With LAFC kicking off their first season, the pressure is on the LA Galaxy, especially coming off a disastrous 2017 which saw the club win just three times at the StubHub Center. David Bingham, Michael Ciani, Jorgen Skjelvik and Perry Kitchen are in to shore up a leaky defense so things have to be looking up in SoCal, right?

The Giovanni Savarese-era begins in Portland, where the Timbers should again be a contender — both for the Western Conference title and MLS Cup. There’s a ton of attacking talent, led by the reigning MLS MVP Diego Valeri, of course. How well the rebuilt defense jells, though, will truly tell the story of the Timbers success.

LA Galaxy

There’s a revamped defense, a solid holding midfielder in Kitchen, the dos Santos brothers and Ola Kamara up top. The Galaxy should be a better team in 2018 than they were in 2017, but they face a stiff test right off the bat.

Suspended : None

: None Suspended after next caution : None

: None Injury Report: None

Projected Starting XI

(4-2-3-1, right to left)

GK: David Bingham — Rolf Feltscher, Michael Ciani, Jorgen Skjelvik, Ashley Cole — Perry Kitchen, Jonathan dos Santos — Romain Alessandrini, Giovani dos Santos, Sebastian Lletget — Ola Kamara

Portland Timbers

During his time as New York Cosmos coach, Giovanni Savarese’s side had attacking flair and created a bevy of chances. That should again be the case with his new club, which has scored at least one goal in their last 21 games. However, with several standouts on the opposite side of 30, the onus is on winning now.

Suspended : None

: None Suspended after next caution : None

: None Injury Report: None

Projected Starting XI

(4-2-3-1, right to left)

GK: Jeff Attinella — Alvas Powell, Larrys Mabiala, Liam Ridgewell, Vytas — David Guzman, Diego Chara — Andy Polo, Diego Valeri, Sebastian Blanco — Fanendo Adi

All-Time Series

Overall: Galaxy 7 wins, 32 goals … Timbers 6 wins, 27 goals … Ties 5

Galaxy 7 wins, 32 goals … Timbers 6 wins, 27 goals … Ties 5 At Los Angeles : Galaxy 5 wins, 20 goals … Timbers 2 wins, 11 goals … Ties 3

: Galaxy 5 wins, 20 goals … Timbers 2 wins, 11 goals … Ties 3 Last meeting at Los Angeles: Portland Timbers 1, LA Galaxy 0 (March 12, 2017)

Officials

Referee: Jair Marrufo

Assistant Referees: Eduardo Mariscal, Jeffrey Greeson

4th Official: Alejandro Mariscal

VAR: Kevin Stott