In soccer's gladiator ring, it's the Real Salt Lake marching into combat against the proud boys of Minnesota United FC. When we talk about brick walls, goalkeepers are the real ones here. Real Salt Lake's quite a duo we have, Zac MacMath and Gavin Beavers strutting into this game with ratings of 7.20 and 6.60 respectively. Their counterpart, Dayne St. Clair of Minnesota, isn't far behind with a rating of 7.06.
Anyhow, let's also tip our hats to some players sure to make a splash. Minnesota United FC might as well be the Fantastic Four with Kelvin Yeboah, Robin Lod, Bongokuhle Hlongwane, and Hassani Dotson in the fray. Yeboah’s got a knack for finding the back of the net, and did I mention Hlongwane? Guy's been on a hot streak himself with four goals to his name.
Swing your gaze over to Real Salt Lake, they're not exactly lacking in fire-power either. Right at the frontline, we've got Anderson Julio with three goals, and Diogo Gonçalves and Diego Luna each adding to the tally. Sounds like quite the fireworks, doesn't it?
Now, let’s not scorn those in the past, shall we? Our teams have a history of leaving the battlefield evenly matched, their last three skirmishes ending in a 1-1, 2-2 and another 1-1 result, a proper deadlock if I may say so.
Can we ignore their recent exploits? Not unless you're a fan of the mudslinging business. Looking at their Regular Season Records, Minnesota has 13 wins, 6 draws, and 12 losses, whereas Real Salt Lake fairs a bit better with 14 wins, 10 draws, and just 7 losses.
Recent shenanigans, however, tell a slightly different tail. Minnesota’s recent win against tough competitors like Colorado Rapids and Sporting Kansas City makes them hard to ignore. Flipping the coin, Real Salt Lake, despite their hiccups, did put up quite the show against teams like Portland Timbers and FC Dallas.
So, weighing out the scales, who's got the upper hand? Now hang on, weren’t we supposed to predict something? Oh yes, almost lost my train of thoughts looking at how these two teams are evenly matched.
Albert’s Prediction: Draw