LAFC comes home Saturday night to face the Portland Timbers at BMO Stadium after back-to-back MLS losses by 1-0 scores. The meeting arrives with LAFC in third place in the Western Conference at 10W-7L-4D, and with Portland in ninth at 8W-9L-3D.
That makes this Portland Vs LAFC matchup more than a routine calendar date. Both clubs are already positioned as 2025 playoff teams headed for the 2026 MLS postseason, which puts real weight on the points at stake now. LAFC needs a response after losing two straight league games, and Portland arrives with four wins in its last six MLS matches, a run that has kept it alive in the West race.
Marc Dos Santos has little reason to soften the picture after LAFC’s 1-0 loss in Colorado on Wednesday night. He said the two recent defeats felt thin, that the goals conceded were soft, and that the team had chances to take points from both games. He also pointed to the home date against Portland as the place to answer.
The numbers underline why this has become the test it is. LAFC still ranks third in MLS with a plus-14 goal differential, yet its last three league matches have produced a minus-2 differential, a sharp drop for a team that has built its season on control. Portland is moving in the other direction. It beat San Diego 3-1 at Providence Park on Wednesday night, and Kristoffer Velde was involved in all three goals. He now has 13 goal contributions this season, split between 5 goals and 8 assists, while Kevin Kelsy also sits on 13 goal contributions with 9 goals and 4 assists.
There is also a recent edge to the matchup. Portland beat LAFC 2-1 on April 11 on a stoppage-time goal by Kelsy, after Thomas Hasal suffered an early facial injury and Cabral Carter entered from the bench in the first half. LAFC has a 6W-7L-7D all-time MLS regular-season record against Portland, but four of its six wins in the series have come at BMO Stadium, which is why home field matters here.
Carter’s own week adds another layer to the night. He made his first MLS start in Colorado and saved a penalty in the second half, then said he was disappointed not to leave with a point or a win. For LAFC, that kind of individual step forward only matters if the team can turn it into a result. The bigger question now is whether a club with a strong season profile can turn recent frustration into points before those two 1-0 losses start to shape the part of the schedule that matters most.
