The early darlings of the Major League Soccer campaign, St Louis City, will pay their first-ever visit to Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday for a match against Real Salt Lake.
A 3-0 win over the San Jose Earthquakes enabled St Louis to become the first expansion team in league history to win its first four matches, while RSL have dropped two in a row, falling 2-1 at home to Austin FC two weeks ago.
Match preview
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Following their opening match victory versus the Vancouver Whitecaps (2-1) it has been rough going for Pablo Mastroeni and his team.
Claret and Cobalt failed to create much in their visit to Seattle at the start of the month, losing to the Sounders 2-0, while they were again chasing a decent portion of their match the following week against the Verde and Black.
They come into this encounter having captured just one of their last four regular season home fixtures but have not lost consecutive games in Salt Lake City since July-August last year (two).
RSL have not lost to an expansion side playing in their inaugural MLS campaign since being handled 5-1 at home to Los Angeles FC in 2018.
Through the early portion of the 2023 competition we have seen them employ a simple direct attacking style which has been their identity since Mastroeni took over, but the majority of their crosses of late have come to nothing.
While they have been effective in possession, getting into dangerous areas, their direct approach has at times looked predictable, while RSL seem to be missing a midfield general who can unlock opposing defences with a strong vision and passing ability.
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Easily the most compelling story so far in MLS this year is the one St Louis City are currently writing, leading the overall standings with 12 points.
Nobody could have predicted a club made up of secondary pieces from numerous teams around the world would be leading the Supporters' Shield standings after four games let alone be the only team in the league with a 100% record.
Bradley Carnell has brought the Red Bull brand of relentless pressing football to this expansion side, and his players have executed it to near perfection after four games.
Eight St Louis players have won at least five tackles this season, with no other team in the league having more than five players with that amount, a good example of how difficult it has been to move the ball against this side.
Not only have they been able to create turnovers with their pace and physicality, but they have been clinical in the final third, tied for the league lead in goals with Atlanta United (11).
Carnell can hardly have too many complaints with how his team have fared early on, but they have put themselves behind the eight ball away from home this year, facing second half deficits versus Austin FC and the Portland Timbers before pulling out three points.
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Team News
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Scott Caldwell was on the RSL bench for their match against Austin with a hip flexor, Axel Kei is out because of a sore ankle and Zack Farnsworth has yet to recover from his thigh injury.
Rubio Rubin will be on international duty for Guatemala, Jefferson Savarino is with the Venezuelan national team, Braian Ojeda will represent Paraguay, Diego Luna has been called up to the USA Under-20 squad, while Gavin Beavers will be a part of the American Under-19 side.
In their previous match, Justen Glad had the only goal for the home side, Carlos Andres Gomez made his first career start for Claret and Cobalt and Jasper Loeffelsend returned after serving his one-match suspension.
St Louis could be missing some experienced centre-backs once again this weekend with Tim Parker listed as questionable due to a groin strain, Joakim Nilsson has a knee injury and Njabulo Blom might be forced out because of health and safety protocols.
Miguel Perez has been called-up to the US Under-19 national team, while Kyle Hiebert was named to the Canadian senior squad for their upcoming matches at the CONCACAF Nations League.
Klauss has made a massive impact for this team so far this season, with a goal involvement in all four of their encounters, as he, Nicholas Gioacchini and Tomas Ostrak all found the back of the net in their victory against the Quakes, while Lucas Bartlett started his first MLS game, Aziel Jackson earned his first cap with the club and Roman Burki collected his first career clean sheet.
Real Salt Lake possible starting lineup:
MacMath; Brody, Glad, Silva, Oviedo; Ruiz, Loeffelsend; Chang, Kreilach, Gomez; Musovski
St Louis City possible starting lineup:
Burki; Nerwinski, Bartlett, Bell, Nelson; Ostrak, Vassilev, Lowen, Stroud; Klauss, Gioacchini
We say: Real Salt Lake 1-0 St Louis City
All good things must come to an end, and we believe that the climate in Salt Lake City will make it difficult for the visitors to press as often as they like.
RSL should be well rested and might find it a little easier to get through a solid backline who are missing another key centre-back in Hiebert.
How to watch
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