Real Salt Lake vs Rapids Preview

Real Salt Lake vs Rapids Preview by Chris Brown

The Rapids travel to Salt Lake City to take on Rocky Mountain Cup rivals Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium.

Friday night’s match up will be the third time the two sides have faced off in 2016 and will decide which club will hold the Rocky Mountain Cup for the next year.

The two rivals first met in April when a defensive error allowed Joao Plata to score the only goal of the match as Real won 1-0 in Utah. The second meeting took place in Colorado when the Rapids won by the same score line after Jermaine Jones scored for the home team.

As the current holders of the Rocky Mountain Cup, the cup created by fan groups from both teams, all the Rapids have to do to retain the honor is avoid defeat on Friday night.

If Salt Lake were to beat the Rapids they would go level on points with Colorado, who currently sit on 43 points which is good enough for second place in the Western Conference and second place (tied with Toronto FC) in the Supporter’s Shield standings.

Pablo Mastroeni will still be without Jermaine Jones for the match as the midfielder recovers from injury and besides the absence of Dillon Serna who is lost for the season with an ACL tear, the team is healthy.

Jeff Cassar will have to select a squad without Aaron Maund, Sunday Stephen and Emery Welshman, but it is possible that Jordan Allen will be back in action following an adductor injury.

Colorado will likely have a similar line up to the starting eleven that played against Orlando City last week as the Rapids second half performance may have been the team’s most fluid and dynamic half all season long. The match finished in a 0-0 draw against Orlando, but Colorado were utterly dominant in the second half.

 

 

Coach Mastroeni changed things up by playing Shkelzen Gashi as the number ten instead of in his usual position on the left wing and Gashi performed admirably in the center of the park. Gashi is obviously dangerous on the wing because of his pace and ability to take defenders on one on one, but his passing from the center of the pitch last weekend, accurate and with pace, was the piece that Colorado has been missing since Jermaine Jones went out of the lineup. Having brought in Sebastien Le Toux from Philadelphia and Marlon Hairstons emergence as a speedy winger have given Pablo options as to who he plays out wide. It would be a surprise if Gashi didn’t start the game as a number ten with freedom to roam to the wings against Real.

For Real Salt Lake the biggest task will be finding the pace and tempo to make their attack work. All season long the team has struggled in transition and at times their 4-3-3 formation leaves the attacking players disconnected during the transition. The result is that Real ends up with fine possession stats, but they never seem to maintain possession in attacking areas. If the Real midfield can supply Joao Plata, who leads Salt Lake in both goals and assists, as well as Yura Movsisyan, who has quietly had an amazing season, scoring 7 goals this campaign, then Real can hurt the Rapids.

So far this season both Colorado and Real are unbeaten at home, and that may be the biggest factor in deciding this match. In fact, Colorado have never won in Rio Tinto stadium. Since the stadium opened in 2008 Colorado has been unable to find victory in Utah, having last won in 2007 at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

With second place in the West on the line, as well as the Rocky Mountain Cup, Friday nights match up should be an enthralling way to start the weekend of soccer.