Los Angeles FC and Real Salt Lake will both look to bounce back from heavy defeats when they go head-to-head in Wednesday's MLS encounter at BMO Stadium.
The two sides have both collected 43 points this season, with LAFC sitting in pole position in the Western Conference and above Real Salt Lake due to their total number of victories.
Match preview
LAFC went into the weekend off the back of an impressive run of results which had seen them record 12 victories in 13 competitive matches (D1).
After enjoying a rich vein of form, it was a surprise to see LAFC suffer a heavy 5-1 defeat in Saturday's home game against Colombus Crew, with Steve Cherundolo's side finishing the contest with nine men.
Despite experiencing a rare off night, the Black and Gold remain top of the Western Conference after winning 13, drawing four and losing five of their 22 MLS matches.
LAFC may have suffered their first home defeat of the season at the weekend, but they also still boast the best home record in MLS, having collected 29 points from their 12 matches at BMO Field.
They also boast an encouraging record in home games against Real Salt Lake, winning six and losing just two of their eight competitive home meetings, although one of those defeats took place in last year's clash in Los Angeles.
Like their hosts, Real Salt Lake also experienced a disappointing result at the weekend, falling to a 3-0 defeat in their away clash with Portland Timbers.
Although they have won three of their last five matches, Real Salt Lake boss Pablo Mastroeni will be concerned by the fact that his side have conceded at least two goals in four of those five outings.
As a result of Saturday's defeat, the Claret and Cobalt have now won just one of their previous six away matches in MLS.
However, they are still one of the Western Conference's best performers on the road, having collected 18 points from their 12 road trips – a tally that can only be bettered by the Los Angeles Galaxy and Vancouver Whitecaps.
Wednesday's visitors have the opportunity to complete an MLS double over LAFC after they produced a dominant display to clinch a 3-0 victory in March's reverse fixture.
Team News
LAFC are still without the injured Lorenzo Dellavalle, while Sergi Palencia and Murillo are suspended after being sent off at the weekend.
Those suspensions could result in Aaron Long and Omar Campos being presented with starting spots for Wednesday's fixture.
Having completed a one-match ban, Timothy Tillman is expected to return to the side to feature in a midfield three alongside Ilie Sanchez and Eduard Atuesta.
Meanwhile, the visitors are unable to call upon Kevin Bonilla and Pablo Ruiz due to knee injuries, while Erik Holt and Marcelo Silva are both sidelined with hamstring problems.
Defender Justen Glad remains a doubt for the midweek away trip after being forced to miss the last six matches due to injury.
Anderson Julio is in contention to replace captain Cristian Arango, who will serve a one-match ban for an accumulation of yellow cards.
Los Angeles FC possible starting lineup:
Lloris; Hollingshead, Long, Chanot, Campos; Tillman, Sanchez, Atuesta; Bogusz, Bouanga, Kamara
Real Salt Lake possible starting lineup:
MacMath; Brody, Hidalgo, Ramirez, Katranis; Eneli, Ojeda; Gomez, Crooks, Luna; Julio
We say: Los Angeles FC 2-1 Real Salt Lake
With both teams level on 43 points, we expect Wednesday's clash to produce a closely-fought contest, but we think that LAFC could use home advantage to claim a narrow victory, especially as they have won nine of their 12 home MLS matches this season.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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