Real Salt Lake vs. FC Dallas | 2018 MLS Match Preview

Dylan Butler

Real Salt Lake vs. FC Dallas
2018 MLS Regular Season — Week 19
Rio Tinto Stadium — Sandy
July 7 - 10 pm ET
WATCH: ESPN+, MLS LIVE on DAZN (Canada)

Two teams that feasted on home cooking for big Fourth of July victories meet at Rio Tinto Stadium Saturday night when Western Conference-leading FC Dallas, fresh off a come-from-behind win over Atlanta United, take on a Real Salt Lake squad that knocked off Sporting Kansas City, 4-2.

This is the second meeting between the teams this year, with both settling for a 1-1 draw in Frisco to open the season. Joao Plata opened the scoring for the visitors in the 25th minute before an own goal by Marcelo Silva four minutes from full time leveled for FC Dallas.

Real Salt Lake

After conceding early, Real Salt Lake (8-8-2) roared back to take a 3-1 halftime lead on goals by Jefferson Savarino, Corey Baird and Sebastian Saucedo. Ike Opara pulled Sporting a goal back, but Luis Silva capped a big win with a penalty kick in the 10th minute of second-half stoppage time.

Real Salt Lake improved to 7-1-1 at RioT this season and moved above the Portland Timbers on wins into fourth place in the Western Conference with the victory.

“I think that we started really playing around the 25th to 30th minute. Before that, the guys will hold their hand up and say the same thing: it wasn’t good enough,” Mike Petke said. “After the goal and the hydration break, things started flowing for us in both attacking and defending and I thought they did a very good job with our counter-press and reactions in transition after that point. That created a lot.”

Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: D - Marcelo Silva, M - Kyle Beckerman
International duty: None
Injury Report: OUT: D - Tony Beltran (right knee surgery), M - Jordan Allen (knee surgery), GK - Alex Horwath (Achilles surgery), D - Shawn Barry (knee injury), D - Demar Phillips (ankle injury), M - Luke Mulholland (back injury), D - David Horst (Achilles surgery), F - Ricky Lopez-Espin (knee surgery)

Projected Starting XI
(4-3-3, right to left)
GK: Nick Rimando — Brooks Lennon, Marcelo Silva, Justen Glad, Danilo Acosta — Albert Rusnak, Sunny, Damir Kreilach — Jefferson Savarino, Corey Baird, Sebastian Saucedo

FC Dallas

FC Dallas (10-2-5) made a statement they’re still a serious MLS Cup contender with a 3-2 win over Supporters' Shield-leading Atlanta United Wednesday in Frisco.

Reto Ziegler put FC Dallas in front on 22 minutes, but Josef Martinez netted a brace, his second goal coming in the 73rd minute, to put the Five Stripes in front late. Then Tesho Akindele came off the bench to score twice in a two-minute span inside the final four minutes to secure an emotional three points for FC Dallas, who remain undefeated at Toyota Stadium this season.

“I thought we beat the best team in the league,” Oscar Pareja said. “I have my respect for Atlanta and what Tata [Martino] is doing there with that team. It is very difficult to play against a group of players that are very talented and very crafty and they have a lot of sequences that are not easy to manage or control. That is what we did in the first half. We controlled their sequences. I thought our team was disciplined enough and we created options, which gave us the hope to be a team that competes against anyone.”

Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: None
International duty: None
Injury Report: OUT: F - Cristian Colman (high-ankle sprain)

Projected Starting XI
(4-4-2, right to left)
GK: Jesse Gonzalez — Reggie Cannon, Matt Hedges, Reto Ziegler, Maynor Figueroa — Michael Barrios, Carlos Gruezo, Victor Ulloa, Santiago Mosquera — Maxi Urruti, Roland Lamah

All-Time Series

Overall: Real Salt Lake 11 wins, 42 goals … FC Dallas 19 wins, 56 goals … 7 draws
At Salt Lake: Real Salt Lake 10 wins, 29 goals … FC Dallas 6 wins, 22 goals … 4 draws
Last meeting at Salt Lake: Real Salt Lake 0, FC Dallas 3 (May 6, 2017)