Colorado Rapids vs. Real Salt Lake | 2020 MLS Match Preview

Dylan Butler

2020 MLS Regular Season – Week 6
Colorado Rapids vs. Real Salt Lake
Dick's Sporting Goods Park – Commerce City
August 22 – 9:00 PM ET

STREAMING: MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US; MLS LIVE on DAZN in Canada

LOCAL TV: Altitude, KMYU

Almost a year to the day of the last in-market meeting between the Colorado Rapids and Real Salt Lake, the Rocky Mountain Cup rivals will square off in both teams restart of the 2020 season August 22 at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.

We make the "in-market" distinction, of course, because the sides met at the MLS is Back Tournament, with Real Salt Lake claiming a 2-0 group stage victory July 12. It was the fourth straight win for the Claret-and-Cobalt against their rivals. That is a Rocky Mountain Cup first in 46 all-time meetings.

As for their play in Orlando, the Rapids had a mixed bag of results and seemed to lose a bit of the momentum they were building under new head coach Robin Fraser. Whether it was the lineup and formation tweaks that threw them off, or perhaps they were simply out of sorts in Orlando, the Rapids just didn’t look like the sparkling, goal-scoring side we saw since Fraser took over.

Real Salt Lake have lost just once this year and, with the exception of a Round of 16 defeat to the San Jose Earthquakes in Orlando, have been very tough to break down. And with promising young talent, a few proven difference-makers and the ageless Kyle Beckerman still patrolling the center of the park, there's lots of reason for optimism on the Wasatch Front.

Colorado Rapids

Despite some inconsistent results at MLS is Back, the Rapids resume their season in seventh place in the Western Conference, above the playoff line and a win away from possibly leaping up to third. Argentine teenager Braian Galvan joined as planned this summer after agreeing to a pre-contract deal over the winter and could potentially be a game-changer in attack.

Colorado raced out of the gate in March, picking up where they left off in the second half of the 2019 season after Fraser was hired. But after back-to-back 2-1 wins to kick off the campaign, they cooled a bit in the Orlando heat with a pair of defeats and a draw, conceding seven times in those group stage contests.

The Rapids rejected an offer in the region of £400,000 from Championship club Barnsley for US men’s national team winger Jonathan Lewis, according to ESPN's Tom Hamilton.

Updated team roster
Injury Report:
- OUT: Kortne Ford (D) - left knee injury
Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: None
International duty: None

Real Salt Lake

The win over the Rapids was the first of the 2020 season for RSL, which played to a pair of draws in March. A goalless draw against Minnesota United followed before Freddy Juarez's squad conceded twice in a defeat to Sporting KC. They returned home following a 5-2 thumping by the San Jose Earthquakes in the Round of 16.

That avalanche of goals is likely a revelation, but what has been a constant is the lack of a consistent scoring threat. As a result there's been a bit of a rotation at the No. 9 spot with Douglas Martinez, Damir Kreilach and Sam Johnson all playing up top at some point this year. Juarez fired a shot (sort of) ahead of the matchup against the Rapids.

“I honestly feel that we have a better team,” Juarez said, with one caveat. “Having a better team doesn’t mean you’re going to win the game.”