Portland Timbers are looking to improve on their poor showing so far this season as they face Columbus Crew in MLS this weekend.
Portland Timbers currently sit 12th in MLS's Western Conference with five wins, eight draws and nine losses from twenty-two games this season.
It's been a disappointing season for Portland having lagged massively behind the sides in the top seven, and while there's still time to close what is currently a six point gap but they'll have to improve their results quickly.
They're coming into this game woefully out of form, failing to win any of their last five matches having also won just one of their last ten.
Their most recent game saw them involved in a dull 0-0 draw away at Colorado Rapids, a result they'll be looking to better this time out.
Their form at home is much more encouraging having won two, drawn one and lost two of their last five games on home soil but they've still taken just one point from their last two at home so there's plenty of reason to temper expectations in that regard.
Portland need to win this one as their season is in danger of petering out into nothing if they do not start to pick up wins soon.
Unfortunately for them Columbus will represent a stern test and three points will be tough to come by.
Columbus Crew currently sit 5th in MLS's Eastern Conference with ten wins, six draws and six losses from twenty-two games this season.
Columbus have had a strong campaign thus far and despite having lost some ground to sides around them in recent weeks they still find themselves in a very strong position.
They're enter this game in decent form, unbeaten in their last five matches having won two and drawn two of them.
Their most recent encounter sew them held to a 1-1 draw at home to New York City, a result that marked a second consecutive draw.
Their form away from home has been fairly poor in recent weeks having won just one of their last five games on the road, drawing two and losing two of the other four.
They've also failed to win any of their last three head-to-head meetings with Portland, drawing one and losing two.
Portland are struggling for form for Columbus' unreliable away form makes it difficult to confidently pick them to win this game.
Expect a tight encounter and one that could go either way.
For our Portland vs. Columbus prediction, we're going for a 2-1 win for the away side.
Don’t forget to check out the rest of our previews, tips and offers for this weekend’s action.