Real Salt Lake extended its dominance over the Houston Dynamo last month but is on the road for this matchup, a place the club hasn't fared too well this season.
RSL lost in the first of five consecutive games away from Rio Tinto Stadium and will attempt to bounce back Saturday night against the Western Conference's last-place team.
Real Salt Lake edged Houston 2-1 on April 30 for its fifth consecutive victory in the series. Jordan Allen and Yura Movsisyan scored eight minutes apart in the second half to boost the club to 4-0-0 at home.
Salt Lake (5-2-2) is 1-2-2 away from Rio Tinto and has lost back-to-back road games following a 1-0 defeat to Rocky Mountain Cup rival Colorado last Saturday. That kicked off a six-week stretch in which the club won't play on its home field, which is undergoing turf replacement.
"It's a disappointment. We wanted to start off this road trip with some points, but I think that the important thing is that - especially in the second half - we showed so much fight and the belief to win was there, and we never gave up," defender Tony Beltran said. "So even though we walk out of here with nothing, we have to respond really quickly because it's going to be a rough stretch."
RSL did get its leading scorer Joao Plata back on the field for 32 minutes following a two-game absence due to an ailing hip/quad, which included the victory over Houston. Plata has four goals and four assists in seven games, and two scores and three assists in six career matchups with the Dynamo (2-6-2).
The Dynamo, 2-1-2 in Houston, registered a 2-0 home win over Sporting Kansas City last Saturday to snap an 0-5-1 overall slide and a string of three consecutive losses. They couldn't build on that result Wednesday, falling 3-1 at San Jose.
This matchup with RSL is their only home game in a stretch of five league contests.
"We are playing a bit of catch up and we have to make sure when those home games come about that we capitalize on them and pick up the valuable three points," coach Owen Coyle said.
Joe Willis will likely start in net as Houston attempts to avoid a third consecutive home loss to Salt Lake. The Dynamo were 8-0-1 in their first nine home games in the series.
Houston's goalkeeper in Wednesday's loss, Tyler Deric, was given his second red card in three contests.
RSL midfielder Javier Morales was kept off the scoresheet in this season's first meeting with Houston after tallying five goals and three assists in his previous three matchups. He has six goals and four assists in eight career road games versus the Dynamo, but he's scored just once in six matches this season.
