New York City FC takes on the Portland Timbers at Providence Park on Sunday evening.
Defending one of the two unbeaten records still standing in MLS, City are looking to extend their excellent start to 2018.
READ:Major Keys to NYCFC at Portland
For Head Coach Patrick Vieira, it’s a tough test of NYCFC’s credentials but the squad arrived on Thursday to give themselves the best chance of leaving the Rose City with all three points.
Vieira said: “The team is feeling good. We have a really good spirit. We came early to give ourselves the best way to prepare the game. It’s a really important game for us and we want to give ourselves the best chance to perform.
“It’s a difficult game again, it’s a difficult place to come and to try to play well. When you’ve got the stadium and the fans around, it’s a difficult place to come and try to win.
“We’re in a really good moment so it’s important for us to concentrate on the game and try to play well as a team.”
Vieira will be without Ismael Tajouri-Shradi for the match.
The 24-year old sustained a mild hamstring strain in the draw at Atlanta on Sunday but Vieira is confident that he has the options to the absorb this set-back.
With Tommy McNamara, Rodney Wallace and Jonathan Lewis all good options, someone else will have the opportunity to demonstrate their qualities.
“We have a really good squad that allows me to rotate players if they’re injured or out of form,” Vieira added.
“Ismael has been doing really well for us but he has a hamstring problem. He will be back really soon and that will give other players the opportunity to play and show how good they are.”
