The Basics
Toronto FC (7W-5D-8L 26 points), 3rd place Eastern Conference, MLS) vs. Real Salt Lake (11W-6D-4L 39 points), 2nd place, Western Conference, MLS)
Toronto hold an advantage against Real Salt Lake with an all-time record of 3W-1D-2L
BROADCAST INFO
Game Introduction
Both teams are heading in opposite directions at the right and wrong times depending on the perspective. Toronto FC have struggled of late and dropped out of the top eight seeds in the MLS playoff picture after a loss to Red Bull New York and recent advances by Seattle and San Jose. Meanwhile, Real Salt Lake have lost just once in their last 11 MLS matches to move up the Western Conference standings into second place, just four points behind the Los Angeles Galaxy. The potential for heated affairs exists as both teams are in the same group of CONCACAF Champions League and facing each other three times over the next couple of months.
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Home Team News
Preki’s side is feeling the pressure and it’s not just from its crowded schedule. Back to back losses to New York may have put second place out of reach, but the club has now dropped out of the playoff picture. Key starters were rested in a 1-0 loss at Arabe Unido of Panama in CONCACAF Champions League action Tuesday, including captain and leading scorer Dwayne De Rosario, who made a second half appearance and should be ready for Saturday. Central defender Nana Attakora will miss the game for accumulating cautions, but the club’s signing of homegrown central defender Doneil Henry should help shore up a team suffering from suspensions and injuries.
Away Team News
After an average start, the defending MLS Cup champions have climbed up the standings and are a serious threat to repeat their title. Balanced scoring has driven the strong form of late with seven players scoring at least two goals. They’re led by the eight goals of Costa Rican international Alvaro Saborio, who scored twice in a come-from behind victory over Arabe Unido last week. On Wednesday, RSL nearly became the first MLS club to win a meaningful game in Mexico, narrowly losing 5-4 to Cruz Azul in a wild game ravaged by monsoon-like conditions. Despite the loss, Jason Kreis’s team is playing well and rounding into championship form down the final third of the season. Canadian international Will Johnson makes his return to his hometown where he’s always played well for Canada and against TFC.
"You can't lose a game twice," RSL GM Garth Lagerwey said. "You may have a hard result like tonight go against you, but you can't lose it again. The way you lose it twice is by dwelling on the result and not looking at the performance and having it sit with you as you go to Toronto. We've got a long trip in front of us, and Toronto is a very good team, so it's going to be an enormous challenge for us playing up there, where we've never won. The way to show that we've overcome this result is to be resilient and go into Toronto and try and win that game."
Heroes & Villains
Toronto FC defender Adrian Cann vs. Real Salt Lake striker Alvaro Saborio: With the absence of Attakora, Cann will be counted on to contend with the crafty Saborio, who has four goals in his last two games. Cann and Attakora have complemented each other, but Cann’s ability to hold down the middle without Attakora will be a key to stopping RSL's balanced offense. Saborio will be a handful, but Cann and the rest of the backline can’t lose sight of RSL’s other scoring threats in Javier Morales and Fabio Espindola, who have combined for 11 goals.
Stat that makes you go, “Hmm … "
Real Salt Lake have never won at BMO Field going losing twice and drawing once in three matches.
