D.C. United return to the pitch after another bye week when they take on Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium at 8:30 PM ET on Saturday. The Black-and-Red will be searching for their first road victory of the season in Utah, while Real Salt Lake will attempt to defend their home field once again after a strong showing in front of their home fans to begin the 2018 campaign (3-1-0 at the RioT).
Here are four things to know about United's enemy on Saturday.
Chance Creation
United will need to take the energy out of the stadium by limiting Real Salt Lake’s scoring chances, and the home side has a propensity to create.
While Real Salt Lake have scored just 10 goals on the year, they are generating plenty of scoring opportunities. Mike Petke's squad ranks fourth in chances created (including assists) in MLS with 101 chances for the recipient of a pass to have an attempt on goal.
On the other side of the ball, United have remained strong against chance creation as one of the league's leaders in blocked shots. With 29 blocks on the season, the D.C. defense have been solid at preventing shots from having a chance of going on goal, but will need to limited Salt Lake's build-up play from the get go in order to keep the home side from capitalizing.
Set Piece Attack
Real Salt Lake also generate some of their most promising scoring chances with successful corner kicks into the box, providing instant offense from the set piece. While Salt Lake have the second fewest corners in MLS with just 32 on the season, they rank second in the league with 18 corners being successfully placed in the box.
One way the Black-and-Red will attempt to thwart Salt Lake's set piece attacks will be through their aerial strengths. United are second in MLS in headed clearances with 99, a skill that could factor in come Saturday as the home side attempts to use their corner precision to convert and D.C. battle for positioning to dominate on aerial duels.
Albert Rusnák
Leading the attack in both chances created and successful corners in the box for Salt Lake is Albert Rusnák, who has created 31 chances and placed 15 of 27 corner attempts successfully into the box, an area where Real Salt Lake have scored nine of their 10 goals on the season.
The 23-year-old has scored two goals and recorded two assists thus far in the 2018 season. In 2017, Rusnák ranked 5th in MLS for assists (13) and added seven goals, developing into one of Salt Lake's key attacking pieces in his first season in the league.
Chasing History
Real Salt Lake will have added motivation for a win Saturday night—goalkeeper Nick Rimando is seeking his 200th career MLS victory. The 38-year-old is already the all-time leader in MLS for games started, saves, and wins, and will look to reach another milestone this weekend against United.
The former Black-and-Red goalkeeper, who started 98 games for D.C. from 2002-2006 before joining Real Salt Lake, has a 12-5-5 record against his former team over the course of his 19-year career.
While Rimando will go down as a league legend, United will attempt to spoil the party and delay the goalkeeper's milestone. The Black-and-Red's roster features five players who have scored against Rimando, including Darren Mattocks who has three career goals and one assist against the veteran goalkeeper. Salt Lake will be fired up for their keeper, but Mattocks and his fellow attackmen will be focused on striking fast to get United on the board early.
