Midfield Mayhem
With both teams lining up with three-man midfields, there is going to be a lot of bodies in a tight space in the middle of the park. And when those guys work the way the threesomes do for both teams, it should make for an eventful evening at Sporting Park.
For Sporting Kansas City, the trio will likely be Servando Carrasco sitting behind former U.S. National Teamer Benny Feilhaber and former Wigan Athletic regular Roger Espinoza. All three do the work defensively to get the attack started, so keeping possession and spreading them out to create space in front of the defense will be key for RSL’s trio of Kyle Beckerman, Javier Morales and either Luis Gil or Luke Mulholland.
Scene of the Crime
This is RSL’s second time back at Sporting Park since falling in the MLS Cup final in 2013, but the first time back for Nick Rimando and Tony Beltran, who both missed last year’s contest. While the team downplayed the significance of the site for the match, it’s a building that undoubtedly holds bitter memories for the team and fans alike.
However, there is more reason for RSL to seek a breakthrough at Sporting Park. Since the venue opened in 2011, RSL has yet to score a regular season goal there, going 0-2-1 after a scoreless draw there last season. In that match on April 5, Kansas City outshot Salt Lake 20-5, but Jeff Attinella finished with eight saves to get the clean sheet amidst the barrage.
Comeback Kids
Sporting Kansas City has always been a team that will fight until the end under Head Coach Peter Vermes and that was never more evident than last Sunday in a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Union. In the match, SKC got stoppage time goals from Jalil Anibaba and Kristian Nemeth to storm back from a 2-1 deficit and earn the victory. What that proves is that no lead is safe when dealing with Sporting KC and its home supporters.
Unbeaten and Undaunted
Real Salt Lake is off to a 2-0-2 start and had perhaps its best match of the young season against the San Jose Earthquakes in a 1-0 road victory last Sunday. The defensive effort was solid all over the field and with some opportunistic finishing that could have meant a further chasm on the scoresheet. That left the team confident while also striving to be better and with a tough task ahead against SKC, it will take a similar effort to earn a result and keep the unbeaten start alive.
