Varas urges San Diego players to step up in Dreyer's absence

Anders Dreyer is a key figure for San Diego FC, but he will miss their trip to Portland Timbers after being sent off last time out.

San Diego FC will be without the influential Anders Dreyer for their trip to Portland Timbers, and while Mikey Varas acknowledged it is a blow, he is excited to see who steps up.

San Diego edged to a 1-0 win over Los Angeles FC last time out thanks to Dreyer's 89th-minute penalty, though he received two yellow cards from the 90th minute to earn himself a suspension.

Varas' side are starting to find some form again after the World Cup break; having gone without a win in three games on either side of it (D1 L2), they are now unbeaten in three MLS outings (W2 D1).

Their win at the weekend means they are 12th in the Western Conference, just one point off ninth-place Minnesota United, but Varas is confident his side can find a way to win without Dreyer.

"Yeah, we've played a couple of games without him, but he's played a majority of the minutes; he's such an influential player for us," Varas said.

"We're analyzing, tactically, right now, about how to replace him, specifically against Portland.

"Ultimately, it's a great opportunity for someone else to step [up] and find out exactly who we are in a really tough match without him."

As for Portland, it was not the start new head coach Marti Cifuentes hoped for as his MLS debut ended in a 2-1 loss to the Chicago Fire.

The Timbers were unbeaten in four prior to that (W3 D1), moving them up to 10th in the West, level on points with San Diego.

His team are still adapting to his style, but Cifuentes is confident they will pick it up sooner rather than later.

"The way we want to play, it's going to be a lot of situations against deeper blocks, and then the relationships must grow," he said.

"And it will grow because it's about small movements, small combinations and small details that, at the end, can make a difference. There is definitely some work to be done."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Portland Timbers – Finn Surman

Finn Surman scored his first MLS goal with a header for Portland on Sunday, following his headed goal for New Zealand in this year's World Cup.

He joins Tim Cahill (2014) and Kendall Waston (2018) as players since 2006 to score headers in the World Cup and MLS in the same year.

San Diego FC – Marcus Ingvartsen

Dreyer scored the lone goal of the match against LAFC, and with 10 goals this season, as Varas noted, he will be a huge miss.

Marcus Ingvartsen will play an even more important role as he aims to add to his 11 goals, but he does not have the same creativity level as Dreyer, who has notched seven assists to his team-mate's two.

MATCH PREDICTION: PORTLAND TIMBERS WIN

Portland Timbers earned their first win ever over San Diego on April 25, posting a 2-1 away victory.

San Diego avoided defeat in all five meetings between the sides in their inaugural 2025 campaign (W3 D2), however, including knocking the Timbers out of last year's playoffs in the first round.

San Diego have won three straight matches in all competitions after winning just two of their previous 17 dating back to mid-March (D6 L9). Their 1-0 win at LAFC ended a nine-match winless run away from home (D3 L6) that dated back to March.

But the Timbers have scored in 14 consecutive home matches across all competitions, with San Diego being their last opponent to keep a clean sheet at Providence Park, doing so on Decision Day last season. Since then, the Timbers have scored 34 goals at home (2.43 per match).