An out-of-form Real Salt Lake side welcome Colorado Rapids to the Rio Tinto Stadium on Sunday looking to move back into the playoff places.
On the other hand, the away side set out to strengthen their position in the upper echelons of the standings and could move into second place with all three points in this one.
Match preview
© Reuters
Colorado Rapids returned to winning ways on home turf courtesy of a 2-0 victory over FC Dallas at the Dick's Sporting Goods Park on Thursday.
The game was level heading into the interval before it came alive within the first 10 minutes of the restart, when Lalas Abubakar and Michael Barrios both got on the scoresheet.
Robin Fraser's men have climbed into fourth place following their most recent triumph, five points off top spot with a game in hand on all three teams currently above them.
Awaiting the Rapids next is a fixture where they have underperformed more often than not, having lost 12 of the last 15 editions.
However, Sunday's visitors came out on top in a 5-0 rout the last time they were in town to face the hosts, back in September 2020.
© Reuters
Real Salt Lake were left kicking themselves after they surrendered a two-goal advantage in a 2-2 draw versus Los Angeles Galaxy on Thursday.
Albert Rusnak and Maikel Chang put Freddy Juarez's men on course for all three points, but strikes in either half from Victor Vazquez and Rayan Raveloson ensured a share of the spoils.
Juarez's men were usurped by Minnesota United into seventh spot in the Western Conference following those dropped points, and the Claret and Cobalt go in search of an immediate response.
Having failed to make the post-season in the last campaign, Sunday's hosts will be keen to avoid being left behind in the race to secure a playoff berth this time around.
- L
- D
- L
- W
- L
- D
- W
- L
- D
- W
- D
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Damir Kreilach has been in inspiring form for the home side all season long, directly contributing to 10 goals in his 13 outings this term.
The Croatian midfielder was on target in the last meeting between Sunday's opponents, where he coolly converted from 12 yards to double his side's lead on the stroke of half time before he added the icing on the cake in the 77th minute.
Nineteen-year-old Zackery Farnsworth is currently sidelined with a leg injury and still awaits his first appearance of the season.
Colorado will have to make do with the absence of Jonathan Lewis and Sam Vines, as the American duo are on duty with the national team.
Younes Namli continues his spell on the sidelines after he was hauled off with a broken ankle four games into the campaign in a victory over Houston Dynamo.
Real Salt Lake possible starting lineup:
Ochoa; Toia, Silva, Glad, Herrera; Chang, Luiz, Ruiz, Rusnak; Kreilach, Rubin
Colorado Rapids possible starting lineup:
Yarbrough; Trusty, Wilson, Abubakar, Rosenberry; Shinyashiki, Price, Bassett; Rubio, Galvan, Barrios
We say: Real Salt Lake 2-1 Colorado Rapids
The visitors are the more in-form side coming into this one, but the home side have a significant historical advantage. We expect a close and end-to-end affair, with Real Salt Lake just edging it by a narrow margin in the end.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Colorado Rapids win with a probability of 36.66%. A win for Real Salt Lake had a probability of 36.55% and a draw had a probability of 26.8%.
The most likely scoreline for a Colorado Rapids win was 0-1 with a probability of 10.05%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.08%) and 0-2 (6.38%). The likeliest Real Salt Lake win was 1-0 (10.03%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.73%). The actual scoreline of 3-0 was predicted with a 2.7% likelihood.
