After falling to third place in the Western Conference with a 2-1 loss on the road to Sporting Kansas City, LAFC will host Real Salt Lake in the first week of its inaugural playoffs campaign.
Real Salt Lake finished No. 6 in the conference with a 14-7-13 record. The team has been in a slump to end the season, winning only two games in September and October, but the most recent victory was a 4-1 beatdown over the New England Revolution two weeks ago. The team’s attack is led by midfielder Damir Kreilach, who has notched 12 goals so far on the season.
LAFC and Real Salt Lake have faced off twice so far this year — once in March and once in August — and both times, the results went in favor of LAFC. The first meeting was only the second game for the young club, but it ended with a staggering 5-1 scoreline as four LAFC players found the back of the net, with Diego Rossi scoring his first brace for the team.
The second meeting was a more conservative affair, but LAFC still controlled the game solidly, with two Christian Ramirez goals putting away a 2-0 victory. In both meetings, LAFC narrowly outshot (33 to 29) and outpossessed (58 percent to 42 percent) Real Salt Lake, but still managed to dominate the results by capitalizing on scoring opportunities.
Tickets are available online for the game, which is themed #BlackoutLA as the team encourages all fans to wear black in the stands. Pricing will begin at $80. The game will kick off at 10:30 p.m. ET and broadcasted live on ESPN2, UniMás, ESPN LA 710 and 980 AM.