Colorado Rapids have all but secured their playoff spot but they will still have Western Conference leaders Seattle Sounders in their sights with six games still to play.
Real Salt Lake currently sit fifth and only two points above Vancouver Whitecaps in eighth, making Sunday's clash with Colorado Rapids a potentially decisive outcome at the end of the season.
Match preview
© Reuters
Salt Lake's form has been inconsistent in recent weeks, which was further demonstrated last time out when Pablo Mastroeni's side lost to bottom-placed Austin FC.
Damir Kreilach pulled a goal back for the visitors on that day, but it was not enough for Salt Lake after Cecilio Dominguez had completed his brace for Austin earlier in the game.
The Royals' away form has held them back this season, only winning three of their 14 matches away from the Rio Tinto Stadium so far this season, but they should be confident heading into Sunday's clash in Utah, having put together a run of seven matches unbeaten at home.
Kreilach's consolation strike in their last outing does mean that Salt Lake have now scored in each of their last 12 matches, making it likely that the home team will find the back of the net on Sunday.
© Reuters
Robin Fraser's side have only won two of their last seven MLS matches, meaning that top spot is drifting away from the team, but a positive 3-1 win over Minnesota will boost the squad after a heavy defeat against Seattle Sounders.
On Sunday, Adrien Hunou gave Minnesota a perfect start against the Rapids, and things went from bad to worse when Danny Wilson was shown a straight red card for the visitors just before the hour mark.
However, a resilient performance from Fraser's side ensured that they came away from the Allianz Field with all three points, thanks to goals from Cole Bassett, Michael Barrios and Lucas Esteves.
Considering that the 2020 MLS season was shortened due to the global pandemic, the last full season which completed in 2019 saw the Rapids finish with only 42 points, so the side will be very pleased with their already improved performances this campaign, and will want to end the season strongly to enter the playoffs in good form.
Colorado got their revenge on Salt Lake the last time these two sides met in August, when the Rapids ran out as 2-1 winners, after the Royals had won 3-0 in the first meeting this season.
- L
- W
- W
- L
- W
- L
- D
- D
- D
- W
- L
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Real Salt Lake centre-back Marcelo Silva has been sidelined due to injury since the middle of September, and despite nearing a return to action, he is not expected to feature this weekend.
Mastroeni made four changes to the side for their last outing against Austin, but he is expected to name a similar lineup to the side which earned three points against Los Angeles Galaxy prior to that.
Kreilach and Rubio Rubin will lead the line for the home side, and the attacking duo have 20 goals between them this season, suggesting that they are a big threat for Salt Lake.
Central defender Wilson will serve his one-match suspension this weekend after receiving a red card for Colorado last time out, and Lalas Abubakar is likely to come into the starting 11.
Kellyn Acosta and Mark-Anthony Kaye will return to the Rapids after representing the United States and Canada over the international week.
Real Salt Lake possible starting lineup:
Ochoa; Datkovic, Holt, Glad; Ramirez, Everton, Ruiz, Herrera; Rusnak; Rubin, Kreilach
Colorado Rapids possible starting lineup:
Yarbrough; Trusty, Abubakar, Rosenberry; Esteves, Warner, Acosta, Galvan; Lewis, Namli; Rubio
We say: Real Salt Lake 1-2 Colorado Rapids
Salt Lake need to bounce back after their defeat against Austin, but Colorado will be a tough test for the home side, and the visitors will be full of confidence after a 3-1 win last time out.
The hosts dispatched the Rapids when they last visited the Rio Tinto Stadium, but Fraser's side are expected to have learnt from that experience and they can use that to their advantage this time around.
Top tip
Sammy Wynne
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 Real Salt Lake win with a probability of 42.39%. A win for Colorado Rapids had a probability of 31.13% and a draw had a probability of 26.5%.
The most likely scoreline for a Real Salt Lake win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.9%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.77%) and 2-0 (7.6%). The likeliest Colorado Rapids win was 0-1 (9.03%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.58%). The actual scoreline of 3-1 was predicted with a 4.1% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Real Salt Lake would win this match.
