Real Salt Lake Travels East For Clash With Depleted Atlanta United

Jul 13, 2022, 9:43 AM | Updated: Jul 22, 2022, 10:48 am

RSL forward Justin Meram (Courtesy of Real Salt Lake)

(Courtesy of Real Salt Lake)

KSL Sports

SALT LAKE CITY – Real Salt Lake has a chance to return to its impressive road form this evening when they play an injury-ridden Atlanta United team at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The past month for Real Salt Lake has not been as lucrative as previous months. Over their past five fixtures dating back to the 2-1 loss on the road against Vancouver on June 4, Real Salt Lake has managed one win, two losses, and two ties. In comparison, the five games before the Vancouver loss consisted of four wins and 1 loss against more challenging opponents.

The poor run of form has dropped Real Salt Lake down the Western Conference standings. At one point, Real Salt Lake was just two points shy of Supporter Shield leaders LAFC and firmly in second place in the standings, now, however, Real Salt Lake finds themselves 10 points shy of Austin FC and 9 points shy of LAFC (who have a game in hand on Austin) to sit in third place.

Lookin to bring back a dub #ATLvRSL | #RSL

— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) July 13, 2022

Real Salt Lake Lineup Questions

It remains unknown if Justen Glad will be able to return to the starting XI. Glad suffered a muscle injury days prior to the Minnesota fixture. Glad’s availability is highly speculated given the importance he is to the team. When Glad starts, Real Salt Lake has mustered 7 shutouts and 7 goals against in 12 games. When Glad does not play, Real Salt Lake is yet to play to a shutout and has conceded 17 goals in just 7 games.

Anderson Julio was subbed in the 11th minute against Colorado with a quadriceps injury and is joined by Damir Kreilach, Bobby Wood, and Zack Farnsworth on the unavailable list.

Atlanta United Chaos

Fortunately, the situation unfolding at Atlanta United aids the likelihood of Real Salt Lake finding success this evening.

Former Real Salt Lake Homegrown Brooks Lennon is among those injured at Atlanta United. Lennon is sidelined for 6-8 weeks after tearing his MCL during the warmups on June 25 against Toronto.

However, as long as the injury list may be, star forward and captain of Atlanta United Josef Martínez shared strong words following the club’s most recent 3-0 loss to Austin last weekend.

“In training, some players do not have any energy, some people don’t know what we have to do or they don’t appreciate the jersey, what we’ve done for a long time. That is the biggest problem, the injuries are not the problem,” Martinez told reporters.

"Some players … don't appreciate the jersey, what we've [done] for a long time. The injuries are not the problem."
Strong comments from @JosefMartinez17 after Atlanta United's 3-0 loss tonight. Full answer below is worth a listen. pic.twitter.com/Wj1KTjsC7W

— Justin Felder (@Justin_FOX5) July 10, 2022

Atlanta United have one win over their previous 9 fixtures. The club is struggling to find confidence and the playing group is clearly starting to show signs of frustration.

As bad as Real Salt Lake has been as of late, Atlanta United has them covered.

The midweek fixture is expected to be a fiery affair between two clubs that are desperate to get back on track. Both Real Salt Lake and Atlanta United will be intensely fighting for all three points in a stadium that holds upwards of 40,000 on any given night.

Atlanta United are 11th in the Eastern Conference with 20 points next to their name. Two points shy of Inter Miami and one point clear of Toronto. New York Red Bulls and Philadelphia currently lead the East on 33 points.