Preview: Real Salt Lake vs. Vancouver Whitecaps - prediction, team news, lineups

The Vancouver Whitecaps can sweep their regular-season series with Real Salt Lake for the first time since 2020 when the two sides face off on Saturday at America First Field in Utah.

Over the weekend, Salt Lake lost 1-0 to the Colorado Rapids, putting them 12th in the Western Conference standings, well below the Caps, who dropped to third in the overall MLS table following a 0-0 draw with Austin FC.

Match preview

Another hard-fought match in which RSL came up empty has been the story of their season so far as they suffered a fifth defeat in league play this year by a single goal last week.

That loss on Saturday was the sixth time they failed to find the back of the net in the competition this season, three of which occurred at home.

Their winless run in MLS currently sits at four matches, equalling their longest such stretch from a year ago, and they would match their longest streak without a victory from 2022 should they failed to come away with three points this weekend.

Pablo Mastroeni's team are in danger of dropping points in three successive league fixtures at home this weekend for the first time since 2023, when they went winless in six consecutive games at America First Field.

After 14 league contests in 2025, RSL are four points below the Western Conference playoff line, partly due to their struggles in the attacking third, averaging 0.9 goals per match, the fifth-lowest rate in the league.

Claret and Cobalt have collected at least a point in their previous four home matches against the Whitecaps, winning those last two outings by a 2-1 margin.

Following weeks of convincing triumphs, Vancouver have recently taken a minor step back, dropping points in back-to-back MLS affairs.

On Saturday, they failed to find the back of the net for the third time in league play this year, all of which transpired away from home.

While they have not been as convincing in front of goal as the visitors, the Caps have conceded a mere two goals combined in six regular-season affairs away from home, while posting four clean sheets.

The CONCACAF Champions Cup finalists are now a point behind the Philadelphia Union in the Supporters' Shield standings but are three points clear of Minnesota United for first in the Western Conference with a game in hand.

At the same time, Jesper Sorensen's men have not lost any of their last eight MLS affairs and are unbeaten in 13 consecutive games across all competitions, both club records for them since entering this league.

Vancouver have drawn first blood in their last two visits to America First Field but came away with nothing both times and have not beaten Salt Lake in Utah since 2020 (2-1).

Real Salt Lake Major League Soccer form:

Vancouver Whitecaps Major League Soccer form:

Vancouver Whitecaps form (all competitions):

Team News

In Saturday's Rocky Mountain Cup defeat Salt Lake were missing Brayan Vera due to a head injury, while Nelson Palacio sat out with a sore leg and Zac MacMath was sidelined because of a shoulder issue.

A knee injury kept former Caps defender Javain Brown out of that match, and Matthew Bell was forced to sit once again with a hamstring strain.

Johnny Russell made his RSL debut against the Rapids, while Philip Quinton was available for selection for the first time since sustaining a hamstring injury weeks ago.

Caps skipper Ryan Gauld sat out of their match with Austin as he continues to recover from a knee issue, and Daniel Rios was sidelined with a foot injury.

Sorensen made two changes to his starting 11 on matchday 13, inserting Emmanuel Sabbi and Ali Ahmed into the fold in place of JC Ngando and Jayden Nelson.

Yohei Takaoka collected his sixth clean sheet in league play last weekend, with Sam Adekugbe and Mathias Laborda making their returns from the injured list as second-half substitutes.

Real Salt Lake possible starting lineup: Cabral; Caliskan, Glad, Junqua, Katranis; Ojeda, Ruiz; Russell, Luna, Wolff; Agada

Vancouver Whitecaps possible starting lineup: Takaoka; Ocampo, Blackmon, Veselinovic, Adekugbe; Berhalter, Cubas, Vite; Nelson, White, Ahmed

We say: Real Salt Lake 0-0 Vancouver Whitecaps

The altitude in Utah is always demanding and seeing as the Whitecaps are on short rest following their Canadian Championship fixture in mid-week, we expect this to be a rather stagnant affair due to the conditions and the home side's lack of dynamism.

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