Not only will Atlanta United have to face the MLS' best attack, on the road, when it faces Portland on Sunday, it must do so without starting left fullback Greg Garza .
The U.S. national team player started the previous nine games, but it was decided he will not make the trip to Providence Park to rest his hip, which required surgery while with his previous teams, Tijuana.
Portland leads MLS with 20 goals scored and has 17 points. Atlanta United manager Gerardo Martino called its attacking quartet of Fenando Adi, Darlington Nagbe, Diego Valeri and Sebastian Blanco one of the best in the league.
“We will have to take measures to watch those four and we will have to take measures to be precise in our own attacking movements to make sure we are putting them under pressure as well,” Martino said.
Timbers coach Caleb Porter hasn’t definitively said if Valeri and Nagbe will play Sunday.
Nagbe, a 26-year-old midfielder/forward, has played in eight games this season, scoring two goals with three assists. He was an unused sub in last weekend’s 3-0 loss at San Jose.
Valeri, a 31-year-old midfielder, has started eight games and has scored five goals with four assists. He was an unused sub in the previous two games, which included a 2-2 tie with Dallas.
If they don’t play, the Timbers can utilize Dairon Asprilla and Darren Mattocks, who Martino described as very capable. Asprilla has one goal in seven appearances, including four starts this season. Mattocks has one goal in eight appearances, including two starts this season.
“They have a lot of guys that can hurt you in their attack, especially if Valeri is back,” Atlanta United captain Michael Parkhurst said.
It will be interesting to see how Martino deals with the loss of Garza. Mikey Ambrose is the only other natural left back on the roster. He has yet to appear in a game this season. The 23-year-old has appeared in five games in his MLS career, all for Orlando and all last season.
Mark Bloom primarily is a right-sided fullback. He has one start this season, but was a late scratch from last week’s 18 at NYCFC.
Miles Robinson, the team’s first choice in January’s SuperDraft, can play fullback, but has yet to appear this season.
Playing at Portland will be a challenge for whoever starts. The Timbers are 3-1-1 at home this season, 12-3-2 there last season and 8-3-6 there in 2015, the year they won the MLS Cup.
“The fans are very intense, kind of like our fans,” right fullback Tyrone Mears said. “They are very European the way they get into the game. They make it very hard for the opposing team. It will be a great experience for us.”
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