Sporting Kansas City versus Real Salt Lake
is n’t a rivalry. It’s more like a bitter feud based on a little bit of bad
blood, a lot of similarities and major philosophical differences. For Sporting
Kansas City and Real Salt
Lake
It’s also one of the best
match-ups the league can offer: Two highly competitive small-market teams with
dedicated owners, distinctive identities and savvy front offices, passionate fan
bases and young head coaches with clear soccer identities. Also, the games are
usually intense.
The conference champions have
earned the right to throw those terms around. While Kansas
City is defined by its high-pressing 4-3-3 formation, Salt
Lake 4-4-2 diamond offers a more elegant approach. But those
differences are outweighed by the parallels. Both teams, for the most part,
live and die by their styles.
After the postseason failures of
recent years, Kansas City and Salt Lake on Saturday will converge on
the league's grandest stage.
RSL in 2013 overcame what Kreis
thought would be a .500 campaign, going 16-10-8 before ousting the LA Galaxy and Portland Timbers
from the postseason. Although salary cap restrictions forced the off-season
exits of Jamison Olave, Will Johnson and Fabian Espindola, in-house
replacements Chris Schuler and Luis Gil, along with the re-acquired Robbie
Findley, filled the void — particularly come playoff time.
Sporting, on the other hand, rode
the league's stingiest defense to a 17-10-7 mark, then exorcised its playoff
demons with aggregate wins against the New England Revolution and the Houston
Dynamo, the side that eliminated Kansas City each of the past two seasons.
And Kansas
City with its two-point advantage in the standings
over Salt Lake Sporting
Park America 's
heartland.
Match: Sporting Kansas City vs. Real Salt Lake
Date: December 7, 2013
Start Time: 4:00 p.m. ET /3 pm CT
Location: Kansas
City , Kansas
Stadium: Sporting Park
Where to watch:
http://p2pcast.net
Lineups:
Real Salt Lake (4-1-2-1-2): Jeff
Attinella, Lovel Palmer, Nat Borchers, Aaron Maund, Chris Wingert, Yordany
Alvarez (79' - Khari Stephenson), Ned Grabavoy, Luis Gil, Javier Morales (C),
Joao Plata (68' - Abdoulie Mansally), Robbie Findley (69' - Olmes Garcia)
Substitutions Not Used: Lalo
Fernandez, Enzo Martinez, Sebastian Velasquez, Devon
Sandoval
Sporting Kansas City (4-3-3):
Jimmy Nielsen (C), Chance Meyers, Aurelien Collin, Ike Opara, Seth Sinovic,
Graham Zusi, Oriol Rosell, Peterson Joseph (63' - Lawrence Olum), Kei Kamara,
Claudio Bieler, Soony Saad (79' - Benny Feilhaber)
