Match Preview - Real Salt Lake
Game Info
Kickoff: 8:39pm CT
Watch: Apple TV
Location: America First Field - Sandy, UT
All-Time H2H Record
Austin FC has a 3W-3D-4L record against Real Salt Lake.
The first regular season meeting between these two clubs in 2025 was back on May 28, a 1-1 draw at Q2 Stadium with a point salvaged by Diego Rubio’s stoppage time equalizer off the golden left foot of Žan Kolmanič.
Austin has had mixed results when traveling to play RSL. In 2023, the Verde and Black pulled off a 2-1 victory that saw banger goals from outside the box from both Jon Gallagher and Owen Wolff (his first career professional goal). Last season, ATX endured one of the worst losses in club history, a 5-1 defeat that began with Chicho Arango chipping Brad Stuver from 62.7 yards away.
But Salt Lake will always evoke some good memories for die hard Austin fans. RSL was the opponent back in September 2022 when Moussa Djitte scored the first and only hat trick in club history (off the bench no less), a win that clinched the club’s first ever playoff berth. The two teams met again the next month in the first round of the MLS Playoffs, where Austin FC advanced in penalty kicks for their first ever playoff win.
Real Salt Lake Recent Form
The player personnel in the RSL attack looks much different since we last saw them at Q2 Stadium in May. During the summer window the club loaned U22 Initiative winger Dominik Marczuk to FC Cincinnati in exchange for former USMNT fullback DeAndre Yedlin. They also acquired forward Victor Olatunji from Sparta Prague for a fee just north of $2 million and brought in forward Rwan Cruz on loan from Botafogo.
To the frustration of everyone involved, things haven’t quite clicked as they’d hoped coming out of the summer window. Following Leagues Cup, where Real Salt Lake were knocked out in the group stage, the team has lost five of their last six league games. Over that stretch RSL has mustered just six goals for while conceding 15 times, including back-to-back losses to LAFC last week, both 4-1 scorelines.
From my point of view, the lack of cohesion among a group of players who haven’t been together very long should feel familiar to fans of the Verde and Black. Think back to the first half of the 2025 season, when Austin FC was struggling to score, causing fans to question just about every aspect of the project here in the Texas capital. As we talked about on Thursday’s Episode 259, a lot of the things we heard their fans say through the surrounding independent media sounded like us four months ago.
As you can imagine, the post-Leagues Cup stretch has pushed RSL’s playoff chances to the brink coming into Saturday’s game. A win for the home side would boost their chances at making a postseason appearance from the current 27% to 45%, while a loss would put them on the edge of elimination with just a 12% chance to finish in the top nine of the Western Conference.
This will be a desperate team on the opposite side of the field from the Verde and Black this weekend. They will welcome the return of Olatunji, who was suspended on Sunday night due to being shown a red card in the first meeting with LAFC last week. But RSL will also be missing 18-year-old standout midfielder Zavier Gozo, who will miss the rest of the regular season while on international duty with the USYNT at the U-20 World Cup.
Salt Lake has not been great at home in 2025, with an equal seven losses to match their seven home wins and just one draw in 15 games. They’re a team staring the reality of elimination in the face this Saturday. If they don’t respond well to any early adversity Austin FC is able to put them in, things could spiral for the home side.
Austin FC Recent Form
As I joked on Thursday’s episode, it really feels like nothing bad can happen to our favorite team right now. A five-day stretch that saw Austin FC advance to host the US Open Cup final followed up by a last minute home win over the Seattle Sounders has everyone involved buzzing.
The late heroics of CJ Fodrey in September, which includes two game winning goals and a game winning assist, has boosted him up to second in MLS in expected goals + expected assists per 90. That sandwiches Austin’s young forward between Lionel Messi and Denis Bouanga. While we all know that won’t keep up over a larger sample size (Fodrey has played just 175 minutes in all competitions this season), it is indicative of just how impactful the 21-year-old San Diego native has been for ATX.
It’s driven Austin FC to its most successful month of September in club history, even with a game left to play this weekend.
2021 - Three points from six games
2022 - Four points from four games
2023 - Three points from five games
2024 - Two points from four games
With six points from three league games (plus the US Open Cup semifinal victory), it’s by far the best September the Austin FC faithful have experienced.
Fodrey may get his first career start this Saturday. It would be the next test for Austin’s 2023 first round pick, who has finally taken command of the super sub role for the Verde and Black that they’ve been missing for so long. We know Fodrey can come in and put pressure on an opposing defense in limited minutes at the MLS level, now we need to see him work on translating his game to a starting role.
As much as players, coaches and fans may say they aren’t, we’re all emotionally looking towards Wednesday’s final at Q2. We should expect head coach Nico Estévez to manage minutes against RSL and it makes a ton of sense to let Myrto Uzuni, who played 210 minutes plus stoppage total against Minnesota and Seattle combined, get some rest while Fodrey puts himself to the test.
The team will also be without Mikkel Desler, who exited last Sunday’s match against the Sounders late in the first half with tightness in his hip. Estévez noted on Thursday that he expects Desler to be ready for Wednesday but that they would proceed with caution this weekend and hold him out.
We should expect more changes to how things look on Saturday, either in the starting group or how the substitution pattern is handled. One additional change confirmed by Estévez on Thursday was that winger Robert Taylor, who was left out of the team against Seattle, will be in the 20 on Saturday night. With the three points earned in second half stoppage time last Sunday, ATX is playing with the closest thing to “house money” we’ve seen in a while for a league match.
The one thing I’m looking for in this match is fight. Austin was in a similar situation two weeks ago at FC Dallas, prepping for the midweek Open Cup match and rotating accordingly. If you’re reading this article you know how poorly that went. Whomever is on the pitch for the Verde and Black in this one, the only thing I’m grading them on is how it looks. Win, draw or loss, ATX cannot completely lay down in this game as they did in Frisco.
Of course, no matter how it looks this weekend would be erased in our minds with a win on Wednesday. But this game isn’t without stakes for ATX. A win over RSL this Saturday (as it was in September three years ago) would clinch Austin FC’s second ever postseason berth.
Injury Report
ATX:
Mikkel Desler (Out - Hip)
Brandon Vazquez (Out - Knee)
RSL:
Diogo Gonçalves (Questionable - Hamstring)
Alex Katranis (Questionable - Ear)
Pablo Ruiz (Questionable - Hamstring)
Zac MacMath (Out - Shoulder)
Zavier Gozo (Out - International Duty)
Marcos Zambrano (Out - International Duty)
Javain Brown (Out - Knee)
Matthew Bell (Out - Hamstring)
Real Salt Lake Players to Watch
Diego Luna - A guy we all love to watch, unless he’s dismantling your favorite team, Luna has had another impressive season for RSL. His impact is somewhat muted due to the lack of success his team has had in 2025, but don’t let that fool you. Luna is deadly with and without the ball, and assisted the William Agada set piece goal at Q2 back in May. He’ll take on even more responsibility in the Salt Lake midfield the rest of the regular season with Gozo on duty with the USYNT.
Rwan Cruz - The 24-year-old Brazilian, who already has two seasons of double digit goals in the Bulgarian first division, has had a bit of a slow start to his RSL tenure. It hasn’t been for lack of aggression however, as he’s averaging a massive 4.77 shots per 90 through his first 377 minutes in MLS. Cruz will be a lot to handle for whoever gets the start on the ATX back line.
Austin FC Keys to the Game
Stay Healthy - As great as it would be to get a result (and a potential postseason berth) on Saturday night, the number one priority for Austin FC is getting everyone back to central Texas no worse for wear. I want to see all of the team’s “main” pieces at least get some run off the bench in this one, as keeping form has been tough historically for ATX when they have extra rest. I fully trust Austin FC’s high performance team, who have kept this team extremely healthy overall this season when comparing ATX to the rest of the league, to work with the coaching staff to ensure this key comes to pass. That said, I will still be on pins and needles throughout this one with Wednesday on my mind.
Predictions
ZG - 1-1 Draw
E - 1-1 Draw
