Real Salt Lake vs. Colorado Rapids | 2018 MLS Match Preview

Dylan Butler

Real Salt Lake vs. Colorado Rapids
2018 MLS Regular Season — Week 21
Rio Tinto Stadium — Sandy
July 21 - 10 pm ET
WATCH: ESPN+, MLS LIVE on DAZN (Canada)

Real Salt Lake can lock up a third-straight Rocky Mountain Cup and maintain its stout form at Rio Tinto Stadium when they face a Colorado Rapids side that has won just once away from Dick’s Sporting Goods Park this season.

RSL is coming off a 3-2 loss at Minnesota United FC last Saturday, while the Rapids played the Houston Dynamo to a 0-0 home draw.

This is the second of three regular season meetings with Real Salt Lake winning, 3-0, on April 21. In that one, Joao Plata broke the deadlock with an 82nd-minute penalty kick and Damir Kreilach and Albert Rusnak tacked on late insurance goals in a game that saw Tim Howard sent off in the 20th minute for handling the ball outside of the box.

Real Salt Lake

It was more of the same Jekyll and Hyde act for Real Salt Lake (9-9-2), which lost at Minnesota, 3-2, following back-to-back home wins over Sporting Kansas City and FC Dallas.

Darwin Quintero scored once and assisted on goals by Ibson and Miguel Ibarra to give the Loons a commanding 3-0 lead after 68 minutes. Plata sparked a furious late rally with two goals in a seven-minute span, but RSL couldn’t get the equalizer and Mike Petke was ejected in the 53rd minute after Quintero’s goal was allowed to stand after a collision with Justen Glad.

Petke went on an epic postmatch rant about the officials and VAR and doubled down on those sentiments when meeting with the media Tuesday.

“I’m only going to keep repeating what I said in a calmer tone,” Petke said. “It’s three keywords — transparency, consistency and accountability. Those three keywords need to be addressed. I’m not going to back down from that.”

Suspended: D - Marcelo Silva
Suspended after next caution: None
International duty: None
Injury Report: OUT: D - Tony Beltran (right knee surgery), M - Jordan Allen (knee surgery), GK - Alex Horwath (Achilles surgery), D - Shawn Barry (knee injury), D - Demar Phillips (ankle injury), M - Luke Mulholland (back injury), D - David Horst (Achilles surgery), F - Ricky Lopez-Espin (knee surgery), GK - Connor Sparrow (knee injury)

Projected Starting XI
(4-3-3, right to left)
GK: Nick Rimando — Brooks Lennon, Nick Belser, Justen Glad, Danilo Acosta — Sunny, Albert Rusnak, Kyle Beckerman — Jefferson Savarino, Damir Kreilach, Corey Baird

Colorado Rapids

Colorado (4-11-4) snapped a two-game losing streak with a 0-0 draw at home against the Dynamo. Giles Barnes, who arrived the day before from Club Leon in Liga MX, put in a good shift before a knock to his ankle sidelined him in the 52nd minute.

Howard made a pair of solid saves and Kortne Ford had a goal-line clearance in the Rapids fourth clean sheet of the season. The focus now shifts to RSL, who handed the Rapids their first of eight consecutive losses in April.

“We all know it’s not gone well, we all know it’s been a frustrating start so that makes this game even more important for us, for everyone — the fans, the players,” Anthony Hudson said. “We want this. This is a significant moment for us and we’re looking forward to the game.”

Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: M - Johan Blomberg
International duty: None
Injury Report: F - Giles Barnes (ankle injury)

Projected Starting XI
(3-4-2-1, right to left)
GK: Tim Howard — Kortne Ford, Axel Sjoberg, Tommy Smith — Johan Blomberg, Jack Price, Danny Wilson, Edgar Castillo — Jack McBean, Sam Nicholson — Dominique Badji

All-Time Series

Overall: Real Salt Lake 18 wins, 52 goals … Colorado Rapids 13 wins, 38 goals … 10 draws
At Salt Lake: Real Salt Lake 13 wins, 34 goals … Rapids 3 wins, 13 goals … 5 draws
Last meeting at Salt Lake: Real Salt Lake 3, Colorado Rapids 0 (April 21, 2018)