Real Salt Lake play host to Portland Timbers on Wednesday night looking to edge into the playoff positions in the Western Conference table.
At a time when the home side sit in 11th place in the standings, the visitors remain in third spot despite their recent inconsistent form.
Match preview
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Having finished in third spot in the Western Conference last season, supporters of Real Salt Lake would have been expecting more of the same this time around.
Instead, they have lost seven of their 12 MLS matches this campaign and failed to record successive wins, leaving Pablo Mastroeni with much to ponder.
On a positive note, four points have been earned from their last three contest, with the one defeat coming away to leaders Vancouver Whitecaps by a 2-1 scoreline.
That said, there would have been disappointment after only securing a 1-1 draw at FC Dallas last time out, albeit the share of the spoils coming when playing the final 32 minutes with 10 men having initially taken the lead.
Just five goals have been conceded in their five matches at America First Field in this season's MLS, the joint-second best return in the division.
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As for Portland Timbers, Phil Neville is performing a stellar job this season with his team sitting third and six points off the lead.
Just one defeat has come in their last nine matches, albeit that one reverse being a 4-1 loss at San Jose Earthquakes on May 4.
Timbers were able to respond with a 1-0 victory over Sporting Kansas City last time out, keeping a clean sheet for the first time in five games.
With fifth-placed Seattle Sounders - the form team in the division - to come next, there is pressure on Neville and his side to deliver in this contest, the belief being there having won the reverse game by a 4-2 scoreline as recently as April 13.
Team News
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Real Salt Lake will be forced into at least two changes due to Diego Luna picking up his third yellow card of the MLS season and William Agada being sent off against FC Dallas.
Ariath Piol, Dominik Marczuk and Jesus Barea are seemingly competing for the two spots in the team.
Kevin Kelsy is pushing for a recall to the Portland Timbers attack as a straight alternative to Felipe Mora.
Barring any fitness issues, the remainder of the team may stay the same, albeit the versatile Eric Miller being an alternative for a number of positions.
Real Salt Lake possible starting lineup:
Cabral; Caliskan, Glad, Junqua, Katranis; Eneli, Ojeda; Gozo, Goncalves, Marczuk; Piol
Portland Timbers possible starting lineup:
Crepeau; Mosquera, Surman, Miller, Bravo; Moreno, Ayala, Ortiz, Antony; Kelsy, Costa
We say: Real Salt Lake 1-2 Portland Timbers
Having made a positive impact in recent matches, Real Salt Lake will back themselves to get something from this fixture. However, we cannot ignore Portland's status in the upper echelons of the table, leading us to predict a hard-fought success for the visitors.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Darren Plant
