Must Win Wednesday
Real Salt Lake is climbing the Western Conference standings while the Timbers have stumbled to just a 1-3-2 record since a stoppage-time winner at Rio Tinto Stadium on August 15. That puts RSL within three points of the Timbers in a crucial matchup with major playoff implications.
A win puts Salt Lake right into the mix for the club’s eighth consecutive postseason appearance and while any other result wouldn’t eliminate RSL, it would certainly make the situation pretty dire over the final two matches.
Revenge at the Riot
Who can forget the August 15 match when RSL dominated throughout the 90 minutes, but could not find the back of the net only to have longtime Claret-and-Cobalt defender Nat Borchers roast his former team with a stoppage-time header in a 1-0 win for the Timbers.
That will be on the minds of fans in attendance if not the players on the field as Real looks to even the season series, currently held by Portland at 1-0-1 after a scoreless draw at Providence Park in the season opener clear back in March.
Adi vs. Olave
This may not be the type of matchup that will draw the headlines, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a center back vs. forward matchup that sets up to be more of a physical battle than when Jamison Olave meets Fanendo Adi. Adi leads the Timbers with 12 goals this season and has two in three matches against RSL all-time and Olave was a two-time MLS Best XI defender in his prime. But that’s not the main reason this matchup is intriguing.
Olave stand 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds while Adi is 6-foot-4 and 185 pounds. Neither is willing to give an inch in their clashes either, so things could get mighty explosive in front of the goal.
Rio Tinto Fortress
Real Salt Lake has long been dominant at Rio Tinto Stadium. Since its opening in 2008, RSL boasts a 97-20-39 mark in all competitions, including a 7-2-6 record in MLS play this season. Against the Timbers, RSL is 4-2-1 in regular season play at home and 6-2-1 across all competitions.
With five of the top all-time attended matches in stadium history coming this season, RSL’s fans have packed the stadium this year and given the club an incredible home-field advantage.
