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%
Kane makes English history after passing Rooney's Champions League mark
Harry Kane stretched to further record-breaking ground by surpassing Wayne Rooney for the most goals by an English player in Champions League history.
Bayern Munich forward Kane opened the scoring against Dinamo Zagreb with a penalty at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday.
That moved the England captain level with former Manchester United star Rooney on 30 Champions League strikes, the joint-most by any player from their country.
Kane later eased past Rooney's mark in the second half, powering home his 31st strike in the competition to take the outright English record.
Kane netted eight times in UEFA's top club competition last season, his most in a single edition, and has got off to a blistering start in the revamped 2024-25 format.
His second finish of the game helped Bayern to a 4-2 lead before Michael Olise's second goal extended the hosts' advantage further shortly after.
'Amazing' Villa boss Emery makes playing 'so easy', says former Sevilla star
Unai Emery makes life "so easy" for his players, according to the Aston Villa manager's Europa League-winning goalkeeper.
Beto played for Sevilla as they won three consecutive Europa Leagues under Emery, featuring in the first two title runs, including starring in a penalty shoot-out triumph against Benfica in the 2014 final.
And despite going on to endure slightly more testing spells in charge of Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal, Emery has continued to deliver on the European stage.
He guided Villarreal to another Europa League win, before returning Villa to European football and then the Champions League. Villa beat Young Boys 3-0 in their league phase opener on Tuesday.
Emery's success comes as no surprise to former Portugal international Beto, who explained the brilliance of his old boss while speaking at the Thinking Football Summit organised by Liga Portugal.
"Unai has many things that make him different," Beto told Stats Perform. "The passion that he has for football makes him different.
"The way that he studies every detail, not only in the opponent but in his team. He knows every player. He knows how to get the best out of each player in his team.
"For us, it was amazing, he knew what was going to happen in the 45th minute of the game. This is going to happen.
"If the picture is this one, we will act this way. If the game is like in another way, we're going to act this way.
"So, he had everything planned; every scenario, every situation he had planned. And for us, the players, we had all the information, we had everything. We just had to be ourselves and put our talent at the service of the team.
"And for us, it was so easy to play being coached by Unai. He was an amazing person.
"He respects football. And I think it's one of the secrets of Unai, he respects football. He gives everything for football.
"So, not only in Sevilla, I know he had some bad moments in Arsenal, but he came back in Villarreal. He won another Europa League in Villarreal.
"He brought back Aston Villa to the top. I have too much credit for Unai because I love him, respect him and he will be forever one of my best coaches and my best friends."
Dortmund aiming for another Champions League run ahead of Brugge opener
Borussia Dortmund are determined to replicate the heroics of their remarkable Champions League campaign last season, head coach Nuri Sahin said ahead of Wednesday's opener at Club Brugge.
The 36-year-old Sahin will lead Dortmund in Europe's elite club competition for the first time when the Bundesliga side visit Bruges.
Dortmund announced Sahin, their former assistant coach, in June as their new manager to replace Edin Terzic, who led the German club to the Champions League final last term.
Terzic's men subsequently lost to LaLiga giants Real Madrid 2-0 in the Wembley showpiece, though Sahin is desperate for another deep run in Europe.
"After two or three matchdays, you will see how it's going," Sahin told reporters on Tuesday. "As a finalist last year, we're self-confident.
"Dortmund are a name in Europe. We want to live up to that and go through. We want to play a good role in all competitions."
Dortmund may be concerned given only one of the last five losing Champions League finalists have then started their next campaign with a win (D2 L2), a 6-3 win for Manchester City against RB Leipzig in 2021-22.
They are in different hands under Sahin, a German-born former Turkey international, who played 274 matches for Dortmund.
He won the Bundesliga in the 2010-11 season and was a Champions League runner-up with them in the 2012-13 campaign when they were managed by Jurgen Klopp.
Sahin now feels ready to take charge on the biggest stage, having started his debut Bundesliga season as a manager with seven points in three matches.
"I'm delighted to be a coach in the Champions League. This is special. I'm really looking forward to my first game on this stage," Sahin said.
However, he expects a tough outing against Brugge, who have won four of their seven matches in the Belgian Pro League.
"Since we've known that we're playing against them, we've watched very many matches. The team has a clear philosophy of play and principles, a good team," Sahin added.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
