Real Salt Lake vs St. Louis City Prediction & Betting Tips

Form check: contrasting trajectories

St. Louis City have been in excellent form across their last 20 matches, winning the vast majority and losing just once in that stretch. They've scored freely too, which points to a side capable of hurting most defences right now.

Real Salt Lake: 20 completed matches; St. Louis City: 20 completed matches.

Real Salt Lake

20 matches

Win

25% 5 / 20

Draw

25% 5 / 20

Loss

50% 10 / 20

Scored

29

Conceded

32

Difference

-3

St. Louis City

20 matches

Win

65% 13 / 20

Draw

30% 6 / 20

Loss

5% 1 / 20

Scored

43

Conceded

23

Difference

+20

Real Salt Lake's record over the same run tells a very different story. They've lost more than half of those matches and conceded more than they've scored, which is the mark of a team going through a tough patch.

St. Louis City arrive with far more momentum than their hosts, though a month is still to pass before kickoff so this run isn't a guarantee for late October.

Comparative Team Statistics: Real Salt Lake vs St. Louis City

Head-to-head: tighter than you'd think

The recent meetings between these two have mostly been close. Three of the last four league clashes ended in draws, and even the games with a winner have often been settled by a single goal.

Go back a bit further and it's more one-sided, including a heavy away win for St. Louis City a few seasons ago. That's history though, not a form guide for where either side stands now.

This fixture has a habit of being closer than the current gap between these two clubs might suggest.

A big gap in the table

St. Louis City sit third with 44 points from 26 games. Real Salt Lake are down in 13th with 29 points from the same number of matches. That's a sizeable difference for one season.

Real Salt Lake have also conceded more goals than they've scored so far, while St. Louis City's goal difference is comfortably in credit.

The league table backs up what the recent form has been showing: St. Louis City are having a much better campaign.

Injuries and absences

Real Salt Lake have a lengthy list of unavailable players, including several defenders and midfielders out through injury, plus a couple away on international duty. St. Louis City's list is shorter, though they're also missing a player to international call-up and carrying a couple of knocks.

Real Salt Lake:

Penalty cards:

M. Guilavogui x 1 x 6

St. Louis City:

Best scorers:

Rafael Navarro - 14

Penalty cards:

C. Durkin x 1 x 10

Injury list:

P. Ault

B. McSorley

Rafael Navarro has been St. Louis City's main source of goals, with 14 in 26 appearances this season. Both squads have picked up a fair number of bookings, but nothing stands out as unusual on the discipline front.

Real Salt Lake's injury list looks the more concerning of the two heading into this one.