Real Salt Lake and Houston Dynamo will do battle for the second time in three days as they go head-to-head at the America First Field on Sunday.
The teams endured contrasting fates in their cup encounter last time out and they both head into this weekend's clash with a point to prove.
Match preview
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Real Salt Lake were dumped out at the semi-final stage of the US Open Cup by Houston Dynamo in a 3-1 defeat at the Shell Energy Stadium on Thursday.
Pablo Mastroeni's men went behind on the stroke of half time to Hector Herrera's opener but found a way to restore parity just past the hour mark through Anderson Santos, before goals from Adalberto Carrasquilla and Luis Caicedo in extra time settled the tie.
Despite enduring continental disappointment of late, the Claret and Cobalt have been impressive domestically and currently sit third in the Western Conference standings.
On the horizon next is the challenge of an opposing outfit with just one win from the last eight meetings between the teams dating back to 2020.
However, that solitary win did come in the most recent encounter in midweek as Sunday's hosts fell at the penultimate hurdle in their quest for cup glory.
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Houston Dynamo's semi-final win over Real Salt Lake last time out was their fourth in the last five games, highlighting their recent upturn in form.
Prior to that, Ben Olsen's men were on a dismal six-game winless run across all competitions, five of which came in Major League Soccer action.
Consequently, it is no surprise that El Naranja have dropped to sixth place in the Western Conference standings, one point clear of the teams just outside the playoff places.
Currently with the joint-worst record in away matches of all teams in the division, Sunday's visitors have work to do at both ends of the pitch to avoid coming away empty-handed from yet another outing on the road.
Team News
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Erik Holt is yet to fully recuperate from a shoulder problem, and the Real Salt Lake defender will not be playing any part in Sunday's game.
Jefferson Savarino has been directly involved in five goals in his last five matches for the home side, making him one to keep a close watch on here.
Ifunanyachi Achara and Tate Schmitt are both sidelined for Houston Dymano through knee injuries, while Teenage Hadebe is missing through a torn muscle.
Amine Bassi put on a creative masterclass for the away side last time out where he helped set up all three goals, and he will be aiming to come up trumps once again.
Real Salt Lake possible starting lineup:
MacMath; Brody, Glad, Vera, Eneli; Luna, Loffelsend, Ojeda, Savarino; Kreilach, Arango
Houston Dynamo possible starting lineup:
Tarbell; Dorsey, Sviatchenko, Dos Santos, Escobar; Herrera, Carrasquilla; Artur, Bassi, Quinones; Baird
We say: Real Salt Lake 1-1 Houston Dynamo
Given their victory in this fixture just three days before Sunday's affair, Houston Dynamo have a bit of an edge here but Real Salt Lake will look to make home advantage count.
We are backing the sides to cancel each other out and settle for a point apiece in the end.
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