Saturday, April 19 | 7:15 p.m. PT
🏟: Providence Park - Portland, OR
LAFC heads to Providence Park in Portland, Ore., Saturday night to take on the Timbers in an early-season meeting of clubs in the upper half of the Western Conference table. Portland (4W-2L-2D, 14 points) stands in fourth place in the West and is unbeaten in its last five games, while LAFC stands just two points behind the Timbers, in seventh place.
With a win, LAFC (4-4-0, 12 points) can climb over the .500 mark in MLS play for the first time since March 22, when the Black & Gold stood at 3-2-0 following a road win over Sporting KC.
Defender Sergi Palencia was named to MLS Team of the Matchday after turning in his fourth 90-minute shift in league play this year (and ninth overall) and scoring his first-ever MLS goal in LAFC’s 2-1 home win over San Jose last Saturday. Forward Denis Bouanga opened his 2025 MLS account in that same game by scoring his 17th game-winning goal in an LAFC shirt. Only Carlos Vela has scored more (19).
The Timbers, led by second-year coach and former Premier League and England National Team defender Phil Neville, have found their groove following a 1-2-0 start. Portland has reeled off three wins and two draws over their last five outings. The Timbers are 2-1-1 at home in 2025 while LAFC is 1-3-0 on the road in MLS play.
TIMBERS IN-DEPTH
Timbers forward Kevin Kelsy scored twice and added an assist in Portland’s convincing 4-2 road win over Sporting KC last week. The 20-year-old Venezuelan international comes from the same Venezuelan Youth National Team pipeline that produced 19-year-old LAFC winger David Martínez. Kelsy spent the 2024 season on loan with FC Cincinnati from Ukrainian Premier League powerhouse Shakhtar Donetsk.
Kelsy’s first goal against SKC last week came when he deflected a strike by 22-year-old Argentine midfielder David Ayala, who has come on strong in his fourth year in Portland and has earned endless praise from Neville. Kelsy and Ayala joined LAFC’s Palencia on this week’s MLS Team of the Matchday.
SANS EVANDER
Neville and Co. have reshaped themselves in 2025 following the loss of 2024 MLS MVP finalist Evander to FC Cincinnati (in a league-record cash-for-player trade). The Timbers have filled that attacking gap by committee, receiving elevated contributions from Antony (team-high four goals), Felipe Mora (two goals), and David Da Costa, who joined Portland in the offseason from Ligue 1 side Lens and has contributed one goal and a team-high three assists.
THE SERIES
LAFC leads the all-time series with a record of 8W-6L-6D against Portland across all competitions. The Black & Gold has lost just once to the Timbers over their last seven meetings, going 4W-1L-2D in that span.
In their most recent matchup last April, the two sides were staring at a 2-2 draw until a loose ball rolled toward Bouanga atop the penalty area in the second minute of stoppage time. Bouanga, last year’s MLS Golden Boot runner-up, one-timed it off the far post and into goal to secure a 3-2 Black & Gold victory.
CONDITIONS
Portland is one of three teams in the Western Conference whose home stadium features an artificial surface. Portland’s infamous weather can be equally uncomfortable to visitors. Saturday’s forecast calls for temperatures in the 50s with a 45 percent chance of rain.
PENALTIES A FACTOR?
One of the more interesting wrinkles in Saturday’s matchup is that Timbers goalie James Pantemis has saved three of the four penalties he’s faced this season, while LAFC has yet to attempt a penalty kick over 14 matches in all competitions.
LAFC CAN WIN IF
It uses the rest and tactical preparation afforded by its third full week of training since the season began. LAFC has played six midweek Concacaf Champions Cup matches since its 2025 opener in mid-February. Although the club was eliminated from CCC play last week in Miami, the Black & Gold was finally able to recover, reset, and train together at home. That’s invaluable for a side that’s still congealing after it replaced nearly half its roster in the offseason.
PORTLAND CAN WIN IF
Wet weather and warm form combine for a strong start on Saturday. Portland has a goal differential of plus-3 thus far in 2025 (13 goals scored, 10 conceded), but at Providence Park that number is just zero (six goals scored, six conceded).
Finding the net first would help the Timbers’ cause. LAFC’s loss last week in Miami marked the first game all season in which LAFC scored the first goal but failed to win. LAFC is 7-1-0 in all competitions when scoring first, compared to 0-6-0 when conceding the game’s opening goal.
