After last week’s disappointing draw at home against Minnesota United, Real Salt Lake is in need of some points with only five more games until the regular season ends. They’ll look to get a result this week on the road against league leaders Atlanta United FC. These sides have only met once before, with Atlanta visiting Rio Tinto Stadium in April of 2017 during their expansion season. The Five Stripes had no trouble putting the game to bed in a 3-1 victory over the home side, thanks to goals from Hector Villalba, Yamil Asad, and Brandon Vazquez. RSL’s lone goal came from Albert Rusnak in the 69th minute to bring the score to 2-1, but Vazquez’s second-half stoppage time goal was the nail in the coffin as Atlanta left Sandy with all three points. Real Salt Lake Record: 13-10-6 (45 points) Table: 5th place (west), 8th place (overall) Points per game: 1.55 (9th in MLS) Most goals: Damir Kreilach (11) Most assists: Jefferson Savarino (10) Clean sheets: 7 Form: LWWWD Still unbeaten While RSL was unable to capitalize at home against Minnesota last week and extend their winning streak to four, they’re still in the midst of a current four-game unbeaten streak, dating back to the 2-1 win on the road against Houston. Notorious for struggling on the road, RSL has surprisingly won their last two games away from home (2-1 at Houston, 6-0 at Colorado). Granted, those two teams weren’t at the top of the table like the next opponent, but RSL has proven that they’re capable of getting results on the road when the pressure is on. Cautions and injuries While injuries still continue to plague RSL’s depth — with captain Kyle Beckerman officially listed as questionable after being pulled out of last week’s match due to a hamstring injury — boss Petke still has plenty of talent to pull from to form a starting XI, especially when you look at his ideal front four with Albert Rusnak pulling the strings, Joao Plata and Jefferson Savarino on the wings, and Damir Kreilach at the top, notching an impressive team-high 11 goals this season. If Kyle isn’t able to play in Atlanta, it puts Petke in a bit of a tough spot, as he’s traditionally started Nick Besler next to Sunny (or paired Kreilach and Sunny together, before Damir broke out as a dedicated striker). Besler has already been filling in at center back in lieu of the injured Marcelo Silva. However, if new signing Nedum Onuoha is ready to go, we could easily see Besler moving up into Kyle’s spot while Onuoha gets his first start at center back next to Justen Glad. I think we can all agree that we’d rather not see Pablo Ruiz get the holding mid start in Atlanta after his performance against Minnesota last week. On the yellow card front, four players remain on yellow card accumulation warning: Kyle Beckerman, Marcelo Silva, Brooks Lennon, and Justen Glad. If any of these players receive a yellow card in the next game, they’ll receive a one-game suspension, which is the last thing this team needs during the playoff push. Atlanta United FC Record: 18-5-6 (60 points) Table: 1st place (east), 1st place (overall) Points per game: 2.07 (1st in MLS) Most goals: Josef Martinez (30) Most assists: Miguel Almiron (13), Julian Gressel (13) Clean sheets: 7 Form: WWLWW Best in the league No matter which way you look at it, Atlanta United is the best team in the league this season. They’re on their way to clinching the supporters’ shield — although the Red Bulls are hot on their trail, only four points behind — while they also have a commanding lead in nearly every stat you can find in the table, including goal differential (27), goals scored (63), number of wins (18), and even road wins (10). Of course, they also house the golden boot leader and inevitable golden boot winner Josef Martinez, who sits at a record-breaking 30 goals this season with five games left to play. The next in line for the golden boot race — if you can really call it a race at this point — is Bradley Wright-Phillips of the New York Red Bulls, with 19 goals on the season. Comeback in SJ, tired legs On a positive note for RSL, Atlanta just played a game on the road earlier this week — and struggled — against the league’s worst team San Jose Earthquakes. The Five Stripes saw themselves trailing 3-1 in the 58th minute, with the Quakes looking to sail on to an unexpected victory. Martinez and Almiron both scored in the 70th and 73rd minute, respectively, to tie the game up 3-3. Just as it looked as if the teams would split the points, Martinez put away a header in the fifth minute of stoppage time to secure a late-game victory with a 4-3 scoreline. The upside for RSL? Atlanta’s biggest players just went a full 90+ minutes a few days ago, and struggled against the league’s last-place team. If Real Salt Lake hopes to get a result on the road at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, there’s no better time than right now. Absences Real Salt Lake OUT: Tony Beltran (knee), Jordan Allen (knee), Alex Horwath (achilles surgery), Demar Phillips (hamstring), David Horst (torn achilles; out for season) QUESTIONABLE: Marcelo Silva (ankle), Connor Sparrow (knee), Marcelo Silva (ankle), Luis Silva (groin), Kyle Beckerman (hamstring) Atlanta United OUT: -none- QUESTIONABLE: -none- Expected lineups RSL: Rimando; Lennon, Glad, Besler, Herrera; Ruiz, Sunny; Savarino, Rusnak, Plata; Kreilach ATL: Guzan; Larentowicz, Parkhurst, Gonzalez Pirez; Gressel, Nagbe, Remedi, McCann; Almiron; Villalba, Martinez Match info When: Saturday, September 22, 5:00PM MT Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium — Atlanta, GA Weather: 83 degrees, partly cloudy, 61% humidity Broadcast: KMYU, KSL TV app (streaming), ESPN+ (streaming), ESPN700 (radio) Referee: Chico Grajeda<doc-sep>Five matches. That’s all that remains in the 2018 MLS regular season. As the campaign winds down, Atlanta United couldn’t have asked to be in a better position. They’re in the driver’s seat when it comes to the Supporters’ Shield with a four point cushion over the New York Red Bulls. They also appear to be well on their way to clinching a spot in the 2019 Concacaf Champions League through have the most points in the last two seasons. The red-hot Real Salt Lake comes to town looking to spoil Atlanta’s dreams of multiple trophies this season. The resurgent Western conference side have only lost once since mid-July and have climbed up above the red playoff line to fifth. Croatian midfielder Damir Kreilach has been on a sensational run of form, scoring five goals in the team’s last three games. Atlanta will need to focus on slowing him and fellow star midfielder Albert Rusnak down if they are to get full points in this one. The Five Stripes are coming off the most dramatic win in team history, a wild and crazy 4-3 win in San Jose. They’ll also be playing their third match in seven days. The roof is schedule to be opened on a hot night, as well. Needless to say, fatigue is a great concern for Tata Martino in this one. Darlington Nagbe is expected to be available for selection after resting for the San Jose match. We’ll have to see how Tata deals with all of the tired legs and who he could choose to rest or not. Atlanta United’s Lineup: Real Salt Lake’s Lineup: How to Watch Venue: Mercedes-Benz Stadium Advertised Kickoff Time: 7:00 p.m. ET Available TV: FOX Sports Southeast Available Streaming: fuboTV (free trial), FOX Sports GO, ESPN+ (Outside of local viewing area) Available Radio: 92.9 The Game (English), AT&T Countdown to Kickoff (FB Live/Periscope), La Mejor 1600 AM (Spanish) This thread will be your match thread. We don’t have many rules here. We just ask that you don’t insult each other personally and treat each other with respect. Debates can get heated and that’s fine, but name-calling and petty insults will get you banned. If you see a comment that you feel is out of line, please report it and it will be dealt with.<doc-sep>To get everyone ready for Atlanta United’s match against Real Salt Lake, we spoke with RSL Soapbox’s Matt Montgomery to get his take on their success this season, some names to keep an eye on, and the notorious Trey. DSS: What have been some of the keys to RSL’s success this season? RS: It’s a funny thing, 2018. I know we have been more successful than in the past four years, but it still feels sometimes like we haven’t been. That, of course, comes with the territory of late concessions and ... early concessions. It’s not an entirely pleasant thing. That said, I do think we have been successful, and I think we’ve scraped out a bunch of points when we probably deserved one or none. Often this season, our goal seems to have been to outscore the opposition. It sometimes works, it sometimes doesn’t. By and large, our key, for me, has been about getting the most out of players like Damir Kreilach, who ostensibly came in to play deeper in our midfield but has largely been occupying forward spots. It’s also been about understanding when a player’s form is in an ebb and when it’s in a flow. Understanding that has been crucial for our coaching staff to know when to rotate our playing personnel. I don’t think we have much business being as close to the top of the Western Conference as we are now. With the number of injuries our squad has sustained, we probably shouldn’t be. There’s something fascinating about this team. DSS: Who are a couple RSL players for Atlanta fans to look out for on Saturday? RS: Kreilach is certainly a point to focus on, but I don’t think it’s easy to define what he’s doing. He and Albert Rusnak have been largely sharing central attacking duties, so he’ll pop up all over the field. He’s not the fastest player and he’s very tall, but he does have a way of timing late runs like nobody’s noticed him. He’s been a valuable asset to have on the team. I’d also argue for Aaron Herrera, who very quietly is going about having a spectacular rookie season. He’s very fast, his one-on-one defending is growing, and he reads the game well. We’ve needed that sort of influence at outside back, especially with Tony Beltran missing nearly all of 2018 through injury. DSS: RSL legend “Hand them out” Trey resigned earlier in the week. How will the team continue their post-match press conferences without him? "Trey, hand 'em out!" — Mike Petke's illustrated guide to his disagreements with MLS refereeing and disciplinary procedures. -d https://t.co/N7aW4QoI5u — Total Soccer Show (@TotalSoccerShow) July 23, 2017 RS: Trey Fitz-Gerald was one of the first people at Real Salt Lake following expansion, and his departure doesn’t spell good things overall for Real Salt Lake. As for press conferences, I don’t think anybody can really tame Mike Petke, so it won’t make much difference.<doc-sep>
Real Salt Lake’s 2-0 loss to Atlanta United FC on Saturday was perhaps not the most unexpected thing in the world, but it was yet another road loss for a team that has struggled to put together much away from home. Loser: RSL’s playoff positioning I still think RSL will make it into the playoffs, but our positioning will continue in a tenuous state if we can’t pull off results on the road. This is really only a half-loss, though, because Portland managed to lose to Minnesota United on the road, and Seattle lost their first game after a nine-game winning streak on Wednesday. It almost makes it a nullified weekend. Almost. Winner: Aaron Herrera Herrera had himself a tidy game against Atlanta United, and that continues to be the theme of his RSL career so far. The rookie has been playing well above his station, and I suspect he’ll continue playing regularly until the end of the season. His best highlight? A goal-line clearance, which showed him being very much in the right place at the right time. Loser: RSL’s bench depth I know the thing everyone wanted to talk about was Mike Petke’s lack of substitutions, but the more I think about it, the more I don’t see clearly who would have helped. The lone exception, for me, is Corey Baird, though I do think the ex-Stanford striker is not in a particularly good run of form at current. But really, looking at RSL’s bench when the club needs an attacking presence is a bit like staring into the abyss, save one or two good players. It won’t get better if those players don’t get minutes, of course, which leaves me wondering what the right approach really is. Winner: The Post It’s unusual that the post gets as much action as it did in one game, but three times the ball hit the post, and once it led to a goal. Good on you, post. You certainly had a lot of time, and your xG was probably pretty high. Loser: RSL’s throw-in defense It led to a goal that Mike Petke said we gifted Atlanta, and you simply cannot dispute that. Real Salt Lake has to be better from throw-ins, and the sort of loss of concentration we’ve seen is difficult to stomach. Winner: RSL moving forward OK, so this isn’t my thing, it’s actually sort of Mike Petke’s thing. It’s worth bringing up, though. Petke talked in his post-match about how it was a “great learning experience” for the younger players on the team, and I actually think he makes a good point. The key line, for me: This team forced us to play a hell of a lot faster than we have. See, we always knew it was going to be tough, and we certainly should have understood the uphill nature of it. We’re all disappointed that we didn’t capitalize, because frankly, it looked like we could — but Atlanta at home is always going to be difficult.