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RSL at Philadelphia Union Preview

Real Salt Lake is in Philadelphia to face the Union on Saturday, here’s what you need to know ahead of the match:

1.  Real Salt Lake is fresh off a 3-2 win at Rio Tinto Stadium against D.C. United, extending their home winning streak to 4 in a row.  Albert Rusnak made the MLS Team of the Week thanks to his goal and assist, while Corey Baird won the ATT Goal of the Week.  Rusnak now has 3 goals and 3 assists on the season, Corey Baird and Joao Plata have 3 goals and 1 assist each, Jefferson Savarino has 2 goals and 2 assists, and Damir Kreilach has 1 goal and 3 assists.

2.  RSL forward Joao Plata, who has scored in the last two matchups between RSL and Philly, irritated his quad during the D.C. United match, landing him on the injury list.  Tony Beltran (knee 10/17), Jordan Allen (knee 6/17), Shawn Barry (knee 3/10/18), Demar Phillips (ankle 4/7/18), and Alex Horwath (achilles 4/18/18) are still ruled out.

3.  Real Salt Lake is back on the road for their next two matches, heading to Seattle after the match in Philly.  RSL is looking to amend their road woes against a Union team that is 2-2-1 at home so far this season.  RSL is winless on the road, drawing their first match at Dallas and losing 4 straight against Toronto, NYCFC, Vancouver, and Orlando.  Albert Rusnak says they need to have the same mentality and style, home or away:

4. RSL has never lost to Philadelphia, with a record of 4-6-0 all-time and 1-4-0 at Talen Energy Stadium.  Their last visit to Philly was a success, as goals from Joao Plata and Javier Morales gave the Claret & Cobalt a 2-1 victory.  Real also won last year’s match at Rio Tinto Stadium 1-0 thanks to a goal from Plata.  RSL head coach Mike Petke believes Philadelphia is a top team in MLS despite their results:

Listen to Mike’s full interview on The Bill Riley Show here.

5.  Philadelphia is coming off a 2-0 road win at Montreal with goals from Burke (who also received a red card) and Medunjannin.  The Union has two wins at home so far, against New England and D.C. United, and has scored 7 goals and conceded 5 on the season.  Goalkeeper Andre Blake has kept just 2 clean sheets so far this season at home.  Forward CJ Sapong has 2 goals on the season, but it’s midfielder Borek Dockal who leads the Union with 2 goals and 1 assist and 19 chances created.  USMNT regular Alejandro Bedoya isn’t far behind with 1 goal and 2 assists.  Philadelphia is in 8th in the eastern conference with a record of 3-2-5 giving them 11 points and a goal differential of -6.

Our coverage of Real Salt Lake at Philadelphia Union begins at 4:30 PM with Spencer Warne and Tom Hackett, kick-off is at 5:30 PM with Bill Riley and Jay Nolly.

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