Real Salt Lake-Crew Preview

Already adjusting to the loss of its best striker, Columbus Crew SC now must deal with a depleted back line that further threatens its hopes of climbing back into playoff contention.

Crew SC will be without two defensive starters for Saturday night's important match with a Real Salt Lake side that showed what it's capable of at full strength a week ago.

Playing its second game since trading 2015 MLS MVP runner-up Kei Kamara to New England, Columbus withstood a first-half knee injury to central defender Gaston Sauro to manage a scoreless draw at Toronto FC last Saturday. Though earning a point on the road under adverse conditions was encouraging, Crew SC (2-4-5) will need to start recording wins in order to rise from its current ninth-place standing in the East.

Columbus, which has tied its last three matches and is winless in four straight, will be further short-handed for this one with defender Harrison Afful and midfielder Cedrick Mabwati on international duty. Mabwati has accounted for the club's lone goal during the post-Kamara era.

Crew SC is expected to have veteran defender Tyson Wahl back from a two-game absence caused by a concussion, and his return comes at an opportune time with Sauro likely out 4 to 5 months with a torn PCL. Wahl started four games with Sauro sidelined by a hamstring injury earlier this season.

"We feel like we are still going to put up a pretty good lineup on the field and give us a chance to win some games," coach Gregg Berhalter told the club's official website. "We're confident in the guys that are here and that is specifically why we structured this group the way we did."

Real Salt Lake (6-3-2) won't have captain Kyle Beckerman available as he trains with the U.S. national squad for the upcoming Copa America tournament, but its central attack of Joao Plata, Juan Manuel Martinez and Yura Movsisyan remains intact to challenge Columbus' reworked backfield.

The trio has accounted for 10 of RSL's 17 goals and each made an impact in last Saturday's 3-1 win at Sporting Kansas City, with Martinez scoring off a Plata feed and Movsisyan producing the final goal.

Real Salt Lake, tied for third in the West, began a five-game trip with shutout defeats to Colorado and Houston to open May.

"To get three points on the road against a very good team is massive," coach Jeff Cassar said. "I was really proud of our shape. We knew if we stayed disciplined to what we wanted to do we were going to get our chances. Now it's what you do with them and we put away three of them."

RSL won at Columbus during the 2009 Eastern Conference semifinals but is 0-6-1 in its last seven regular-season visits. The clubs played to a 2-all draw in Salt Lake in last season's lone matchup.