Real Salt Lake City vs. Sporting Kansas City Prediction, Preview and Odds - 5/1/21
Real Salt Lake (RSL) plays their second game of the 2021 MLS Season at home on Saturday as they play host to Sporting Kansas City, playing their third game of the season, from Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah. Real Salt Lake is coming off a heated 2-1 win that saw tempers flare towards the end after David Ochoa punted a ball into the Minnesota supporters section, but the away team was still thrilled to get all three points last week. On the flip side, Sporting Kansas City comes in having tied the last time out against Orlando after getting a win in the season opener on the road against NYRB. Last year saw RSL miss the playoffs for the first time since 2017, while Sporting KC made their playoff return after missing out in 2019, only to bow out in the quarterfinals despite finishing with the best regular-season record across the Western Conference. Over the years, this has continued to be a fierce rivalry between two long standing league members, and it’ll be interesting to see which team carries their form over into Saturday afternoon’s clash.
RSL Putting Ochoa Distraction Behind Them
RSL put together an impressive performance in their opener last weekend, getting three points on the road against a difficult to break down Minnesota United team, but all the talk afterward stemmed from David Ochoa. The USYNT U20 superstar is excited for his time in the spotlight and despite the off-the-field distractions from time to time, still is one of the best keepers in the league and will surely get plenty of work on Saturday. RSL was disappointed to miss out on the playoffs last year but already looks like a different team after one week in 2021, and a win against Sporting KC can quickly shift their focus back to their 2019 thoughts when they finished 3rd in the Western Conference. In the opener last week, RSL was outshot 23-1, but limited Minnesota’s on-goal chances to only two. Anderson Julio scored two first-half goals, just ten minutes apart, to push RSL to the finish line, along with Ochoa’s two saves.
Croatian midfielder, Damir Kreilach, has led the team in goals two of the last three years, bashing in 15 in 2018 and nine last year, and has been a welcome return to an interesting attacking core. The big signing of the off-season for RSL was bringing in last week’s hero, Julio, on loan from Mexican club, Atletico San Luis. Besides the two international stars, they also have former Bundesliga and USMNT vet, Bobby Wood, and former USYNT star, Rubio Rubin, both of whom the coaching staff is hoping to see comebacks from. The backline and midfield is slightly more open, especially as they continue to try to find Kyle Beckerman’s replacement after holding it down in the midfield for over a decade, but with Ochoa in the back, many teams could be feeling worse about how many goals they might allow when it’s all said and done.
RSL has ten homegrown players on the roster heading into this year, and while filled with youth, should also give them plenty of experience to earn their caps and grow over towards what looks like a strong future for the club. In January's SuperDraft, the team was able to draft Generation Adidas player Bret Halsey, who should bring some more experience to the back. During his time at Virginia he started 30 games over the last two years and while the speed of play will definitely be a step up, he should still be able to add some unique experience for at least the homegrown players to draw from.
Sporting KC Looking To Continue Western Dominance
Sporting KC has finished top three in MLS as a whole and first in the Western Conference in two of the last three years, and this year looks like they could have one of the league’s strongest teams yet again. The first key is figuring out how to navigate the roster for the rest of the year, especially with youngster Gianluca Busio attracting European attention, and homegrown goalkeeper John Pulskamp pushing longtime starter Tim Melia for minutes in the back. As if that wasn’t enough to worry about, head coach Peter Vermes has an extensive group of other youngsters looking for playing time, as well as two players on loan, one from Europe, who he’ll need to shuffle in and out of the lineup, potentially at the expense of more experienced and household names, like USMNT-vet Graham Zusi.
The season opener showed the reliance of this team, after going down 1-0 on the road early in the second-half. Sporting KC responded with two goals in a one-minute span and then hung on despite getting outshot overall 12-8 and it all even in shots on goal. Last week was a slightly different story, with Busio slotting home the first goal in the 45th minute, but conceding to Nani in the 78th minute. Over the weekend Sporting was outshot again, 11-9, but controlled the shots on goals 5-4.
The lineup card by Vermes over the first two weeks has seen Pulskamp get both starts, with Jaylin Lindsey gettin the start at right-back, a position typically occupied by Zusi over the last few years. Sporting KC has injected quite a bit of money into their academy and it shows so far. On the current roster, they have 12 homegrown players and a great balance of experience and young athleticism. It isn’t bad at all to have Zusi ready to come in at the back or to have European star Johnny Russell coming on to try to find a goal. The anchor also continues to be Roger Espinoza, the Honduran international who spent time with Wigan Athletic in England and has made 254 appearances for Sporting as an absolute workhorse.
Pick: Sporting KC (+170)
Real Salt Lake has brought in some talent, especially with Anderson Julio, but they’ve only played one game and it’s still unsure exactly who they’ll be this year. On the flip side, Sporting KC has looked like a force this year, even with the draw last week, and has some more continuity and consistency with two games and some CONCACAF Champions League under their belt. Beyond the young stars that Sporting has, they also are filled with depth and experience at nearly every position and have players entering their prime, or still in it, as opposed to Real Salt Lake who is still relying on some comeback stories from key figures to ensure a productive season. Even going on the road, Veremes will have his team ready to go and the talent up top will be too much for Real Salt Lake to keep pace with as Sporting cruises to their second win of the season.
Pick: Under 3
Neither team has one of the best goal-scoring individuals or offenses in the league at all, and while three seems like the perfect number, it’s unlikely they combine for four goals or more, so the under seems like the safest play here. Both teams have scored under this number or pushed in their three combined games this year. Additionally, in the last four games against each other, under three goals has won or pushed four straight times, winning in three of those four and in both meetings last year.
