Preview: Los Angeles FC vs Real Salt Lake - prediction, team news, lineups

Los Angeles FC welcome Real Salt Lake to BMO Stadium on Wednesday for a Western Conference showdown between two of the top four teams, with only one point separating both sides in the standings.

The hosts return home after claiming their first El Trafico victory of the season, while the visitors head to Los Angeles aiming to improve on their poor away form.

Match preview

LAFC climbed to third in the Western Conference and fifth in the overall MLS standings on 27 points after returning from the World Cup break with an emphatic 3-0 victory over LA Galaxy at the weekend.

Mark Delgado opened the scoring in the 26th minute before Denis Bouanga doubled the lead from the penalty spot on the stroke of half time, with Son Heung-min adding the third in the 57th minute to wrap up a convincing derby victory.

That result marked a third successive win across all competitions for the Black and Gold, who had also beaten El Salvador 3-0 in a friendly after edging Seattle Sounders 1-0 in their previous league outing.

LAFC have now recorded back-to-back MLS victories for the first time since opening the campaign with four consecutive wins and will hope to build another strong run.

The Black and Gold have kept clean sheets in 10 of their 16 league matches this season while scoring at least twice in seven of those outings.

LAFC have also won five of their eight MLS home matches this term (D1, L2), giving them the third-best home record in the Western Conference.

Real Salt Lake, meanwhile, sit fourth in the Western Conference on 26 points, just one behind LAFC while also holding two games in hand.

The Claret-and-Cobalt headed into the World Cup break having won three of their previous five league matches, although each of those victories came on home soil, leaving their away record a concern.

Pablo Mastroeni's side have collected maximum points in just one of their six MLS away matches this season, with only Austin FC earning fewer points on the road than their tally of five.

Real Salt Lake's last league outing ended in a 1-1 draw at Minnesota United in late May, but they return to competitive action in high spirits after a convincing 4-1 friendly victory over Burnley during the break.

However, the visitors face a difficult challenge against opponents who completed a league double over them last season, including emphatic 4-1 victories at both America First Field and BMO Stadium.

Los Angeles FC Major League Soccer form:

Los Angeles FC form (all competitions):

Real Salt Lake Major League Soccer form:

Real Salt Lake form (all competitions):

Team News

LAFC remain without Timothy Tillman and Sergi Palencia, who are both recovering from leg injuries, while Igor Jesus remains sidelined with a serious knee problem, and Amin Boudri (leg) is set to complete a move to Swedish side Hammarby.

Marc Dos Santos is expected to name an unchanged lineup after the victory over LA Galaxy, with Yevhen Cheberko retaining his place following an impressive debut and Son Heung-min, Denis Bouanga and Jacob Shaffelburg leading the attack once again.

Hugo Lloris should continue in goal after marking his return from a leg injury with a clean sheet in the derby victory.

For Real Salt Lake, DeAndre Yedlin and Lukas Engel both completed the full 90 minutes against Burnley, suggesting they have fully recovered from the knocks they suffered before the World Cup break.

Juan Manuel Sanabria is also available again, having featured from the off last time out on his return from the World Cup, while Ariath Piol remains unavailable as he continues his recovery from Achilles tendon surgery.

Los Angeles FC possible starting lineup:

Lloris; Cheberko, Long, Porteous, Hollingshead; Segura, Choiniere, Delgado; Bouanga, Son, Shaffelburg

Real Salt Lake possible starting lineup:

Cabral; Yedlin, Glad, Engel; Sanabria, Caliskan, Spierings, Booth; Gozo, Solans, Hezarkhani

We say: Los Angeles FC 2-1 Real Salt Lake

LAFC have returned from the World Cup break full of confidence, and their strong home form and defensive stability could prove decisive once again.

Real Salt Lake have shown enough quality to justify their place near the top of the conference, but their inconsistent away record gives the hosts the edge in what should be another closely contested encounter.

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