Real Salt Lake vs. LA Galaxy Prediction, Preview and Odds - 7/21/21

Real Salt Lake welcomes LA Galaxy to Rio Tinto Stadium in Utah on Wednesday night for a crucial Western Conference tilt. The two teams have yet to meet this year and split both games last season, leading to what should be a back and forth affair in Wednesday's season series opener. There are eight points separating the two teams in the standings right now, meaning that Wednesday night is an opportunity for the Galaxy to potentially create a tough-to-recover-from lead over Real Salt Lake in the playoff race, or Real Salt Lake can pull even closer to to the group of teams vying for home-field advantage come the fall’s playoffs. With both teams missing various international-caliber players due to the Gold Cup, expect some lineup juggling between the two teams to make it a fresh and enjoyable experience for fans and the teams themselves alike.

RSL Looks For Playoff Push

As the summer draws closer and closer to an end, Real Salt Lake knows that their opportunity to make a push towards the playoffs becomes more and more difficult to achieve. RSL currently sits in eighth place in the Western Conference standings, as only the top seven make the playoffs, making every point that they can earn at home that much more important. They currently have 16 points and an impressive plus-five goal differential considering where they are in the standings, and a win on Wednesday would see them jump into the top six. Since the mid-summer break though, it has been tough sledding for the home side, winning only twice, both against a dreadful Vancouver side. To take all three points against an LA Galaxy side that they’re looking up to in the standings, would be a great accomplishment and one that could spur Real onto bigger and better things down the final stretch.

Real Salt Lake has been one of the teams most helped with Gold Cup availability due to not losing a ton of players in their own right. Douglas Martinez is their only player out on international duty, while Jeizon Ramirez, Zack Farnsworth, and Andrew Brody are all out with undisclosed injuries/issues. Those issues won’t matter much to the club’s supporters from an attacking standpoint, as neither of those players has contributed a goal this season, while Brody has one assist. Damir Kreilach leads the team with seven goals and will be ready to put on a show at home, while Rubio Rubin has come on strong this season with four goals, though is on a slight cold streak of late. With seven different goal scorers on the year, Real has plenty of depth and options at home.

Defense will be a little more difficult for the home side. Brody has been a mainstay in the back, while Farnsworth has appeared in nine games as well. The good news though is that Justin Glad, one of the best center backs in the league remains in the lineup, as does goalkeeper David Ochoa. Ochoa, one of MLS’ young stars, has eleven starts on the season and has formed a strong partnership with Glad in the back. His distribution is already some of the best in the league and the counterattack will be a dangerous option for them against the Galaxy.

Galaxy Look To Remain Atop Western Conference

After being one of the most dominating clubs in the league during the 2000s and early to mid-2010s, the last few years have been quiet by LA Galaxy standards. This year has seen a resurgence by the club though and even after dropping two of their last three games, they still find themselves in a comfortable position. LA sits in third place in the Western Conference, on 24 points, but only with a plus-one goal differential. One thing to keep an eye on though is that even as the road team the last two games, they haven’t had to leave the friendly confines of Rio Tinto Stadium, which should take away the typical soccer disadvantage of having back-to-back road games in MLS. A win on the road against RSL would potentially put the Galaxy six points clear of the next nearest team in the standings, which would be a great spot to be in as the end of the season draws near.

The main thing to keep an eye on for the Galaxy on the road is where their goal production will come from. Javier Hernandez has been one of the best scorers this season, but is likely to miss Wednesday’s game, along with Jonathan dos Santos and Efrain Alvarez, who are both with Mexico in the Gold Cup. Of the Galaxy’s 19 goals on the year, only seven of those will be represented by players available for Wednesday’s game. A lot of focus will fall on USMNT vet Sacha Kljestan, who has two goals on the season, along with creator Victor Vasquez, who has three assists on the season. The Galaxy still have some firepower waiting on the bench who will get a look on Wednesday, but it remains to be seen how they will perform without Hernandez to support them and draw attention from opposing defenses.

The more pressing issue seems to be Daniel Steres and Sega Coulibaly, two starting defenders who are both questionable for Wednesday. As mainstays in the lineup, the defense will take a massive hit if both, or even one, is unable to go against Real Salt Lake on the road. Jorge Villafana will be the player to keep an eye on. The outside back with experience across Europe and on the international scene will have the composure to keep the inexperienced backline entact, with the attacking understanding to help get forward and break down Salt Lake and take pressure off his own backline.

Pick: Real Salt Lake (-120)

Even though the Galaxy might be third in the Western Conference, it’s hard to trust them until they have their top attackers return from the Gold Cup. Hernandez’s ten goals are difficult to replicate, especially against a home side in Salt Lake that’ll have their entire offense ready to play on Wednesday. LA showed little life against Vancouver over the weekend, who is one of the worst teams in the league. That display, with the same players potentially out, in addition to two starting defenders for Wednesday, only leaves even less to be expected from them as the away team against Salt Lake. Real on the other hand will have nearly their entire team available and it’ll show, especially from an offensive standpoint.

Pick: Under

The LA Galaxy will be missing too much offense, especially going on the road to expect much from them offensively. Hernandez out, plus two Gold Cup players for Mexico out of the attack is too much to ask to find replacing with the Galaxy’s limited depth. For Real, they’ll score, but the defense should have enough to pitch a shutout considering LA’s struggles against a far inferior Vancouver team. Fans shouldn’t expect to see Real Salt Lake to hit three goals, even with their normal lineup out there, and with Galaxy struggling to score and find consistency, this seems like a game destined for two goals or three goals total, at the absolute most.