Real Salt Lake vs Atlanta United

America First Field is the venue as Real Salt Lake and Atlanta United go head-to-head in a tasty-looking Major League Soccer encounter.

Real Salt Lake returned to winning ways in midweek MLS action with a goal-glutted 3-2 home victory against Houston Dynamo, bouncing back from a morale-damaging 1-0 loss to LA Galaxy. Pablo Mastroeni’s men have blown hot and cold across their last four league outings (W2, D1, L1), but they’re still in contention for a top-table finish in the Western Conference. Despite trailing pacesetters Los Angeles FC by three points, they’re well-positioned to at least maintain the distance, considering their superb unbeaten ratio of 80% in their MLS home fixtures this season (W7, D1, L2). However, this match-up hasn’t been kind to Salt Lake, as they’ve lost three of their four previous league meetings with Atlanta (W1), conceding multiple goals in each defeat.

On the other hand, Atlanta United’s faltering bid to secure a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference took a hit in midweek. A 2-1 loss at New England Revolution knocked the Five Stripes down from a four-game unbeaten run (W2, D2). Though they commence this round as the owners of the last playoff spot, the visitors can’t rest easy, as they sit level on points with 10th-placed Orlando City and only two clear of New England and Montreal. Strengthening their formidable H2H record against Salt Lake would be massive, yet Rob Valentino’s charges have stuttered on the road, picking up just two wins on ten MLS travels this season (D4, L4). It’s also worth noting that they’re winless on their last two (D1, L1).