Real Salt Lake vs LA Galaxy Preview

Real Salt Lake form (LWLLW): Our home record in all competitions is (2-1-0) with a +8 goal differential. After two straight 4-0 wins at home now, RSL is looking to turn RES to a strong home-field advantage as we move into the new stadium late this year.

Los Angeles Galaxy form (LWLDW): After 4 straight games at home, Galaxy will be looking to turn some of their home field results to the road. Their one road game was against our rivals, and Galaxy had a terrible game with a 4-0 loss.

Series History: The record is even at 4-3-4. But, RSL has the slight edge in goals scored 16-15. The only game at RES between the two last year ended in a draw with a glorious free kick taken from Javier Morales in the 86th minute (who had been on the field for maybe one minute).

What to watch for:
Beckham to Donovan? How many times will we hear this combo? Donovan leads the league in goals (8), and Beckham leads the league in assits (4).
The lineup? With most of our new players playing well, some not playing as well as they used to, and some have injuries. Who will RSL field? I am guessing this lineup:

----------------Rimando----------------
-Beltran---Mantilla-Borchers---Wingert-
---------------Kovalenko---------------
-----Beckerman-----------Williams------
----------------Morales----------------
-------Movsisyan-------Deuchar---------

Bench: Seitz, Olave, Joy, Cutler, Cordoba, Findley, Espindola

Player Matchups:
Donovan vs Mantilla/Borchers: Beckham is going to be sending in dangerous balls all day long with Donovan trying to get on the end of them.
Beckerman vs McDonald: Both have been one of the top performers in the midfield for their respective teams this year. Who will hold down the midfield better?

My prediction:
RSL 2 - LA 2. I would like to think we could beat a team that is centered on 2 people carrying the team, however they are in good form right now. And, I think we will not be able to hold down Donovan. But, we will be able to get through LA's very inconsistent backline and make this a draw. 1 goal and 1 assist for Donovan. Morales nets a free kick and Movsisyan gets past their weak backline for an easy finish.

So, I am not making this game because I will be winning big money in Vegas to celebrate my wife's b-day and the end of the semester. Hopefully, I will be able to get this game up to vote in a timely manner for all of you to vote.

Feel free to leave your comments below about who you think should be in the starting lineup, as well as how much you hate (envy) Beckham.