One of the Cinderella stories of the 2022 MLS regular season will meet a side who went on an improbable run in the 2021 playoffs, as Austin FC host Real Salt Lake on Sunday at Q2 Stadium.
For the Verde and Black, this weekend will mark their first appearance in the postseason, while Claret and Cobalt are looking to make it a couple of steps further than they did last year, when they were eliminated in the Western Conference Final.
Match preview
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Austin have grown tremendously from their inaugural campaign, finishing second in the Western Conference this season with 56 points, a 25-point improvement from a year ago.
That ties an MLS record for the largest turnaround for any debut franchise from year one to year two, evening the previous mark set by Chivas USA from 2005 to 06.
With so much growth in so little time, it is a bit of a puzzlement that manager Josh Wolff was not shortlisted for the Sigi Schmid Award for Coach of the Year.
On the other hand, when you consider the fact that Wolff and his team have had an us against the world mentality this year, perhaps this snub is exactly the motivation they need to make a deep playoff run.
Austin have turned many heads with their play this season, as they seem to have found those missing pieces in the attack from 2021, scoring the second-most goals in the Western Conference in 2022 (65), after being the lowest-scoring team in the league last year.
While they cooled off near the end of the year offensively, scoring a goal or fewer in their final three regular season affairs, the Verde and Black have not lost at Q2 Stadium since the end of August, scoring three or more goals on nine occasions at home in 2022.
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They cut it close once again, but in the end Pablo Mastroeni's men came up big when they needed it most on Decision Day, ending the Portland Timbers season with a 3-1 victory last Sunday after their dreams of an MLS Cup Final were dashed by that same team in 2021.
The final game this season was not quite as dramatic as we saw in their previous regular season finale, but for a second straight season, RSL saved its best for last, scoring three goals in a game for the first time since late August.
It is the first time that Claret and Cobalt have qualified for the postseason in back-to-back campaigns since doing so in 2018 and 2019.
In 2022, RSL only managed to win three matches away from home, though they were able to triumph in two road playoff fixtures last year, including a 6-5 victory over the Seattle Sounders on penalties in a match where they failed to register a single shot over 120 minutes of action.
Like many teams who have to play in that sweltering Texas heat, Salt Lake have a hard time dealing with those conditions along with the Austin attack, losing both of their previous visits to Q2 Stadium by a combined score of 4-1.
Claret and Cobalt have failed to find the back of the net in seven road fixtures this season, including a 3-0 defeat to the Verde and Black in mid-September.
Team News
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Austin striker Sebastian Driussi was among the five finalists for the Landon Donovan Most Valuable Player Award, as he scored 22 goals this year, one fewer than Hany Mukhtar for the Golden Boot.
Diego Fagundez finished second in the league behind Luciano Acosta for assists with 15, while Brad Stuver is one of three names on the shortlist for the Humanitarian of the Year Award in MLS.
They will be without Washington Corozo, who has a problem in his abdomen, while Freddy Kleemann continues to be plagued by a left knee injury.
RSL goalkeeper Zac MacMath became the club's first true "Iron Man", featuring in every minute of this regular season (3,060), Andrew Brody was the only outfield player on the squad to see the field in all 34 games, while Bode Hidalgo became the first Utah-born Homegrown player to score for RSL, putting home his first of the campaign in the 82nd minute last Sunday.
Bobby Wood is dealing with an adductor strain, Aaron Herrera has a sore calf, and Damir Kreilach has missed most of the season because of a back injury.
Austin FC possible starting lineup:
Stuver; Lima, Cascante, Gabrielsen, Gallagher; Ring, Pereira; Fagundez, Driussi, Finlay; Urruti
Real Salt Lake possible starting lineup:
MacMath; Brody, Glad, Silva, Loeffelsend; Chang, Caldwell, Ruiz, Savarino; Cordova, Rubin
We say: Austin FC 2-0 Real Salt Lake
Over the course of the season, Austin were what RSL became in the postseason in 2021, an underdog story who surprised everyone time and again.
Unfortunately for Salt Lake, that was then and this is now, and the bottom line is that we do not believe the visitors have the stamina or quality to compete with a side who have as many weapons as the Verde and Black, not to mention that kind of intense heat which we are likely to see, which should favour the home team.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
