SANDY, Utah (ABC 4 Sports) - Real Salt Lake finds itself in yet another battle for league supremacy. RSL (7-3-2) takes on Seattle (7-1-1) in a battle between the top two teams in MLS.
"I think this will be our third game where it's the top two in points in our conference playing," said head coach Jason Kreis. "So, we're getting used to it, and our guys respond well to big games."
"It's a huge game," said midfielder Ned Grabavoy. "Especially going on the road up there, it's a difficult place to play. So, we need to be focused from the opening minute and try to take advantage of the chances that we get."
Real Salt Lake sits atop the Western Conference standings with 23 points having gone unbeaten in its last four matches. But Seattle is just one point behind, and the Sounders are 5-1 at home this season. Kreis says it's no secret why.
"35,000 fans that are very loud," he said about the crowd at Century Link Field. "They can make it a very daunting place to play. They typically start games off full of high energy. They often times get teams into a deficit situation early in matches."
"They're a good team and they're well coached," added Grabavoy. "But it's a chance for us to continue the success that we've had over the past four games and build off of that."
"It's always a battle when we go up there," said captain Kyle Beckerman. "They've been a good team since they've been in the league and keep getting stronger. So, it's going to be another tough one."
While Javier Morales will miss the game with a quad injury, goalkeeper Nick Rimando is expected to return to the net after missing Wednesday's scoreless draw at Chicago with a shoulder injury.
"I feel good," said Rimando. "I've done everything I can to get back on the field, so I feel like I'm ready to play."
Rimando knows the Sounders will have revenge on their minds after RSL eliminated them in the playoffs last season.
"That's definitely going to be in the back of their minds," he said. "I'm sure they believe they should have advanced. But this year is a different year, so we're going to go in there, battle, do what we can and hopefully get some points."
The match will begin at 8:00 p.m. mountain time Saturday night, and can been seen on ABC-4.
