Sporting Kansas City vs Real Salt Lake Prediction, Odds, Picks

• Sporting Kansas City have picked up just one win from 4 games so far
• Real Salt Lake are in top form and are unbeaten, currently sitting in 2nd place in the Western Conference
• Sporting Kansas City could potentially slip into the bottom two places if they lose again

Sporting Kansas City vs Real Salt Lake Odds

Real Salt Lake to win, 2+ goals to be scored

Sporting Kansas City vs Real Salt Lake Prediction

Real Salt Lake will be the favorites against Sporting Kansas City this weekend. They have the better team on paper and are also in better form than their opponents.

Kansas City have picked up a win just once this season and have lost thrice. They haven’t been anywhere close to their best and will need a big performance to get anything from their match this weekend. Real Salt Lake are the team to beat right now, having won their last three matches to keep up with LAFC at the top of the table.

Kansas City are at home, which should have ideally made them favorites for the win. However, they have poorly started the season and will be on the back foot at the start of this game.

While Salt Lake have not been effective in front of the goal-scoring just six goals in four matches – they have done well defensively and managed to seal crucial wins to hold onto 2nd place.

Salt Lake are expected to pick up an easy win at the Children’s Mercy Stadium this weekend and could even score 2+ goals without conceding.

Sporting Kansas City Need to Pick Up the Pace Quickly

Kansas City loves to keep hold of the ball, but they are yet to show any attacking intent while in control. They have dominated possession in three of their four matches this MLS season but have won just once.

Peter Joseph Vermes has changed the formation in the recent game, but they have not resulted in his side doing anything particularly different in the offense. Instead, they have become more defensive and tend to sit back more than they did before.

They started their season with a 3-1 defeat at Atlanta United, away from home. The home side took the lead in the 20th minute via Luiz Araújo before Dom Dwyer, the early substitute, scored with the final kick of the first half to make it 2-0. Kansas City dominated the possession in the second half and created more chances than their opponents, but they were unable to find the back of the net until the 85th minute when Dániel Sallói scored. Vermes’s side was now chasing for the draw when Caleb Wiley scored just before the 90th minute to make it 3-1 to Atlanta.

Kansas did manage to bounce back immediately with a win over Houston Dynamo in the second game week. They pinned their opponents back in the first half and had 68 percent of the possession, but their only goal of the game came in the 60th minute via Rémi Walter. They sat back for the last half an hour and secured the three points.

Kansas City once again dominated possession against Colorado Rapids but were unable to get on the scoresheet and lost 2-0 away from home. Vermes decided to switch things up for their game at Chicago Cire and switched from a 4-3-3 to a 3-5-1-1. But things didn’t go as planned, and they ended up losing 3-1.

They’re currently languishing in 12th place in the Western Conference, with only San Jose and Vancouver doing worse than them in the season so far. They’ve conceded 8 goals from 4 games, which makes the second-worst defense in the Conference at the moment.

Real Salt Lake Need to Get More Efficient

Pablo Mastroeni’s side has not been dominating possession in games but have got the results going their way. They are unbeaten in the season so far and will be looking to keep that run going.

They started their season with a goalless draw at Houston Dynamo and although it wasn’t the most glamorous of results, it was a precursor to what has been a season of complete solidity in defense.

Mastroeni stuck with his 3-4-3 formation for the first home game of the season and was rewarded with a win. Salt Lake managed to create a lot of chances and had 16 shots at goal – twice as many as their opponents, Seattle Sounders. Bobby Wood scored early in the second half, and that was enough for them to secure the three points.

Despite the win, Mastroeni did not seem happy with his tactics and was back to the board. He was unwilling to make big changes but needed to try something different to get his forwards more into the game.

He switched to a 3-4-2-1, which in many ways similar to his 3-4-3, but with a little more heft through the middle of the park. While Real Salt Lake did pick up the win, they were far from good in the next game. They were 2-0 down to New England Revolution in the 62nd minute of the game but managed to come back and win 3-2 thanks to Justen Glad’s late brace after a goal from Sergio Córdova had pulled them level in the 78th minute.

Despite just escaping with the win, Mastroeni decided to give 3-4-2-1 another chance, and things remained the same. Real Salt Lake did not manage to control the game but were able to pick up a 2-1 win against Nashville last weekend thanks to goals from Bobby Wood and Tate Schmitt in either half.

How to Watch Sporting Kansas City vs Real Salt Lake