Major League Soccer newcomers St Louis City will aim to maintain their shock lead at the Western Conference summit when they welcome Real Salt Lake to CityPark on Wednesday.
Bradley Carnell's boys are enjoying a hugely impressive maiden campaign in MLS, but in-form RSL will be hopeful of spoiling the party when they visit Missouri.
Match preview
© Reuters
To say that St Louis City hit the ground running in their debut MLS season would be a big understatement, as the debutants kicked off their campaign with five straight wins, scoring 15 goals in the process.
Although the Missouri outfit lost four of their next six matches, they returned to winning ways last month, netting 10 goals across successive victories over Sporting Kansas City, Vancouver Whitecaps and Houston Dynamo.
However, St Louis City head into Wednesday's clash on the back of a 3-1 defeat to Nashville SC, with the unstoppable Hany Mukhtar bagging a hat-trick last weekend, meaning that Carnell's side have taken a solitary point from their previous three outings.
That said, St Louis will be confident of getting back on track at CityPark, as they have won six of their nine home league games this year, scoring at least three goals in each of those victories.
Given their attacking exploits, it is no surprise that St Louis City are the top scorers in the Western Conference by some distance, and Carnell's men will remain atop the standings if they outscore Real Salt Lake in midweek.
© Reuters
While St Louis started the season with five consecutive victories, Real Salt Lake lost five of their opening seven matches, conceding 16 goals while struggling to settle into the new campaign.
Since then, however, the Claret and Cobalt have enjoyed a remarkable run, suffering only two defeats in 15 outings across all competitions, with eight wins and five draws ensuring that RSL remain within touching distance of the frontrunners.
Thanks to a 2-1 victory at DC United last time out, Pablo Mastroeni's men have taken seven points from their last three league games, defeating Austin FC and drawing with New York City FC before triumphing last weekend.
When you look at the bigger picture, Real Salt Lake have lost only one of their previous seven MLS matches, and they have also chalked up a five-game unbeaten streak on the road, notching three wins and two draws on their travels.
Still, there is no hiding the fact that RSL possess the worst defensive record in the West, having conceded 28 goals in 18 matches this season, so the Utah outfit could struggle to deal with St Louis City's attacking threat.
Team News
© Reuters
The hosts will be without suspended defender Kyle Hiebert after he picked up a red card last time out, with John Nelson expected to deputise at left-back.
On top of that, Joakim Nilsson (knee) and Joao Klauss (quad) remain sidelined due to injury, while Eduard Lowen (quad) is a doubt for Wednesday's clash.
St Louis City manager Bradley Carnell will likely utilise a midfield diamond, with Miguel Perez operating at the base of the diamond and Tomas Ostrak offering attack support to forwards Nicholas Gioacchini and Rasmus Alm.
On the flip side, Real Salt Lake will be with injured pair Zack Farnsworth (thigh) and Erik Holt (shoulder) for the trip to Missouri, while Bryan Oviedo (calf) remains a doubt.
Danny Musovski's tally stands at five goals and three assists following his strike against DC United, so the former Los Angeles FC striker will continue alongside Damir Kreilach in RSL's forward line.
Elsewhere, Andres Gomez will continue to operate on the right flank, having chalked up two goals and six assists this term, while Diego Luna is expected to occupy the opposite wing.
St Louis City possible starting lineup:
Burki; Nerwinski, Bartlett, Parker, Nelson; Perez; Vassilev, Stroud; Ostrak; Alm, Gioacchini
Real Salt Lake possible starting lineup:
MacMath; Eneli, Glad, Vera, Brody; Gomez, Loffelsend, Ruiz, Luna; Kreilach, Musovski
We say: St Louis City 3-1 Real Salt Lake
While high-flying St Louis City boast the best offensive record in the West, Real Salt Lake possess the worst defensive record, so we expect the conference leaders to return to winning ways with a high-scoring victory on home soil.
How to watch
You can watch St Louis City 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.
Ben Morris
