Phil Neville is not seeking "revenge" against San Diego FC, but he is confident the Portland Timbers are in the right headspace to end their recent slump.

The Timbers have won just two of their nine games in MLS so far this season, but both of those have come on home soil. On the road, they have lost all four of their matches so far.

The latest was a 2-0 defeat to Minnesota United last weekend, conceding a goal in each half to succumb to their fifth loss of the season.

Portland failed to beat San Diego across five meetings last season, including in the first round of last year's playoffs, but Neville is not dwelling on that, seeing this meeting as a blank slate.

"I don't do revenge. I think that's very short-sighted," he said when asked about last season's meetings.

"I think if you get clouded by that emotion, and you don't have clarity of mind. We're playing a really good team with a really good style.

"I think I see it as an opportunity rather than revenge. The group is in a really good place, and they're overcoming a lot of adversity while staying true to their principles, and I'm excited about the challenge."

While the Timbers are 12th in the Western Conference, San Diego are only two places above them, having failed to build on their positive start to the season.

After opening 2026 with three league victories, San Diego are winless in six (D2 L4), losing their last four on the bounce.

It is their worst form since their inception, but head coach Mikey Varas believes they moved in the right direction during their 1-0 defeat to the Houston Dynamo.

"We're in a tough moment right now, and there's no hiding from that. That's my responsibility," Varas said.

"But I liked the game [against Houston] from a playing perspective. I think we played a very mature game. It's a step in the right direction.

"We're going to take that, and we're going to make sure we don't take any steps back. We need to keep going in the right direction because, ultimately, we're here to win games."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

San Diego FC – Anders Dreyer

Since the beginning of last season, Anders Dreyer has scored five goals in five MLS matches against the Timbers (regular season and playoffs).

The only MLS player with more goals against a single opponent in that time (including playoffs) is Lionel Messi against Nashville SC (10).

Portland Timbers – James Pantemis

In Saturday's loss to Minnesota, James Pantemis recorded his fourth match of the season with at least five saves.

He joins Charlotte FC's Kristijan Kahlina and Austin FC's Brad Stuver (five) as one of three goalkeepers to record five or more saves in a match in at least four games this season.

MATCH PREDICTION: SAN DIEGO FC WIN

San Diego are unbeaten in five all-time meetings with the Portland Timbers (W3 D2, including a penalty shoot-out loss in last season's playoffs). San Diego outscored the Timbers 12-3 in the five meetings last season.

The hosts are out of form in MLS, though they are still backed to get a win as they are expected to dominate.

They completed 727 of their 790 passes (92.0%) in their 1-0 loss to Houston on Wednesday. Since Opta began detailed tracking of MLS in 2011, the 727 successful passes are the most by a team in a regular-season match while not scoring multiple goals.  

Portland have lost their first four regular-season road games for the first time in MLS club history. The Timbers have lost seven straight away matches in all competitions dating back to last year, the team’s longest road losing streak across all competitions since becoming an MLS team in 2011.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

San Diego FC – 53.3%

Draw – 23.9%

Portland Timbers – 22.8%