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• Portland Timbers v LA Galaxy: Vanney impressed by confidence in attacking ranks

  LA Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney has praised his attacking players' confidence and hopes they can build on it against Portland Timbers on Wednesday.

  The Galaxy came from 2-0 down with a superb second-half comeback against rivals Los Angeles FC last time out, winning 4-2 to go seven points clear in the Western Conference.

  They have lost just one of their last five MLS matches, but that did come in their last away match, a 2-1 defeat to St. Louis City.

  However, Vanney insisted his team can find the balance they need at both ends of the field to get another win.

  "This team is built to attack, especially if you look at the guys we have on the field," Vanney said.

  "We have some high-quality attacking guys. Over the course of the year, we've grown a ton of confidence to score goals and finish chances, but it comes down to the balance of being able to do that and being able to defend by not giving up things."

  They face a Portland team coming off the back of a disappointing 2-1 loss to Colorado Rapids at the weekend, leaving them eighth in the table.

  The Timbers have won just one of their last four league outings, though that did come at home against Seattle Sounders.

  Head coach Phil Neville was disappointed by the weekend's defeat but admitted it would be quickly put behind them.

  "At this stage of the season, you can't dwell on [losses]," Neville said.

  "We can be frustrated and disappointed, the players are as well, but the game plan was there [against Colorado], we didn't execute it.

  "But now it's back to Providence Park on Wednesday which will be an amazing game in an amazing atmosphere."

  PLAYERS TO WATCH

  Portland Timbers – Evander

  Evander has recorded an assist in eight consecutive home matches, equalling the MLS record set by Eric Wynalda in 1996-97.

  Evander's nine straight matches overall with a goal contribution equals the Timbers' club record set by Diego Valeri in 2017.

  LA Galaxy – Riqui Puig

  Riqui Puig starred for the Galaxy in the derby against LAFC, scoring once and getting two assists. He is the third player to reach double-figure goals for LA Galaxy in the 2024 regular season (10, behind Dejan Joveljic on 14 and Gabriel Pec on 11).

  This is the fourth time the Galaxy have had three different players score 10 goals in a season (1998, 2014, 2018), tied for the most such seasons in MLS history (San Jose Earthquakes).

  MATCH PREDICTION: PORTLAND TIMBERS WIN

  Portland are unbeaten in 11 straight home matches in all competitions, winning nine of them (D2). This is the Timbers' longest home unbeaten run across all competitions since a 12-match stretch from April to July 2018.

  However, the Galaxy are unbeaten in seven straight regular-season matches against Portland (W4 D3), including a 3-2 home win on July 20. The only longer unbeaten run against the Timbers in regular season play was an eight-match streak by Real Salt Lake from 2011-14.

  The Galaxy have already won at Vancouver and drawn at Seattle this season. LA has avoided defeat in away matches against all three Cascadia clubs in a single season twice before, doing so in 2014 and 2016, but they are not the favourites to win here.

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  Portland Timbers – 45.2%

  Draw – 26.9%

  LA Galaxy – 28%

• Ronaldo can reach 1,000-goal milestone before retirement - Jorge Andrade

  Cristiano Ronaldo is capable of reaching 1,000 career goals as long as he continues to look after his body, according to Jorge Andrade.

  The five-time Ballon d'Or winner netted his 900th goal for club and country in Portugal's 2-1 Nations League win over Croatia on 5 September.

  Ronaldo then added to his tally with a late winner in the 2-1 victory over Scotland three days later, setting him on his way to reaching the four-figure milestone.

  Former Portugal star Jorge Andrade, speaking at the Thinking Football Summit organised by Liga Portugal, backed his compatriot to do just that.

  "With Cristiano Ronaldo, nothing is impossible," Andrade said to Stats Perform. 

  "Since we've watched football, the idea of the 1,000 goals is associated with our great idol, Pele. 

  "But nowadays, both Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have managed to overcome other idols, Diego Maradona and Pele. 

  "They managed to be the highlight of the football game in a short time. It's not surprising Ronaldo can break that record. He looks after his body. 

  "He has a history of very few injuries. In terms of the Portuguese national team and the league he is in, he manages his efforts well."

  Ronaldo has scored 132 of his goals for Portugal, with whom he won Euro 2016, while the other 769 have come at club level.

  The 39-year-old has scored 68 times for current club Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, where he has spent the past 20 months.

  While Ronaldo continues to score freely in the Middle East, long-time rival Messi is now plying his trade in the United States with Inter Miami.

  Andrade, best remembered for his time at Deportivo during his playing career, believes both deserve credit for taking on challenges elsewhere.

  "The most important thing for them is that they share the experiences they have even in adverse environments," he said. 

  "For example, Messi now plays in MLS. It's a difficult league; it's a league that doesn't have much visibility. 

  "He managed to be there and increase visibility. Cristiano Ronaldo went to Saudi Arabia and it's a complicated environment. 

  "He increased the visibility of that championship, making it attractive for other players to play who had just the five major leagues as the main goal to play.

  "In other words, these two players have changed the world of football."

• Birmingham 3-1 Wrexham: Stansfield brace hands hosts Hollywood derby bragging rights

  Jay Stansfield struck either side of half-time to give 10-man Birimingham a huge 3-1 victory over fellow promotion hopefuls Wrexham on Monday. 

  A game dubbed the 'Hollywood derby' was given a blockbuster start when Jack Marriot smashed home the opening goal for the visitors with just two minutes on the clock. 

  But Birmingham's £10million recruit Stansfield soon levelled the scores, being the first to react to Alfie May's effort that was parried into his path by Arthur Okonkwo. 

  The hosts then took hold of the encounter as May and Taylor Gardner-Hickman went close, but the game entered the break finely poised at St. Andrew's.

  However, Blues' dominance prevailed seven minutes after the restart with Stansfield's header picking out the far corner following Alex Cochrane's pinpoint cross. 

  And the points were sealed just before the hour-mark in stunning fashion as Tomoki Iwata's strike from distance smashed in off the post, much to the delight of minority owner Tom Brady in the stands.

  A fiesty conclusion to proceedings saw Chris Davies' side end the game with a man less after Krystian Bielik was shown a second yellow card for a late tackle on Andrew Cannon, but Birmingham were able to hold on for the win. 

  Data Debrief: The American dream

  Much was made of Birmingham's approach to the transfer window after spending £25m in their attempts to return the Championship at the first time of asking, but their biggest investment proved his worth on Monday.

  Stansfield notched his first two goals for the club since his permanent switch from Fulham, but the Blues striker also played a starring role in the encounter. 

  He registered an expected goals (xG) tally of 1.12 to Birmingham's 1.3 total, while he also produced more shots on target (three) and touches in the opposition box (six) than any other player.