Real Salt Lake Vs. Saprissa, CONCACAF Champions League Preview: Whose Home-Field Advantage Is Best?
Both of these teams are renowned for their ability to hold serve at home. Real Salt Lake currently carries a 34-match unbeaten streak into Tuesday’s match. But merely not losing will probably not be enough, in this case, as Saprissa has claimed 73 percent of available points in international competitions at home since 2004. The Purple Dragon has lost just three of 26 international matches in that time and has outscored opponents by an average of more than a goal.
Stylistically, these teams should produce a fun match. Although both play solid defense, they also feature some creative playmakers that are deadly when given space. During this CCL, Real Salt Lake has been the much better offensive side, scoring a CCL-best 21 goals in their eight matches. Saprissa, though, are no offensive slouches, though. Although they’ve scored just 14 goals in CCL, they are tied for their domestic league lead with 22 goals through 11 matches.
Whether or not Saprissa being in the middle of their league season, while RSL is only getting ready to start theirs is still an open question. RSL looked to be in preseason form when they played the Columbus Crew in the first leg of the CCL quarterfinal, but broke out for four goals in the second leg. At the center of the eruptions was none other than Javier Morales, who scored two goals and added an assist in that game, giving him three goals in the tournament.
Saprissa is in the midst of their best run of form in more than a year, having won six straight matches across all competitions. That includes a pair of victories over Olimpia in the CCL quarterfinals. They’ve outscored their opponents 12-4 during that run of success, which has featured just two home matches. This is clearly a team that is regaining some of the swagger they had somewhat lost under former coach Rob Myers.
How they got here
- Real Salt Lake: After becoming the first MLS team to ever win their CCL group, RSL dispatched the Crew 4-1 on aggregate in the CCL quarterfinals.
- Saprissa: After finishing second in their group to Monterrey, Saprissa made it through to the semifinals by beating Olimpia 3-1 on aggregate in the quarterfinals.
Players to watch
- Real Salt Lake: Whether he’s scoring himself or setting up teammates, Javier Morales is the player that really makes RSL go. He’s now scored three goals for the Lions in this CCL tournament, but it’s his ability to create in the midfield that is really the key. More times than not, he’s setting up former Saprissa man Alvaro Saborio. The forward has scored seven goals in the tournament, the third best total. Late in games, and especially so in CCL competition, young Brazilian Paulo Araujo Jr. In just three CCL appearances, he has three goals and seems to be a threat to do something special every time he touches the ball.
- Saprissa: Jairo Arrieta has been the main goal-scorer during Saprissa’s domestic play, leading the team with 11 goals this year. He has also chipped in three goals in CCL play. Armando Alonso is tied for the CCL team lead, also with three goals, including one against Olimpia.
Probable lineups
- Real Salt Lake (4-4-2): GK: Rimando; DF: Wingert, Borchers, Olave, Beltran; MF: Johnson, Beckerman, Morales, Grabavoy; FW: Saborio, Espindola
- Saprissa (4-1-3-2): GK:Bolivar; DF: Wong, Mena, D. Sequeira, Badilla; MF: Blanco, Guzman, Ortiz; Centeno; FW: Martinez, A. Sequeira
Head to head
- Real Salt Lake wins if: Both of these teams are used to playing at altitude, so go ahead and forget about RSL drawing on one of their usual advantages. But they shouldn’t need it, as RSL is the bigger and more skilled team in this matchup. If Javier Morales is able to find space, if Alvaro Saborio is able to make space and the RSL defense is able to clamp down on the smallish Saprissa attackers, RSL should have no problem building a lead as they head to Costa Rica.
- Saprissa wins if: At no point in this tournament has Saprissa been considered the obvious favorite, despite having more history than just about any other team in the tournament. Even against Olimpia, there were many who doubted their ability to move on. They’ve made it this far by generally frustrating their opponents, and their defense has been good enough to accomplish that. Basically, if they can frustrate RSL and pull out of Rio Tinto tied, they should consider that a huge victory.
Prediction
Real Salt Lake is the better team. They are playing at home, in front of what should be a very loud and sizable crowd in cold conditions that should play to their advantage. But they are also playing in a new environment, essentially preparing to go where no MLS team has gone before. This is setting up to be a historic night for them, and I really think they’ll make the most of it. A solid 2-0 victory would not be such a crazy result.
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