FC DALLAS vs. PORTLAND TIMBERS
MLS Regular Season, Week 7
April 13, 2019 - 7PM
Toyota Stadium - Frisco, TX
Texas 21 | FCDallas.com/Radio | 99.1FM
#FCDvPOR
FRISCO - FC Dallas will look to bounce back from their second defeat of the season as the winless Portland Timbers visit Toyota Stadium on Saturday night.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
- FCD record: 3-2-1 (10 pts., T-4th in West)
- POR record: 0-4-1 (1 pt., T-11th in East)
- FCD vs. POR all-time: 7-6-7 (35 GF, 26 GA)
- FCD vs. POR home: 6-1-4 (25 GF, 11 GA)
CURRENT FORM
- FC Dallas returns home after two straight matches on the road, picking up a win against Real Salt Lake and dropping points late in Philadelphia last weekend. Luchi Gonzalez's side remains undefeated at home in 2019 with two straight wins to their record. Portland has dropped four straight matches after a season-opening draw in Colorado, most recently falling 3-0 to the San Jose Earthquakes in Northern California on Saturday.
PLAYOFF REVENGE
- Dallas and Portland meet for the first time after the Timbers took a road playoff victory in the Knockout Round on Halloween night nearly six months ago. It was a victory that the visitors used as a launching point in their run to another MLS Cup Final, while Dallas saw its season come to a crashing halt over the final days of the year. Despite turnover on the coaching staff and in the locker room, several key pieces still have a bitter memory from the postseason.
NIGHT CAP
- Saturday marks the first night match of the season at Toyota Stadium, and the only one over the first three months of the season for FCD. With three matinee affairs to open the year and three more following this weekend's match, it's the only time to catch soccer under the stars until June. Dallas had an 8-1-3 record in night matches at home during 2018 and the lone regular season meeting with the Timbers was a 1-1 afternoon draw in the final week of March.
ROAD TRIPPIN'
- With renovations underway at Providence Park, the Timbers hit the halfway point of their 12-game road swing to open the regular season on Saturday in Frisco. Three of their five matches have been within the Pacific time zone, traveling once to Colorado and once to Cincinnati. This weekend begins a three-game stretch of heavy travel as the opening tour continues, with stops in Columbus and Toronto following the stop in Texas.
DOMINANT DIEGO
- Portland has struggled to find the goal this season with five goals total and just two in their last three, but midfield maestro Diego Valeri has played a role in every goal to date (even Deklan Wynne's own goal in the opener). The 2017 MLS MVP has double-digit goals and assists in each of the last two seasons and is well on his way to making it 3-for-3 with a goal and three helpers in 2019. Dallas, though, has been able to hold the Argentine to just two goals and three assists in 13 career regular season matches and held him off the scoresheet in the two meetings a year ago.
