The Timbers travel to new Western Conference opponent Houston for the second of their three-game road swing that will take up the bulk of May. The first game of that trip, last weekend, was a victory over the Montreal Impact at Stade Saputo courtesy, in the final tally, of the Goal of the Week from returned maestro Diego Valeri.
Portland has a second winnable game in a row against a non-playoff team this week, and a real chance to build momentum and starting climbing their way up the conference table. The Timbers have been notably efficient on the road this year, but, for over a year now, notably poor coming off of wins. Something has to give on Saturday night.
The History
Last year, these teams played to a sleepy, waste-of-time 1-1 draw in a midday game in the Houston heat. Gaston Fernandez, ironically enough, got the goal for the Timbers. A year later, Fernandez is in the doghouse—more on that in a moment—and Houston have changed managers for the first time in franchise history.
Before that, though, some of the Timbers' seminal MLS moments have come against the Dynamo. Going back to 2011, Portland had a golden opportunity to jump into a playoff place in their regular season home finale, only to be beaten handily by Houston, who went on to make the MLS Cup Final.
The Dynamo was the team against which Caleb Porter got his first win as an MLS manager in 2013, thanks to a brace from Ryan Johnson. It was Portland and Vancouver's introduction into the league that necessitated Houston's move from the Western to Eastern Conference, now that Houston is back in the West, things should heat up between these two teams.
The Tactics
For the first time all year, there's really no reason to change Portland's starting 11. Look for an unchanged team from the side that beat the Impact last weekend, especially with Will Johnson still working his way back and there being no rush to replace Jack Jewsbury anyway.
The bench will be more interesting for Portland. Gaston Fernandez should be on it. The controversy over his place in the team that was started with fans angry at his disinterested performance for T2 two weeks ago, and heated up when Fernandez didn't travel to Montreal because of injury, is overblown. Fernandez isn't going anywhere for now, and he remains a better substitute option than Ishmael Yartey.
The fury over Fernandez is somewhat surprising. La Gata is what he's always been: A talented but limited player who doesn't really have a place in the Timbers attack. Attitude wise, Fernandez has always been a fairly cool customer who gets along with most everyone. It's doubtful that Fernandez is around in 2016, but also doubtful that we're immanently headed for a salacious divorce in the coming weeks.
For Houston, we could see former Timber David Horst, while Owen Coyle will also have to sweat out the fitness of captain and World Cup vet Brad Davis, who missed last weekend's game against Toronto. The Dynamo got a big win last weekend at BMO Field, but are still languishing in ninth place in the West.
The Lineup
12 - Kwarasey
2 - Powell
24 - Ridgewell (C)
7 - Borchers
19 - Villafaña
13 - Jewsbury
21 - Chara
22 - Wallace
8 - Valeri
6 - Nagbe
9 - Adi
The Pick
Though Houston is an average team, Portland isn't exactly slaying 'em in the isles either—especially after wins. Two consecutive victories on the road feels like a stretch for where this team is at right now. A 1-1 draw seems the most likely outcome.
