FC Dallas host the Portland Timbers in the 2014 regular season finale on Saturday at Toyota Stadium with hopes of landing third place in the Western Conference with a win.
Portland is looking to clinch the final playoff spot with a win (and some help in the Vancouver-Colorado game). The Timbers enter Saturday’s game one point behind the Whitecaps for fifth place.
The Timbers are coming into this match off a 0-0 draw last weekend in league play against Real Salt Lake and a 3-1 loss in CONCACAF Champions League play on Tuesday in Honduras.
FCD has gotten the better end of the series with Portland in 2014 so far, winning the first meeting back in March before tying the lone trip to Oregon in June. FCD is 3-1-1 at home in all-time regular season meetings with the Timbers.
However, Oscar Pareja’s club is looking for their first win in a regular season finale since 2003. Dallas is 0-6-4 in their last 10 regular season finales.
Injury Watch
Like most clubs, Caleb Porter’s club has had to deal with a few injuries this season. Right now they have two key players out with long-term injuries. Timbers captain Will Johnson is out for several months at the moment following leg surgery. Midfielder Steve Zakuani is also out with a groin injury.
Key Matchups
Andres Escobar vs. Jorge Villafana - The speed on the wings will be a big key for Dallas in this game. Escobar has been crucial lately for FCD’s attack due to his skill on the ball and his speed. Targeting a player like Villafana may be the way Pareja goes in this match to expose the wings and allow the Dallas attack to get more chances off crosses from wide areas.
Fanendo Adi vs Matt Hedges - Adi has done well to score nine goals this season for the Timbers. When he is most dangerous is on rebounds or in open pockets in the penalty box. Hedges will have to keep a close watch on the Timbers’ striker to not allow him those extra bits of space to create chances.
Key Player for Portland
Diego Valeri - The Timbers offense still runs heavily through Valeri. Valeri leads the Timbers with 11 goals and 14 assists on the season, so stopping him isn’t easy. When teams shut Valeri down in the midfield, the Timbers attack typically struggles to find ways to create chances on the wings with Darlington Nagbe or Rodney Wallace and it also stumbles in giving Fanendo Adi access to chances in and around the penalty box.
Projected Lineup
Porter has stuck with a 4-2-3-1 formation that sometimes resembles a 4-3-3.
GK: Donovan Ricketts, RB: Alvas Powell, CB: Norberto Paparatto, Liam Ridgewell, LB: Jorge Villafana, RDM: Diego Chara, LDM: Ben Zemanski, RM: Darlington Nagbe, CM: Diego Valeri, LM: Rodney Wallace, F: Fanendo Adi
Keys to three points
No one expected the Timbers to struggle the way they have this season after their impressive run in 2013. Now they stare directly at missing the playoffs again despite all the talent that is on their roster.
FCD could easily rest some players this weekend, but expect Pareja to go for the three points and third place to avoid dealing with a knockout round match next Wednesday.
Given all that is on the line, FCD has to play their game on Saturday by limiting what the Timbers can do in the midfield and by controlling the wide areas. While Portland does have the speed on the outside to match Dallas, they don’t have the defensive capabilities to stick with it for 90 minutes.
FCD has a chance to get into the playoffs with a lot of good momentum, and it all starts on Saturday.
