Real Salt Lake vs. Chicago Fire
With their last home MLS match for a month taking place today, RSL find themselves battling the Chicago Fire at Rio Tinto and the task is large for a number of reasons, most of all it would improve their shot at the playoffs and mark only the second season in which RSL puts double digit wins in the record book. A win would give a 70% chance of making the playoffs but to do so they will be without Kyle Beckerman and Ned Grabavoy who both are suspended for the match, there will likely be no Javier Morales, or Robbie Russell who are nursing injuries. They will also be facing a team that plays better on the road than at home, Chicago are 10-6-8 over all but a huge 6-2-4 on the road having lost only twice, the same number of RSL wins. Chicago is a plus 7 in goal differential on the road but face the team with the largest home goal edge as RSL is plus 18 at home having given up only 10 goals while scoring 28.
For RSL the starting lineup as well as who comes off the bench could be the difference, a healthy and back in the fold Yura Movsisyan could figure in the match, it is likely that Andy Williams will get another start in the midfield, will Jason go offensive with the other midfielder and put in the veteran Mathis or go a bit more defensive and trust an important match to rookie Jean Alexandre? Will RSL fans finally get to see Nelson Gonzalez? Maybe another shot for Rachid El Khalifi? It is time that more new faces step up and give RSL the boost they need over these final matches?
Chicago have had to deal with the loss of their leading scorer in Brian McBride who has been out after surgery, Blanco has stepped up and with 5 goals and 8 assist will be the main threat Chicago will have and will surely cause headaches for the backline and midfield defenders. According to the match guide it looks like the Fire will also go with Patrick Nyarko up top, he has 4 goals and 2 assists so far this season and both Pappa and Rolfe have shown they can score as well. Here are the projected lineups from the match guide:
I think it will be a matter if RSL can control the pace of the match and keep possession of the ball, Chicago has a lot of weapons but I would say that RSL has an edge in pace and with Campos projected up top the size advantage could go RSL’s way as well. Every RSL player knows that they must get wins at home and tonight they will face the toughest test of the season at home, they have beaten other powerhouses from the East as Columbus, New England, TFC, and DC United all have fallen at Rio Tinto and most of those matches saw RSL take huge leads in the match and use the results to capture the season series for those teams. Having dropped a 1-0 decision in Chicago, RSL will need to pull off at least a 2 goal win to secure the season series with the Fire and I think they will continue to dominate teams from the East at Rio Tinto and pick up a 3-1 win.
Other Matches
TFC 2 - Colorado 1 (wow I typed that just as TFC actually scored their second goal)- a draw would be the best result for RSL
KC 2 - New York 2 - this match really doesn’t matter much for RSL
Dallas 1 - LA Galaxy 2 - a FC Dallas win would be best for RSL
New England 0 - Chivas 0 - a draw is best for RSL
Houston 1 - Columbus 2 - a Crew win is best for RSL
OFF MY SOAPBOX
“Audentis Fortuna Juvat” (Stay bold Jason)
This entry was posted on September 12, 2009 at 5:39 pm and is filed under The soapbox. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.