The Supporters' Shield race in Major League Soccer is heating up as Los Angeles FC need a win against Real Salt Lake on Sunday to ensure they maintain the best record in the league, currently ahead of the Philadelphia Union with two more wins.
LA dropped all three matches on their recent road trip, falling 2-1 at the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday, while Salt Lake picked up a massive three points in the Western Conference playoff race, beating Minnesota United 3-0 to move four points above the postseason line.
Match preview
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A fantastic bounce-back campaign for the Black and Gold to this point of 2022 has hit its first rough patch of the year.
On Wednesday, LAFC became the first MLS club since Sporting Kansas City in 2011-12 to lose three consecutive encounters immediately following a regular season winning streak of seven or more games.
In two of their previous three defeats, this team conceded the winning goal with 15 minutes or fewer remaining, suffering a 2-1 defeat to the Dynamo and San Jose Earthquakes.
Not only have they had trouble finishing matches strong, but Steve Cherundolo has seen his players look flat from the opening whistle, conceding the opening goal in each of their last three fixtures, two of which came within the first 15 minutes of play.
While not pleased with the officiating in Houston this week, Cherundolo has acknowledged that his team have struggled to defend well inside their own penalty area, conceding on two of Houston's three efforts on target while only scoring once in three straight matches, despite firing eight shots on goal at PNC Stadium.
Los Angeles have conceded multiple goals in three straight matches after allowing more than one strike in only two of their previous 13 encounters before their current slump.
Sunday will be their first domestic encounter at Banc of California Stadium since the middle of August, with LA capturing seven straight MLS home fixtures heading into this weekend.
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When they needed it most, Real Salt Lake came up big at home to the Loons in midweek, winning for the first time in three games and moving up to sixth place in the Western Conference after being just a point above the playoff line heading into that match.
Over the past month, Pablo Mastroeni has seen his side be more committed defensively, while rarely allowing many quality scoring opportunities to their opponents, conceding a goal or fewer in four consecutive fixtures.
Throughout the season, RSL have played with a ton of patience, biding their time for the right moment to attack, collecting 11 points so far in 2022 when facing a second-half deficit.
They have picked up points in three successive road fixtures, their longest unbeaten run as the visitors since 2020, while a win or draw this weekend would match the longest undefeated streak for them away from home in a regular season campaign since 2015.
At the tail end of 2021, Claret and Cobalt made a habit of scoring late goals, netting with fewer than five minutes remaining in five of their final six regular-season affairs.
So far in 2022, they have scored beyond the 80th minute in five encounters, while they seem to thrive in the second half of games, tallying 25 of their 38 goals this year in the last 45 minutes.
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Team News
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Cristian Arango scored in his second successive match for the Black and Gold as he headed home the Carlos Vela cross for his 14th of the year on Wednesday, while Denis Bouanga, who signed from Saint-Etienne for $5m, made his first MLS appearance, replacing Arango with fewer than 20 minutes to play.
Maxime Crepeau has shutouts in back-to-back encounters at Banc of California Stadium, and Gareth Bale last scored in early August in a 4-1 triumph at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Jose Cifuentes and Kwadwo Opoku have put up career bests in terms of goals, each finding the back of the net seven times so far in the 2022 campaign.
Giorgio Chiellini has been fined an undisclosed amount of money for violating the League's policy regarding Entering the Field of Play during a contentious incident in the first half versus Austin FC last month, while Kellyn Acosta will be suspended this weekend due to yellow card accumulation.
Cristian Tello still needs to be registered before he can play a game for LAFC after signing last week on a free transfer from Real Betis just days after Brian Rodriguez was sent to Club America in Mexico.
Sergio Cordova tallied his team-leading eighth of the season for RSL in their victory over Minnesota, putting him two ahead of Jefferson Savarino, who had the insurance goal, while Anderson Julio scored his third of the season and the ninth of his MLS career as a substitute.
Andrew Brody notched his fourth assist of the campaign in that victory, putting him in a three-way tie for second alongside teammates Pablo Ruiz and Maikel Chang, while Zac MacMath did not have to make a single save on Wednesday to collect his first clean sheet since the middle of July.
Neither Justen Glad nor Jasper Loeffelsend will be available for this match after they were both cautioned against the Loons.
Bobby Wood (abductor), former LAFC striker Danny Musovski (hamstring), Pablo Ruiz (off-field injury) and Damir Kreilach (back) all missed their midweek encounter through injury, while RSL are still trying to sort out the visa of their new signing, Braian Ojeda, who joined them on loan from Nottingham Forest.
Los Angeles FC possible starting lineup:
Crepeau; Hollingshead, Murillo, Segura, Escobar; Blessing, Sanchez, Cifuentes; Opoku, Arango, Vela
Real Salt Lake possible starting lineup:
MacMath; Herrera, Kappelhof, Silva, Brody; Chang, Besler, Julio, Meram; Cordova, Savarino
We say: Los Angeles FC 2-1 Real Salt Lake
RSL have never beaten LAFC away from home in the regular season, and Banc of California Stadium is where the home team have been at their best throughout the year.
Given the talent across the board for the Black and Gold, it seems unlikely they will be held in check much longer, especially knowing that the visitors have conceded multiple goals in eight of their 10 encounters against them.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
