Real Salt Lake vs. Sporting Kansas City | MLS Match Preview

#RSLvSKC: Sporting look to stay hot with Rio Tinto visit (Sun., 10 pm ET; FS1)

Real Salt Lake vs. Sporting Kansas City, June 21, 2015

REAL SALT LAKE vs SPORTING KANSAS CITY
RIO TINTO STADIUM, Sandy, Utah
June 21, 2015 (WEEK 16, MLS Game #159)
8 p.m. MT (FS1 / FOX Deportes)

It’s the second meeting of the year for the MLS Cup 2013 foes – now in the same conference – as Real Salt Lake play host to Sporting Kansas City at Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday evening. The teams are going in opposite directions: Real with two wins in their last 11 matches, following their scoreless draw with Colorado in their last league game, while Sporting are unbeaten in their last seven, coming off a 1-0 win vs. Seattle Sounders FC in their last MLS game. The teams played to a scoreless draw April 11, their second consecutive goalless result in league meetings.


  • The teams are meeting for the second time this season. They played a scoreless draw April 11 at Sporting Park.
  • The teams have played to scoreless results in their last two league meetings, both played in Kansas City. Real last won in the series in 2011, a 1-0 win Sept. 17 at Rio Tinto Stadium. SKC has won two of the four meetings since, with two draws.
  • Real have never won at Sporting Park, in five meetings lifetime, including MLS Cup 2013. RSL last won in Kansas City in 2009 (at CommunityAmerica Ballpark). Sporting won on their last trip to Utah, in 2013.
  • Real Salt Lake had their winless streak extended to three games with their second shutout in that time last time out, a scoreless draw with the Colorado Rapids on June 6 at Rio Tinto Stadium.
  • Sporting Kansas City extended their undefeated streak to seven games with a second consecutive victory last time out, Benny Feilhaber scoring the game’s only goal with a late penalty kick in a 1-0 win vs. Seattle Sounders FC on June 6 at Sporting Park, SKC’s third consecutive defensive shutout.


REFEREE: Drew Fischer. AR1 (bench): Jeff Hosking; AR2 (opposite): Marco Arruda; 4th: Daniel Radford
MLS Career: 44 games; FC/gm: 26.5; Y/gm: 2.8; R: 3; pens: 13


DOWNLOAD FULL GAME GUIDE (PDF)

SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: RSL: Kyle Beckerman, Abdoulie Mansally
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: RSL: Jordan Allen, Luke Mulholland … KC: Roger Espinoza, Kevin Ellis
DISABLED LIST: none
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none


HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (18 meetings): Real 5 wins, 20 goals … Sporting 8 wins, 23 goals … Ties 5 AT SALT LAKE (8 meetings): Real 4 wins, 13 goals … Sporting 3 wins, 11 goals … Ties 1
FUTURE MATCH: 7/24: Real Salt Lake vs. Sporting Kansas City, 9 p.m. MT (UniMas) · The teams are meeting for the second time this season. They played a scoreless draw April 11 at Sporting Park.


  • The teams have played to scoreless results in their last two league meetings, both played in Kansas City. Real last won in the series in 2011, a 1-0 win Sept. 17 at Rio Tinto Stadium. SKC has won two of the four meetings since, with two draws.
  • Real have never won at Sporting Park, in five meetings lifetime, including MLS Cup 2013. RSL last won in Kansas City in 2009 (at CommunityAmerica Ballpark). Sporting won on their last trip to Utah, in 2013.
  • Coaches record: Jeff Cassar vs. KC: P2 W0 L0 D2 … Peter Vermes vs. RSL: P9 W3 L3 D3 2015


LAST MEETING (MLS): 4/11: KC 0, RSL 0


  • Sporting did put the ball into the back of the net in the 55th minute when Dom Dwyer slid to poke Benny Feilhaber's long through ball past RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando, but Dwyer was ruled offside on the play.
  • Rimando was credited with one save for the match in keeping the clean sheet. SKC goalkeeper Luis Marin was not required to make a single save.
  • SPORTING KANSAS CITY (4-3-3): Luis Marin - Jalil Anibaba, Ike Opara (Kevin Ellis 84), Matt Besler, Marcel de Jong - Benny Feilhaber, Servando Carrasco, Roger Espinoza - Jacob Peterson (Bernardo Anor 77), Dom Dwyer, Krisztian Nemeth.
  • REAL SALT LAKE (4-1-2-3): Nick Rimando - Tony Beltran, Jamison Olave, Elias Vasquez, Abdoulie Mansally - Kyle Beckerman - Javier Morales, Luke Mulholland (John Stertzer 90) - Luis Gil (Jordan Allen 65), Alvaro Saborio, Olmes Garcia (Demar Phillips 88).


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CHECK OUT THE DISCIPLINARY REPORT HEADING INTO THE MATCH