Two sides enduring poor form meet in MLS on Saturday night when Colorado Rapids host Real Salt Lake.
Both sides are currently outside the playoff spots in the Western Conference after underwhelming starts.
Match preview
© Reuters
Colorado enter the weekend being the only side in the league yet to win a home game this season.
Their record of just three points from a possible 15 on home soil means the Rapids are unsurprisingly lingering beneath the nine playoff spots in the Western Conference.
Their form in general has not been scintillating by any means either, especially after a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Atlanta United in midweek.
Their trip to the Mercedes-Benz Stadium was a tortuous one, as Atlanta racked up 27 shots, 3.96 xG, as well as missing a penalty on their way to hammering the Rapids.
After failing to make the playoffs last season, Colorado's early season form suggests they are in trouble of missing out again, having picked up just 12 points from their opening 13 games.
Salt Lake are not the ideal opponents to face while on a poor run of form either, as no team has beaten the same opponent as many times as RSL have done to Colorado since 2014, winning on 16 separate occasions.
© Reuters
Despite that phenomenal record though, both encounters ended in a stalemate last season, and three of Salt Lake's last four MLS outings have ended in goalless draws.
The 0-0 draw with Portland Timbers on Wednesday means only Nashville has been involved in as many goalless draws as Salt Lake since the start of the 2020 season.
Finding the net is a problem that needs solving for manager Pablo Mastroeni, as they have now failed to score in their last four MLS matches.
A thrilling 4-3 cup win at Portland was sandwiched in the middle of that run, and playing away from home on the counter-attack, in similar fashion to that success, could be the way to go, as Salt Lake are winless in their last 11 matches where they have had over 60% possession, losing nine.
While RSL are recovering from a woeful start which saw them lose four of their first five games, including back-to-back 4-0 defeats against St Louis City and Columbus Crew, the side are down in 11th, level on points with their upcoming opponents heading into this one.
Team News
© Reuters
Colorado's Cole Bassett remains out with a hamstring injury having not featured from the start since March, but Braian Galvan will return from suspension after his red card against Philadelphia Union.
After going off at half time in their cup success over Sacramento Republic, Brazilian midfielder Max Alves has also been absent with injury.
An Achilles tendon injury is set to keep out their English midfielder Jack Price for the long-term, while Aboubacar Keita, Jackson Travis and backup goalkeeper Abraham Rodriguez are also on the Rapids' treatment table.
Salt Lake youth graduate Zack Farnsworth's thigh injury is still preventing the 20-year-old from making his MLS debut, but he could return before the end of May.
Veteran defender Marcelo Silva is expected to remain out for at least another month, with the Uruguayan still nursing a back injury.
Colorado Rapids possible starting lineup:
Yarbrough; Abubakar, Maxso, Wilson; Nicholson, Leyva, Priso-Mbongue, Ronan, Gersbach; Barrios, Cabral
Real Salt Lake possible starting lineup:
MacMath; Brody, Glad, Ramirez, Oviedo; Gomez, Eneli, Ojeda, Savarino; Musovski, Julio Santos
We say: Colorado Rapids 1-1 Real Salt Lake
Two of MLS's lowest scorers are unlikely to serve up a classic, and their lack of form means neither will be very confident of a win here.
After two draws between the sides last season, a repeat looks like the most probable outcome in Colorado this weekend.
How to watch
You can watch Colorado Rapids vs. Real Salt Lake and every MLS match this season live on Apple TV. Click here for more details on how to subscribe.For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
