Preview: First-place Sporting KC visits rivals Real Salt Lake on Saturday

With Major League Soccer’s two-week break in the rearview mirror, Western Conference leaders Sporting Kansas City (8-4-8, 32 points) return to action Saturday when they visit rivals Real Salt Lake (7-12-2 at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah. Kickoff is set for 9 p.m. CT with FOX Sports Kansas City Plus, FOX Sports Midwest Plus and FOX Sports GO airing three hours of live coverage beginning at 8:30 p.m. CT. Additional live updates will be available on the Sporting KC Uphoria mobile app and the SportingKC.com MatchCenter.

Additionally, Saturday’s Western Conference showdown will be joined in progress on FOX Sports Kansas City and Sports Radio 810 WHB following Kansas City Royals baseball. All supporters are welcome to attend the game’s official watch party at No Other Pub in the Kansas City Power & Light District. Beginning at 8:30 pm. CT, No Other Pub will offer $5 Boulevard drafts and an all-you-can-eat buffet with bottomless domestic draft beers.

Unbeaten in nine straight matches across all competitions, Sporting Kansas City will take the field Saturday for the first time since defeating FC Dallas in a pulsating Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal clash on July 11 at Children’s Mercy Park. Manager Peter Vermes’ men played down a man from the 15th minute onward but forced extra time after regulation ended 0-0. FC Dallas had two players sent off in the extra session as Sporting KC exploded for three late goals — two from Latif Blessing and one from Daniel Salloi — to notch an emotional 3-0 win just two days after the passing of Neal Patterson, the club’s co-owner and the Chairman and CEO of Cerner Corporation.

Sporting Kansas City’s spot at the summit of the West has been predicated on a stingy defense that has conceded a league-low 14 goals through 20 MLS matches. Among goalkeepers with at least two games played, Tim Melia ranks No. 1 in shutouts (nine), save percentage (81.1) and penalty kick saves (three) while ranking second in goals against average (0.70) and fifth in total saves (60). Defensive midfielder Ilie had added further stability in the middle of the park, having played every minute of all 23 matches in all competitions as Major League Soccer’s most prolific passer.

Yet Saturday’s contest will provide an entirely different test altogether, as Sporting Kansas City will be without three defensive mainstays. Center back Ike Opara is ruled out with a concussion — sustained in extra time against Dallas 10 days ago — while captain Matt Besler and right back Graham Zusi will be with the U.S. Men’s National Team for Saturday’s CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinal against Costa Rica, which will kick off concurrently with Sporting KC’s match at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Real Salt Lake endured a tumultuous start to the 2017 campaign, parting ways with former manager Jeff Cassar after a winless month of March, but the Claret and Cobalt have rebounded since the turn of July with two straight jaw-dropping victories away from home. RSL hammered LA Galaxy by a 6-2 scoreline on July 4 before cruising past the Portland Timbers 4-1 on Wednesday at Providence Park. Head coach Mike Petke’s men have exploded for 10 goals over their last two matches after scoring just 17 through their first 19 fixtures of the season.

Talented midfielders Joao Plata and Albert Rusnak have keyed Real Salt Lake’s recent uptick. Plata has bagged three goals over the two-game stretch, while Rusnak has tallied two goals and two assists during the same span. Rusnak is tied for seventh in MLS in both assists (seven) and chances created (44).

Ravaged throughout the year by injuries, suspensions and international absences, Real Salt Lake has struggled to find consistency on the defensive end. The club has conceded 1.95 goals per match, second-most in MLS, while their 268 shots faced are third-most across the league.

Saturday will be no exception for an RSL side that has grown accustomed to playing short-handed. Veteran midfielder Kyle Beckerman will serve a one-game red card suspension, while Chad Barret (knee), Jordan Allen (knee), Omar Holness (knee), Ricard Velazco (ankle) and Matt VanOekel (ankle) are all out through injury. Leading scorer Yura Movsisyan (hip), forward Sebasian Saucedo (calf) and defender Demar Phillips (hamstring) are listed as questionable with less severe ailments.

Sporting Kansas City and Real Salt Lake last met on April 29 at Children’s Mercy Park. The hosts ran out 3-0 victors behind goals from Benny Feilhaber, Dom Dwyer and Gerso to snap a seven-game winless run against RSL in the MLS regular season. Feilhaber notably has four goals and two assists in his last seven appearances versus Real Salt Lake in all competitions.

The all-time regular season series is dead even through 24 meetings, with both teams owning nine wins and six draws. Sporting KC has a 3-6-3 road record in the series, including a winless skid of three games at Rio Tinto Stadium. A dramatic 2-1 away win in July 2013, decided by Ike Opara's 97th-minute header, was followed by a pair of 2-1 road defeats in 2015 and a scoreless draw on the penultimate weekend of the 2016 campaign last October.

Outside of regular season play, Sporting KC has defeated Real Salt Lake in each of the last two meetings. Vermes' men beat RSL in the 2013 MLS Cup and the 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semifinals.