Scouting Real Salt Lake: What FC Dallas Needs to Know
There isn’t much recovery time for FC Dallas this week.
After picking up a 2-1 win on Sunday in Austin, Dallas heads to Utah for a midweek meeting with Real Salt Lake, the middle match of a three-game week that ends this weekend in Vancouver. RSL is dealing with the same quick turnaround after conceding a late goal in Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Minnesota United.
The two sides met earlier this season, with Sam Sarver scoring his late goal to signal his coming out party with the first team in 2026. This meeting will be considerably different in Utah, where RSL has been solid this season.
Let’s discuss RSL and what they bring to the game this week.
Potential Lineup & Tactic Style:
The 3-4-2-1 or 5-4-1 structure that Dallas saw back in the spring is pretty much going to still be intact for this match on Wednesday. The three-man backline gives RSL some protection centrally, similar to what Austin was attempting to do on Sunday. RSL will look to get their wide players to push forward and their attacking midfielders the ability to drift into spaces behind the striker.
- Offensive tendencies - The attack for RSL came alive in the Leagues Cup, with eight goals across three games. RSL still loves to possess the ball, but if they struggle to get quality shots on target, they tend to give up easy counter attacks (which is how Dallas won their home match with them earlier this year).
- Defensive shape - It is all about protecting the middle with the three-man backline. Dallas will want to be on point with the limited opportunities that they’ll likely get in this one.
Key Player: Diego Luna
There is no reason to be cute with this, it is all about Luna right now for RSL. He remains the creative center of RSL’s attack. His ability to find space between the lines, turn under pressure and either create for himself or release runners makes him the player Dallas needs to disrupt.
Key Matchup: Kaick vs Luna
Kaick was originally going to be out on Sunday for Dallas’ game in Austin due to the birth of his child, but came off the bench instead. I would expect him to be back in the starting lineup on Wednesday instead of coming off the bench. Luna will look to get Kaick to follow him into tight spaces. Kaick has to know when to step to Luna and when to back off.
Availability Report1:
Suspended: none
Out: Griffin Dillion (foot), Emeka Eneli (Knee), Justen Glad (Adductor), Ariath Piol (Achilles)
Questionable: Saba Lobjanidze (muscles soreness), Morgan Guilavougi (head)
International duty: none
Quick Notes:
All-time vs Dallas: RSL is 13-10-5 in all-time regular season meetings against FC Dallas in Utah.
Current form: RSL managed to pick up seven points in the Leagues Cup, which helped them advance to the Knockout Round. Aside from that solid run outside of league play, in MLS play, RSL is winless in their last five league matches.
Where they're at in the standings: RSL is two points behind Dallas at the moment, with 28, good enough for 7th place in the Western Conference.
Three keys for FC Dallas
- Don’t Chase Possession: This is the third game in a week when you pull the schedule back to Toluca, and the second one out of those three at altitude. You simply cannot spend a large chunk of this game chasing RSL. Dallas should have learned that from the first meeting between these two squads. They don’t need the ball for 50% of the match, but they need to defend compactly and make its possession count when it wins the ball.
- Protect the Makeshift Back Line: Suspension this week are kind of killing the backline for Eric Quill. Nolan Norris was out on Sunday against Austin with a yellow card suspension and Osaze Urhoghide will be out on Wednesday with one against RSL. Dallas will need its central midfield to protect the backline and provide service into the penalty area.
- Attack the wings on transition: We saw this as an opening back when the two squads first met in the spring and it shouldn’t change much here. When RSL pushes its wide players forward, there is going to be open space behind them. Dallas has to use its speed on the wings to exploit it. Win the ball, get vertical and make RSL’s defense uncomfortable in retreating.
Want to know how Dallas should line up to exploit exactly what we just
broke down? Our weekly ‘What to Watch For’ will tackle that later this week. Sign up free and we'll send it to you before kickoff.
1 Note: MLS has an injury report deadline that doesn’t hit until the day before each game. Our scouting reports will include last week's report and will be fully updated the day before with our injury report for FC Dallas.
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