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Real Salt Lake
Major League Soccer
May 18, 2023 at 4.12am UK
Rio Tinto Stadium
Portland Timbers

Salt Lake
0 - 0
Portland


Eneli (45+1')
FT

Boli (72')

Preview: Real Salt Lake vs. Portland Timbers - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Thursday's Major League Soccer clash between Real Salt Lake and Portland Timbers, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Just one week after being knocked out of the US Open Cup last week by Real Salt Lake, Portland Timbers will have the chance to get immediate revenge when they meet again on Thursday.

This time it is all about three points in the Major League Soccer Western Conference where the visitors aim to get back on track straight away.


Match preview

Real Salt Lake midfielder Maikel Chang (16) celebrates after scoring a goal on May 10, 2023© Reuters

Real Salt Lake came out on top in a seven-goal thriller when the two teams met last week in the cup, with goals from Danny Musovski, Andrew Gomez and a brace from Maikel Chang.

The result will give the team plenty of confidence heading into this match, which will be beneficial considering the fact they are sitting four points behind their opponents in the table right now.

Real Salt Lake were not able to bounce off the midweek victory last week when they returned to league football at the weekend, though, as were comfortably beaten 3-0 by Los Angeles FC.

That result continued a theme that Pablo Mastroeni's men have been dealing with lately as they have failed to score in their previous three league outings.

The fact they have now gone three matches without a win has left them dropping down the table which is a problem considering that another loss this weekend could see them drop to the bottom of the division.

Portland Timbers forward Jaroslaw Niezgoda (11) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal on May 10, 2023© Reuters

For the visitors, this game will be all about revenge after the defeat last week as they will want to quickly put that result behind them for their own personal pride as well as the points in the league.

Portland Timbers have struggled with consistency in the early games this season with four wins, three draws, and five defeats, but they have still managed to sit sixth already.

Giovanni Savarese's men did react well to the defeat against Real Salt Lake though when they returned to MLS football by beating Vancouver Whitecaps.

A second-minute goal from Franck Boli set them off to the races in that match, and was followed up by a brace from Evander to win the game 3-1.

Portland Timbers have only managed one victory on the road so far, though, which they will need to address if they want to keep climbing up the division.

Real Salt Lake Major League Soccer form:

Portland Timbers Major League Soccer form:


Team News

Real Salt Lake Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni looks on on April 2, 2023© Reuters

Musovski is likely to lead the line for RSL this weekend, with his strong performances throughout the season making him a real goal threat.

However, the hosts do have a laundry list of injuries to deal with at the moment as Tomas Gomez, Jasper Loffelsend, Zack Farnsworth and Erik Holt all find themselves on the sidelines right now.

Despite those issues, Real Salt Lake were able to welcome Anderson Julio and Bode Hidalgo back to the matchday squad during their last outing, boosting the depth slightly.

Following a brace in Portland Timbers most recent outing, he will be looking to provide a threat once again in this match.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the pitch Zac McGraw shall be focusing on trying to not score another own goal, which is how he marked his return from suspension in their most recent game.


Real Salt Lake possible starting lineup:
Beavers; Hidalgo, Glad, Pierre, Oviedo; Eneli, Ruiz, Chang; Gomez, Kreilach, Musovski

Portland Timbers possible starting lineup:
Ivacic; Mosquera, Mabiala, Zuparic, Bravo; D. Chara, Paredes; Moreno, Evander, Blanco; Boli


SM words green background

We say: Real Salt Lake 2-1 Portland Timbers

While Portland Timbers are higher in the division right now, it is the hosts who could end up taking all three points in this one by taking the experience from their recent match against their opponents.

How to watch

You can watch Real Salt Lake vs. Portland Timbers 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.

Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:curl


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Game History

How you voted: Salt Lake vs Portland

Real Salt Lake
42.9%
Draw
28.6%
Portland Timbers
28.6%
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Eastern Conference

TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Inter MiamiInter Miami34228479493074
2Columbus Crew34199672403266
3FC CincinnatiCincinnati341851158481059
4Orlando City34157125950952
5Charlotte FCCharlotte FC34149114637951
6New York City FCNY City34148125449550
7New York Red BullsNY Red Bulls34111495550547
8CF MontrealMontreal341110134864-1643
9Atlanta UnitedAtlanta341010144649-340
10DC United341010145270-1840
11Philadelphia UnionPhiladelphia34910156255737
12Toronto34114194061-2137
13Nashville SCNashville3499163854-1636
14New England RevolutionNew England3494213774-3731
15Chicago Fire3479184062-2230

Western Conference

TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Los Angeles FCLos Angeles34197863432064
2Los Angeles GalaxyLA Galaxy34197869501964
3Real Salt LakeSalt Lake341611765481759
4Seattle SoundersSeattle34169951351657
5Houston DynamoHouston34159104739854
6Minnesota UnitedMinnesota Utd34157125849952
7Colorado RapidsColorado34155146160150
8Portland TimbersPortland341211116556947
9Vancouver WhitecapsVancouver34138135249347
10Austin FCAustin34119143948-942
11Dallas34118155456-241
12St Louis City34813135063-1337
13Sporting Kansas CityKansas3487195166-1531
14San Jose EarthquakesEarthquakes3463254178-3721


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