Fresh off advancement in the Concacaf Champions Cup, the Seattle Sounders will head on the road to play Real Salt Lake. The Sounders have struggled to get results to an almost unfathomable degree in Utah, having only emerged victorious on three occasions since 2009. They’ve won just one regular-season game there, in 2011, and have gone 0-11-3 there since that win.
It’s been a rough year for RSL, so far. They opened the regular season last Saturday with a 4-0 loss to the San Jose Earthquakes and followed that up by getting eliminated by Herediano in CCC, falling 2-1 in their home leg on Wednesday.
To get us a better idea of the state of things at RSL, we reached out to Matt Montgomery of Wasatch Soccer Sentinel.
Projected lineup
(4-2-3-1) Rafael Cabral; Bode Hidalgo, Justen Glad, Philip Quinton, Alexandros Katranis; Emeki Eneli, Braian Ojeda; Dominik Marczuk, Diogo Goncalves, Ruben Luna; Forster Ajago.
Notable injuries
Zac MacMath (long-term, recovering from back surgery)
What kind of form are RSL in?
RSL’s form has, to date, been bad. The team suffered their worst-ever season opening defeat, losing 4-0 to San Jose and then followed it up by blowing a lead at home against Herediano. They’ve now scored a total of one goal in three competitive matches this year. The only fit striker is an MLS reserve-level player. Things aren’t looking great. They did rotate heavily at midweek, so they should be reasonably fresh at least.
Who are the key players we should be watching?
- Diego Luna is by far the most exciting player at Real Salt Lake. He’s always an attacking threat, and his presence dictates the way the team plays.
- Dominic Marczuk is an interesting prospect — he seems to have gobs of talent, but can he make much of it?
- Alex Katranis is a marauding left wing back, and he’ll often get pretty far forward. He’s got a good cross on him and can hit the odd shot, too.
What’s one thing you think opposing fans should know about RSL?
RSL hasn’t signed a proper, MLS-ready striker — and as such, we’re all asking where the goals will come from.
