Predictions Thread - Portland Timbers vs. Los Angeles Football Club

GB is not very interested in saying anything about LAFC

It was another tough week in predictions land as none of the cats were very interested in providing thoughts about the Portland Timbers playing Los Angeles Football Club, or LAFC as they are more commonly known. Tortie, normally a chatterbox of information, was noticeably silent while her partner, GB, just started into space without saying a word. So essentially, there are no predictions for this upcoming match.

I can't say I'm overly surprised especially since LAFC is a brand new expansion side joining MLS this year. At this point, we know that Portland's opponent sits second in the Western Conference and their offensive output has put them in the top 5 teams in MLS in goals scored. Much like most expansion sides within MLS, when they are very good, they are very good - they beat RSL, Vancouver and Montreal on the road; when they are awful, they are very, very bad - they were holding their own versus their cross town team, the Los Angeles Galaxy, until collapsing late, and Atlanta blew them out by 5 goals. So at this point, there is anybody's guess as to what side will show up tomorrow to play the Timbers. In remembering the 2011 version of the Timbers, it was a very similar pattern - the first MLS version of the Timbers could go from awesome to horrible from match to match, sometimes within the same match.

What we can tell you is that it will be a midafternoon on national TV with FOX handling the broadcasting chores, and there will be plenty of people there to sing & chant for victory. I was actually expecting a little bit of an emotional hangover after the win versus Seattle last week, but training this week appears to have kept the team on edge for this one. Portland has won 4 in a row and is currently pitching 3 shutouts in a row, but to enter the conversation for great teams in MLS, this is a match where they could make an impression or implode spectacularly. We saw implosion in New York against the Red Bulls, I'm thinking tomorrow is more of making a big impression. We shall see, and perhaps that will be enough to get the cats interested for next time.