LA Galaxy vs. Portland Timbers Prediction, Preview, and Odds - 10/16/21
L.A. Galaxy vs Portland 8-14
The Timbers are in solid form and they head down to La La Land to face a Galaxy team that is not.
The Timbers have won their last four matches and are unbeaten in their last eight. They sit in fourth place in the Western Conference and look to take advantage of a struggling L.A. Club. The Timbers have had issues on the defensive side of the pitch on the season but they have only given up three goals in their last four matches and in their last one posted a clean sheet.
The Galaxy are winless in their last nine matches where they have five losses and four draws. They are in the sixth spot in the West and could really use a win in this one to give them some breathing room in the playoff race. L.A. has had issues scoring as of late and on the season have a goal differential of -6.
Niezgoda Saves the Day
In Portland’s last match they were at home and beat Inter Miami CF 1-0 where Jaroslaw Niezgoda scored the lone goal off a header in the 83rd minute. The time of possession was relatively even and while the Timbers had more shots (17-13) they had fewer shots on goal (3-5). Portland is 1-1 in their two matches facing the Galaxy this season crushing them at home and getting beat badly by them on the road.
Felipe Mora leads the club with 11 goals and he has one goal in the last four matches. Dairon Asprilla ranks second on the club with eight goals and Sebastián Blanco, who assisted on the goal in the win over Miami and has three assists over his last three matches, leads the team with six assists. However, Blaco is listed as questionable for this match with a minor knee injury.
Scoring Helps
The Galaxy have been slumping in the last few weeks mainly because of a struggling attack. The club has only four goals in their last six matches and they have been shut out twice in that span. In their last match they were at home and played to a 1-1 draw with LAFC. Samuel Grandsir scored the lone goal in the draw where they dominated time of possession (64% to 36%). They only had one shot on target but allowed seven, so at least the defense played well.
Javier Hernández leads the team with 12 goals and he has two in his last five matches. No other player has more than five goals and Julian Araujo and Víctor Vázquez have combined for nine assists. The DF duo of Jorge Villafaña and Derek Williams are both listed as questionable for this match.
Pick: Portland +255
These teams have split the two matches facing each other this season and neither one was close. I look for that to change in this one. The Timbers are in solid form and they have played great defense as of late only allowing one goal in their last four matches. That is not good for a Galaxy team that has only found the back net four times in their last six matches. L.A. will come out firing in this match, as they really need the three points to stay ahead of a few teams chasing them for a playoff spot. However, Portland will weather the storm with a solid defensive effort and their strong midfield. This match will be a close and contested one but the Timbers will stay hot and pick up the three points with a win.
Total: Under 2.5 goals
While both of the matches between these teams this season have gone Over, I am taking the Under in this one. Portland has been playing great as of late with the main reason being their defense. L.A. has really struggled on the attack with only four goals in their last six matches. I look for their struggles to continue even at home. The Galaxy have only scored one goal in each of their last four matches and I think they will get shut out in this match. Portland will score at least one goal but not more than two and since I am taking them to pitch a clean sheet the Under is the pick for this match.