FIVE LA is on a bit of an upswing. After a slow first eight games, the Galaxy are unbeaten in their last five matches (3-0-2), most recently coming off a 1-0 road win over San Jose on June 28. That five-game unbeaten stretch includes three straight results (2-0-1) at home in which LA has out-scored opponents by a combined score of 7-3.
4With two teams playing out of StubHub Center, the Timbers rack up the frequent flyer miles to Carson, Calif. Portland has earned results in each of its last four trips to StubHub Center, assembling a combined 2-0-2 record against LA and Chivas USA. Over those last four matches at the venue, the Timbers have recorded shutouts in three of them, including one against the Galaxy, and compiled eight goals.
One The Galaxy have had trouble keeping teams off the board within the confines of StubHub Center. LA has recorded just a single clean sheet on the season at home, coming against Vancouver Whitecaps FC on April 12 in a 1-0 victory. Still, teams are averaging just one goal per-game in at StubHub Center, so the Timbers will need to be firing on all cylinders if they want to grab three points.
