FC Cincinnati are among the top teams in the MLS, although they are coming off a serious drubbing for their first defeat of the season.

For the Portland Timbers, collecting an impressive result against their biggest rival last Saturday might be what they need to begin a positive surge.

Looking to bounce back by extending its club-record home winning streak to five games, Cincinnati tries to keep the Timbers winless in a seventh consecutive road game Saturday night.

FCC (5-1-2, 17 points) are tied with the New England Revolution for the most points in the Eastern Conference, but fell 5-1 at expansion upstart St. Louis City SC last weekend. Cincinnati had conceded just four total goals entering the contest, but now must address the defensive breakdown.

“We move forward, and hopefully, this is a one-off, where, I’ve said it before, our guys respond well to tough moments,” FCC coach Pat Noonan said.

“Let’s learn from this and make sure that we come out in a better way against a team that will come in here and make things difficult for us.”

Cincinnati has outscored its opponents 5-1 while winning all four home games this season, while Portland has been on the wrong end of a 14-6 goal differential amid its current 0-4-2 road rut, dating to last season.

The Timbers (2-4-2, 8 points) did score four times over an 18-minute stretch to overcome a 1-0 hole and beat Seattle 4-1 last weekend. Four different Portland players scored, and Santiago Moreno posted two assists, as the club won for the first time since a 1-0 triumph against Sporting Kansas City to open the season.

“Very proud of the guys,” Timbers coach Giovanni Savarese said.

“(But), only getting the right results in the next few games, that hopefully, we turn around the season, and that we are going to be more competitive.”

Nine different players have scored Portland’s 10 goals this season, with Juan Mosquera scoring twice on the campaign.

Meanwhile, Cincinnati’s Sergio Santos recorded his team-leading third goal last weekend.

–Field Level Media