Real Salt Lake vs Chicago Fire: Three Storylines to Watch
Real Salt Lake takes on the Chicago Fire for their first test on the road. Here are three things to watch for in Round 2 of MLS play.
Real Salt Lake travels to the Windy City to face a new look Chicago Fire. Following a scoreless draw against Toronto FC, Real look to build on a stellar defensive performance while improving on their attack. Here are some things we will be looking for.
Who starts at center-back?
It is disappointing that this seems to be a recurring topic already. Following a solid performance in the opener, head coach Jeff Cassar revealed that Chris Schuler obtained a foot injury and will miss this weekend’s game. With Aaron Maund, Justen Glad, and Demar Phillips all still recovering from injuries, the back line is even more thin than last week.
David Horst is practically guaranteed to get another start after a great first showing. It is likely that we see veteran Chris Wingert slide over into the center back role, unless rookie Justin Schmidt makes his MLS debut. Whoever starts next to Horst will be tasked with defending new Fire DP, Nemanja Nikolic. The Hungarian was brought in from Poland where he scored an astonishing 41 goals in 54 appearances.
Whoever plays next to Horst will determine who starts at left back. Should Schmidt get the start we are likely to see Wingert for a second straight week. If Wingert is moved over into a center back role, we could see Danny Acosta get the start. Jordan Allen is also an option to move back as well, which brings us to our next question…
How much will we see from the U-20’s?
Justen Glad, Danny Acosta, Brooks Lennon and Sebastian Saucedo are back with the team after a championship run through World Cup Qualifying. All four players played key roles in the team’s title clinching run. This also means they saw a lot of time on the field over the last month. The injury to Justen Glad is evidence of just that.
The team could be cautious about throwing the youngsters onto the field, but they may not have an option. Danny Acosta played well at left back throughout the tournament, but the Fire may try to exploit his inexperience and may even try to isolate him against speedy winger David Accam, who scored the lone Fire goal last week.
If the team chooses to stay with experience, Tony Beltran could move to the left and Jordan Allen could drop to the back. This would mean Brooks Lennon or Sebastian Saucedo could get a chance in the attack. Lennon was one of the bright spots for the US with four goals through qualifying. Saucedo had two of his own and could play out wide as well.
Should Cassar choose not to go with the youngsters, preseason stand out Ricardo Velazco could get a run as a starter.
Will we see a goal?
The RSL attack started slow against the solid Toronto defense. Plata, Rusnák, and Yura all played decently, but weren’t able to really get anything going in the final third. Will the attack be able to find the back of the net for the first time this year? Chicago revamped much of their roster for the second year in a row, but this time landed MLS veterans to protect their leaky back line.
Former Red Bull, Dax McCarty helped Chicago dominate possession in the second half against Columbus in week one. The Fire weathered a potent attack from the Crew for the first 45, then McCarty was able to control the middle and relieve the pressure on the back. He will have help this week from former LA Galaxy mid, Juninho, who missed last week on red card suspension.
The Real Salt Lake front four (whether it be Jordan Allen or someone else) will have to do much better this week in terms of creating and finishing chances to protect their own back line. Look to see whoever wins the battle in the middle to have a serious advantage throughout the match.
Next: Gold Cup Schedule Groups Announced
RSL vs Chicago, March 11th, Noon (MST)
Bold Prediction: Real gets things rolling in the attack, but the depth on the back line is tested on multiple occasions. RSL endures a thrilling 3-2 victory on the road.