Real Salt Lake vs Philadelphia Union: Preview and How To Watch

A streaking Philadelphia Union take their unbeaten streak out west to face a Real Salt Lake side looking to find their identity.

It’s been quite the turnaround for the Philadelphia Union. Over the last month, the Union have ended the longest winless streak in club history, and set the record for most consecutive wins. Yes, you read that right.

Philly has a good chance to good chance to keep the streak alive as they visit the Salt Lake Valley to take on a struggling RSL, who are looking to make a similar turnaround. Here’s what we’re looking forward to.

Philadelphia Union

Current Record: 4-4-4

Last Time Out: 2-1 win against Colorado

Player To Watch For: Haris Medunjanin. Medunjanin has been a constant for the Union this season, having played every minute of the 2017 MLS Season. His top form over the last few weeks has even resulted in him receiving a callup to the Bosnian National Team for their upcoming World Cup Qualifier. With RSL captain Kyle Beckerman missing this one on suspension, look for Medunjanin to dominate the midfield and keep things rolling for Philadelphia.

Why They Win: The Union have been on fire lately, scoring 11 goals in their last four contest. More impressively, they only allowed one goal in those same matches. Philadelphia are firing on all cylinders and show no sign of slowing down. It isn’t hard to see the Union keeping those figures up against an RSL side who has only scored in one of their last five matches, while giving 12 goals over that same period.

Why They Won’t: Part of Philly’s recent success can be contributed to a fortunate draw in their schedule. The Union have played three of their last four matches at home, with the fourth being a quick trip to play DC United. Their last two trips have resulted in 0-0 draws. The first against the Galaxy at the end of April and the other was the season opener at Vancouver. While RSL has struggled, their form is noticeably better home. Real even got the best of NYCFC at Rio Tinto Stadium just last week.

Predicted Starting XI:

Real Salt Lake

Current Record: 3-8-2

Last Time Out: 1-0 loss at Seattle

Player To Watch: Yura Movsisyan. The designated player made headlines this week after voicing frustration with his role in recent matches. Movsisyan leads RSL with four goals, but hasn’t been able to find the back of the net in their last six matches. His dip in form has led to less minutes and last week Luis Silva was given the start against the Sounders. Yura will look to break his goal drought this week against a strong Union back line.

Why They Win: While the scoreline hasn’t shown it, RSL has shown a lot of progress under new head coach Mike Petke. Finishing has been a recurring issue, and not because of a lack of chances.

Should RSL finally get the back to hit the back of the net, they could easily get rolling and start stringing results together. The club is also rolling into full health, another issue that has challenged Real throughout the season. Good health and solid finishing could still be enough to save RSL’s poor start to the season.

Why The Won’t: Real Salt Lake has struggled to connect the defense to the attack in matches that Kyle Beckerman has missed this year. They don’t still have any replacement in the wings for the aging captain, and his presence is painfully missed when he is not on the field. If the attack struggles like it did in the first half against Seattle, this will be another long day.

Predicted Starting XI:

Prediction and How to Watch

When: May 27, 2017. 8:00 pm EST

Where: Rio Tinto Stadium. Sandy, Utah

Watch: KMYU, MLS Live