LAFC will try to snap a two-match losing streak when the Portland Timbers visit BMO Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 22, at 7:30 p.m.

The Black & Gold have dropped consecutive games for the first time this season. A 1-0 loss to San Diego FC at home on Aug. 15, decided by an Anders Dreyer penalty in the 89th minute after a video-review handball call on defender Ryan Porteous, ended an eight-match unbeaten run. Then on Wednesday, Aug. 19, a rotated lineup fell 1-0 at Colorado after an own goal by Jeremy Ebobisse in the 22nd minute.

LAFC's record now sits at 10-7-4 with 34 points, third in the Western Conference and four points behind first-place Houston Dynamo, who have won five straight. The slide comes at an awkward time for a club Sports Illustrated ranked second among MLS Cup contenders this summer.

"When you play in such a big international competition where the spotlight is on your country and you're participating in it, of course confidence grows," head coach Marc Dos Santos told the Los Angeles Times on Aug. 18, crediting the World Cup for fueling LAFC's earlier surge. That confidence will be tested Saturday.

Denis Bouanga leads the attack with 10 goals and is four away from passing Carlos Vela for the most MLS regular-season goals in club history. Son Heung-min ranks second in MLS with 10 assists, though neither star found the net against San Diego or Colorado. Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who leads MLS with 10 clean sheets, sat out the Colorado match while Cabral Carter made his first career MLS start.

Portland arrives in ninth place at 8-9-3 with 27 points, but riding momentum of their own. New head coach Martí Cifuentes picked up his first win on Wednesday, Aug. 19, a 3-1 rout of San Diego at Providence Park in just his second match in charge. Kristoffer Velde scored and added two assists in that match, giving him 13 goal contributions on the season. Forward Kevin Kelsy has been ruthlessly efficient with nine goals from just 40 shots in 1,083 minutes.

The Timbers have scored in 10 straight matches across all competitions and tallied multiple goals in seven of those, ranking fourth in the West with 37 goals.

LAFC's home record stands at 7-3-1 this season, though San Diego's win on Aug. 15 marked the second straight year the expansion club has beaten LAFC at BMO Stadium.

Saturday's match airs on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, with radio coverage on 710 AM ESPN, KFWB 980 AM La Mera Mera in Spanish and KYPA 1230 AM in Korean.