Real Salt Lake vs. FC Dallas | 2020 MLS Match Preview

Dylan Butler

2020 MLS Regular Season – Week 20
Real Salt Lake vs. FC Dallas
Rio Tinto Stadium – Sandy
October 24 – 9:30 PM ET

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

LOCAL TV: Texas 21, KMYU

Real Salt Lake will try to move above the playoff line in the Western Conference when they take on FC Dallas at Rio Tinto Stadium Saturday night.

Real Salt Lake (5W-7L-6D) are level on points with eighth-place Vancouver and are coming off a 2-1 win over the Portland Timbers at RioT Oct. 14, while FC Dallas (6W-5L-6D) are looking to rebound from a 3-0 loss at Nashville SC.

Real Salt Lake

In a season where matches are coming thick and fast, RSL have a rare 10-day break between games after their match scheduled for Oct. 18 was one of three Colorado Rapids games postponed due to positive COVID-19 tests.

Douglas Martinez and Damir Kreilach scored inside the opening 30 minutes to lead RSL to a 2-1 win over the Timbers Oct. 14.

"Those three points are important. They’re critical, and also with the Colorado game not happening right now, we’re going to be able to have a long week of training that we haven’t had in a while," Freddy Juarez said after the match. "That will be good for the mentality and the vibes to lead into the Dallas game, so I thought it was very important. I honestly thought we could have been up by a couple more goals and put it away earlier, so it was nice to see that the guys have a good first half, and start the second half well too. We were creating chances and they made it tough on us. Overall, I’m happy for the guys. They put in the work, and I think they deserve the three points.”

Updated team roster
Injury Report:
- OUT: Giuseppe Rossi (F) - undisclosed injury
- OUT: Chris Garcia (F) - undisclosed injury
Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: Kyle Beckerman (M), Corey Baird (F), Pablo Ruiz (M), Aaron Herrera (D)
International duty: None

FC Dallas

FC Dallas conceded twice inside the final 20 minutes and fell to Nashville SC 3-0 at Nissan Stadium Tuesday night. The expansion team is now 2W-0L-1D in three matches this season and FC Dallas have yet to score against Nashville SC. Franco Jara's personal goalless streak stretched to six matches. When the Designated Player was subbed off, Jara’s frustration boiled over when he initially refused to shake head coach Luchi Gonzalez’s hand when he reached the touchline. Gonzalez pulled Jara back and made sure that the striker shook his hand before heading to his seat on the bench.

“Franco’s a competitor, he’s frustrated to get taken out of the game so that happens,” Gonzalez said in a video conference call with reporters. “It happens. No one takes it personal. We have moments and we’re a family club. And families have moments and that’s how you grow, that’s how you be honest with each other.”

Updated team roster
Injury Report:
- OUT: Paxton Pomykal (M) - hip injury
- OUT: Santiago Mosquera (M) - undisclosed injury
- OUT: Bryan Acosta (M) - undisclosed injury
Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: Bressan (D)
International duty: None