Rio Tinto Stadium will host a pivotal Western Conference battle this Saturday as Real Salt Lake (6-8-5, 23 pts.) look to avenge their early-season loss to Seattle Sounders FC (7-4-8, 29 pts.) and gain much needed ground in the playoff race. It will be the first of two matches RSL will host against Western Conference powers in consecutive weeks an their first home match since the All-Star break. RSL coach Jason Kreis will again observe the match from the press box as he fulfills his two match suspension due to inappropriate behavior against the referee in RSL’s last home match versus FC Dallas.

It will be an interesting encounter for both squads, as there already appears to be bad blood between the teams. Seattle has been a surprising expansion team this season, consistently hanging in the top tier of the Western Conference while blowing away MLS attendance records with fanatical home support. RSL, on the other hand, is a former expansion team that is just barely finding their place in the MLS, making their first ever playoff appearance last season in a new, state-of-the-art, stadium. Take into account Seattle’s 2-0 drubbing of RSL and one can’t help but expect a hotly contested match.

Seattle enters Saturday’s match fresh off of a Wednesday night exhibition versus FC Barcelona, the reigning winners of the Champions League, La Liga, and Copa del Rey. While the match mattered little in terms of MLS play, Seattle played the majority of their starters for the entire first half against Barcelona in an entertaining match despite a resounding 4-0 defeat. There has been some speculation that star striker Freddy Montero will miss the team’s trip to Salt Lake due to Colombian National Team responsibilities, but those fears appear to be premature and he is listed on the game day starting roster. No other significant players appear to be missing for Saturday’s match, with the exception of starting defender James Riley who will be serving a one-match suspension due to a red card earned last week against San Jose.

RSL’s hope to begin a hot-streak at home appears to be contingent on the health of their squad and the newfound depth created by recent signings. Of particular concern are the absences of striker Yura Movsisyan and versatile defender Robbie Russell due to injury. Though neither player qualifies as a MLS superstar, they have both been integral components this season and have the ability to change the dynamics of a match. To combat this problem, RSL may have to rely on the performance of recent signings Rachid El Khalifi and Pablo Campos to pick up the slack for injured and physically drained players recovering from Gold Cup duty and All-Star appearances.

Both players seem to fit perfectly into the mold of the recently implemented 4-3-3 system and could see significant playing time Saturday, particularly Campos as he seems better suited as a target central forward. Campos and Khalifi added even more fuel to the fire during the week when they consistently linked up to lead RSL to a 5-0 victory over Brigham Young University in a scrimmage. Campos scored a hat trick, all off headers, while Khalifi racked up two assists and a goal of his own. 20-year-old Argentine trialist Nelson Gonzalez also impressed during his first competitive play for the team and could be offered a professional contract soon.

Though Seattle have been impressive this season, the still remain 0-3-3 when playing on natural grass, leaving RSL with the perfect opportunity to hurt their Western Conference foe while gaining ground of their own. The match will kick off at 7:00 MT and can be seen in Utah on KUTV2 – CBS.