Real Salt Lake vs. Portland Timbers | 2018 MLS Match Preview

Dylan Butler

Real Salt Lake vs. Portland Timbers
2018 MLS Regular Season — Week 32
Rio Tinto Stadium — Sandy
October 6 - 9:30 pm ET
WATCH: ESPN+, MLS LIVE on DAZN (Canada)

It’s a match with serious playoff implications as two Western Conference foes collide at Rio Tinto Stadium with Real Salt Lake hosting the Portland Timbers.

Real Salt Lake are just two points above the playoff line after earning a 1-1 draw at Sporting Kansas City on Sunday, while the Timbers are in fourth place in the West — just two points in front of RSL — following a 0-0 draw at home against FC Dallas.

This is the first of two meetings in the last three games of the regular season between Real Salt Lake and the Portland Timbers. Real Salt Lake won the two games between these clubs last year after going winless in their previous eight meetings (4L-4D).

Real Salt Lake

Real Salt Lake (13-11-7) earned a critical road draw Sunday, playing SKC to a 1-1 stalemate at Children’s Mercy Park.

Corey Baird put the visitors in front with his seventh goal of the season in the 9th minute, but Ike Opara equalized in the 52nd minute for Sporting.

“We’re above the playoff line. We’ve been there for four-and-a-half months,” Mike Petke said. “It’s in our hands now. If we do what we have to do, then we will be okay. I’m not really score checking at this point.”

Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: M - Kyle Beckerman, D - Brooks Lennon, D - Marcelo Silva, M - Sunny
International duty: None
Injury Report: OUT: D - Tony Beltran (right knee surgery), M - Jordan Allen (knee surgery), GK - Alex Horwath (Achilles surgery), D - David Horst (Achilles surgery)

Projected Starting XI
(4-3-3, right to left)
GK: Nick Rimando — Brooks Lennon, Nick Belser, Justen Glad, Aaron Herrera — Damir Kreilach, Kyle Beckerman, Sunny — Jefferson Savarino, Corey Baird, Albert Rusnak

Notes: Real Salt Lake have scored 33 goals in home matches this season, as opposed to just 17 on the road. Their 16 goals difference between home and away games is the third largest of any team. … Real Salt Lake are undefeated in their last 14 home games (11W-3D), tied for their longest stretch without a loss since the start of the 2012 season.

Portland Timbers

Portland (13-9-9) also earned a valuable point, drawing West-leading FC Dallas 0-0 at Providence Park Saturday night.

In a match with few scoring chances for either side, Carlos Gruezo had arguably the best one, rattling the woodwork late in the first half before the ball bounced away. The Timbers finished with 10 men after Liam Ridgewell was sent off on a straight red card on a contested header.

“I thought it was a pretty even game,” Giovanni Savarese said. “I thought that they had their good moments, we had also some good moments, especially in the second half, I thought we created good opportunities. But it's difficult, Dallas is a good team; we knew that it was going to be complicated, we tried everything we could to get the three points.”

Suspended: D - Liam Ridgewell
Suspended after next caution: M - Diego Chara
International duty: None
Injury Report: OUT: D - Roy Miller (right thigh injury), GK - Jake Gleeson (bilateral tibial stress fracture); QUESTIONABLE: GK - Jeff Attinella (hamstring injury)

Projected Starting XI
(4-1-2-1-2, right to left)
GK: Steve Clark — Alvas Powell, Larrys Mabiala, Julio Cascante, Jorge Villafaña — Lawrence Olum - Andy Polo, Diego Chara — Diego Valeri — Jeremy Ebobisse, Samuel Armenteros

Notes: Diego Valeri has just two goals (one of which was a penalty) in 13 league appearances against Real Salt Lake, tied for his second-lowest total against any club he’s faced at least five times. … The Timbers are winless in six away games (4L-2D). They’ve conceded 3+ goals in each of the four defeats.

All-Time Series

Overall: Real Salt Lake 7 wins, 28 goals … Portland Timbers 5 wins, 22 goals … 7 draws
At Salt Lake: Real Salt Lake 5 wins, 16 goals … Timbers 3 wins, 12 goals … 2 draws
Last meeting at Salt Lake: Real Salt Lake 2, Portland Timbers 1 (Sept. 16, 2017)