Real Salt Lake at Philadelphia Union
May 19, 2018; Talen Energy Stadium
5:30 p.m. MT; KMYU, KSL.com, KSL app
RSL (4-5-1, 13 points); PHI (3-5-2, 11 points)
Player to Watch – The Union brought Borek Dockal on loan from Henan Jianye in China with the aim of having him be the creative attacking midfielder that could lift Philadelphia into deeper contention. Thus far, the 29-year-old Czech National Teamer has one goal and two assists and ranks 15th in the league with 19 chances created. With C.J. Sapong missing last week’s match with a hip and quad contusion and his replacement being sent off with a red card, the emphasis will be even greater on Dockal to produce this week.
Matchup to Watch – Corey Baird vs. Auston Trusty and Mark McKenzie. It’s a battle of Homegrowns as Baird meets the 19-year-old Philadelphia center back tandem of Trusty and McKenzie. Baird is coming off a week in which he scored the MLS Goal of the Week for his third goal of the season while the Philly center backs helped hold Montreal scoreless in a 2-0 win for the Union.
All-Time Record – Real Salt Lake is 4-0-6 all-time against Philadelphia, including a record of 1-0-4 at Talen Energy Field. The lone victory came last time RSL visited the Union as Joao Plata and Javier Morales scored second-half goals in a 2-1 comeback win.
Last 5 Overall – Philadelphia is 2-3-0 in the last five matches, winning last week on the road to cap a three-game road swing. The Union has been shutout in each of the three losses while scoring five combined goals in the two victories.
