Portland Timbers at FC Dallas Match Thread [5:30]

For the second week in a row the Portland Timbers are on the road, this week heading to the Lone Star State to take on FC Dallas in a Western Conference match up. With FC Dallas unbeaten through three matches and the Timbers winless through the same, a good result in this match could be a turning point for the boys in green.

Dallas feature a dynamic attack focused through young midfielders Mauro Diaz and Fabian Castillo, and shutting down both players will be vital to a Timbers victory on the road. Fortuantely for Portland, the defensive core of the Dallas midfield, Hendry Thomas, Adam Moffat, and Andrew Jacobson, are out for this match, leaving the Timbers with a decided advantage in the center of the pitch.

For the first three weeks of the season the Timbers have gotten off to slow starts, so this week it will be up to the team to start this match off strong. Dallas will almost certainly look to quickly open them up, but the Timbers will need to do better than simply weathering the early storm if they want to have a chance in this match.

Here is all the information that you need for today's game:

Previews

Match Preview: "The loss of Donovan Ricketts from the Timbers' line up thanks to the double-whammy of his injury and suspension suffered against the Colorado Rapids last Saturday leaves a huge hole at the back for the Timbers."

Preview Interview: "The heart breaker, though, is that FC Dallas has lost not only Thomas for this weekend, but Adam Moffat and Andrew Jacobson were both injured last weekend as well. Those three guys are the top of the FCD defensive midfield depth chart."

Match Information

Watch it on: ROOT Sports

Kick off: 5:30 pm at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas

Portland Timbers: 0-2-1

FC Dallas: 2-0-1