Bouncing Back
Real Salt Lake suffered a 4-0 defeat against the New England Revolution on Saturday and is now poised to get back on the right track against San Jose. In addition, RSL is now on a 316-minute scoreless streak with players coming in and out of the lineup during April.
However, Javier Morales is slated to return to the lineup after missing the last two matches with a groin injury while Jamison Olave will return from his red card suspension and Nick Rimando is likely to return after resting a knee injury. With the team moving closer to full strength, confidence is rising in training and the players are looking to end the slump at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Rematch Time
It was less than a month ago that Real Salt Lake met the Earthquakes for the first time this season. In that match at Avaya Stadium, Morales scored a thunderbolt goal in the 44th minute and Rimando made two saves to get the clean sheet.
In a physical contest, San Jose forward Innocent Emeghara was retroactively suspended for an elbow to the head of Luke Mulholland just before halftime and midfielder Fatai Alashe came in hard on a late tackle of Morales that earned him a yellow card. Now RSL is ready to face another tough battle at Rio Tinto Stadium.
The Wondo Show
Last time out, San Jose forward Chris Wondolowski was held without a shot for just the third time in the last four years. Wondolowski ranks ninth on the MLS all-time scoring charts with 96 career goals and he has three goals already this season. It won’t be an easy task to keep him from getting any shots away this time around, but keeping him off the ball and marking him well when he is off the ball could lead to a repeat performance for the RSL defense.
Friday Night Lights
For the first time this season, Real Salt Lake will be featured on Univision Deportes in a featured Friday night match. In both Univision Deportes matches that feature Real Salt Lake this season – the other falls July 24 against Sporting Kansas City – KMYU television will pick up the local broadcast to ensure that everyone in the Salt Lake area can watch the match live.
