Minnesota United: 3 things to watch for vs. RSL

Minnesota United travels to Utah to take on Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium. Minnesota beat RSL 4-2 in Minnesota, and are looking for another 3 points.

Here are 3 things to watch for when Minnesota United takes on RSL at Rio Tinto on Saturday night.

How will Christian Ramirez respond to being left off the Gold Cup roster?

Striker Christian Ramirez was not included in Bruce Arena’s preliminary Gold Cup roster, which was a surprise to many, including Ramirez. Ramirez knows however that if he wants to be in consideration for future national team call-ups, he has to keep proving himself in MLS.

The Gold Cup snub may be the chip on the shoulder that Ramirez needs to keep up his scorching form and help the Loons get closer to the red line. It will be interesting to see how Ramirez responds to the snub over the next couple of weeks.

A good opportunity for 3 points

So far this season, the Loons have picked up a couple of surprising results against teams they were thought to have no business getting a result against. After all those matches though, this is really the first match that the Loons should expect to get 3 points.

Yes, this match is on the road in altitude, but RSL are really struggling right now. Minnesota was dominant in the match at TCF Bank Stadium in April, absorbing a quick body blow from RSL (a 4th minute Luke Mulholland goal) and taking control, en route to winning 4-2. It will be interesting to see if the Loons can complete the double over RSL.

Minnesota United’s biggest needs during the summer transfer window

With Minnesota already exceeding expectations so far, a couple of good additions during the summer window could put Minnesota into the playoff discussion.

Squad rotation?

With some bench players and possibly even a few starters set to see playing time in Minnesota’s US Open Cup match against SKC on Wednesday, it will be interesting to see if their needs to be some squad rotation for this one.

Important starters like Francisco Calvo, Kevin Molino, Ibson, Marc Burch or Jerome Thiesson probably won’t play, for various reasons. Expect out of favor players like John Alvbåge, Bashkim Kadrii, Kevin Venegas, and Justin Davis to see time, and possibly guys like Ish Jome, Rasmus Schuller, and Collen Warner to appear as well. That could mean that a couple of surprising names make the 18 against RSL.