Real Salt Lake Faces Chivas USA – Bring on the Goats!

By: Rocky Cole | May 22nd, 2010

Chivas USA Prepares for RSL Match at Home

There is a pretty good pre-game assessment of the Chivas USA versus Real Salt Lake match here. But the down and dirty assessment is that RSL has been ascendant while Chivas has been mired in mediocrity. Chivas was the hot team at the start of the 2008 season, but something happened to the team (not just the loss of Preki) and it has slipped to the place it now firmly possesses: Last Place in the West. Ouch!

Of course, Real Salt Lake has had some woes this season too. Real had high hopes for their “Defense of the Title” season, and while there have been detractors that said things like “Flash in the Pan” after losses to the LA Galaxy and Houston away, the team seemed different this year and was never out of any game. Now RSL is riding a three game win streak. Add to that the recent play of Alvaro Saborio, the return of Javier Morales and Ned Grabavoy, and even without Will Johnson and Robbie Findley – on respective national team duty with Canada and the U.S. – RSL looks hot. Recently RSL has shown it still has top form while home at Rio Tinto Stadium, but to avoid giving fans premature grey hair, the team has to string some road wins together. I would add that getting points now, prior to adding in CONCACAF games that take the team to the Caribbean and Central America mid week, would be a good thing.

What’s at stake in the tonight’s game at the Home Depot Center: If RSL wins away, they can take sole possession of second place in the West. If Chivas wins, they have hope of rising from their ignoble place at the bottom of the Western Conference Table. In other words, both teams have something to play for and games against Chivas USA in front of their home fans are always vocal and exciting. My recommendation: If you are catching one game tonight, this one is a good choice.