SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Real Salt Lake will conclude its grueling three-game road trip with a fixture against the Portland Timbers this Saturday evening in a mouth-watering Western Conference showdown.

RSL has already endured two road games this past week and will finish their trip in Portland. The week began with Houston’s 0-0 stalemate before suffering a 1-0 defeat against the Galaxy midweek.

Western Conference Showdown

The Timbers currently sit one point and one position below RSL who are barely inside the playoff cut-off line as it stands. However, given the recent road games and exhaustion from traveling the upcoming game against Portland will likely prove troublesome.

Fortunately, RSL has put together a very deep roster. Manager Freddy Juarez has an abundance of high-quality players at his disposal which will come in handy for the third game in a week.

Getting ready for Portland. pic.twitter.com/gF4a3aSRMd

— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) August 6, 2021

Midweek against the Galaxy, recently announced MLS All-Star Damir Kreilach and striker Rubio Rubin started on the bench, signaling a potential start against Portland this weekend. Moreover, center-back Toni Datković was taken off the injury report and could be in line to debut after joining the club a few weeks ago.

Although, fellow center-back Justen Glad will be available for selection after sitting out against the Galaxy following two yellow cards in the previous match against Houston. Glad’s return will boost the backline and provide much-needed security at the heart of the defense.

However, goalkeeper David Ochoa is unlikely to participate in the fixture against Portland as he manages a minor injury. Ochoa was not present against Houston, then days later before the Galaxy game was put on the injury list. The team traveled directly from Los Angeles to Portland so unless he traveled separately and joined his teammates in Portland it seems as though that Ochoa will rest at least one more game.

Portland Makes A Surprising Move

News broke of a surprising trade earlier on Wednesday when it was announced that Portland had traded elusive striker Jeremy Ebobisse to San Jose in return for $1.16 million in allocation money.

Ebobisse had appeared in 13 games for the Timbers this season and had scored 4 goals, good enough for second-most on the team only behind Felipe Mora who has 5 goals on the season.

Thank you for everything you’ve done on and off the pitch, @kingjebo. 👑 #RCTID pic.twitter.com/uPtPCn32c7

— Portland Timbers (@TimbersFC) August 5, 2021

Portland, as expected, has been very dominant at home winning five games from a possible eight games. The artificial turf often proves problematic for opposing teams to handle whereas, the Timbers are well accustomed to the unique playing surface.

The Timbers enter the fixture against RSL having not won a game in their past three attempts. Most recently, Portland drew 1-1 with San Jose that saw Diego Chará sent off with a red card in the final minute of the game.

Chará will be unavailable to play against RSL as a result.

Match Info

RSL and Portland will kickoff at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, August 7th.

The fixture will be available to stream for free via the KSL Sports & KSL 5 TV apps or on KSL Sports dot com.