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Let's be honest here: Real Salt Lake is out of the playoffs. Yeah, a win technically might keep us in, but that's dependent so heavily on other results that we have no business worrying about it.
Don't let that fool you, though. There's still plenty of reason to watch RSL face FC Dallas, even if the promise of playoffs is completely vanished.
1. Sebastian Saucedo
There's always something fun and exciting about watching someone like Sebastian Saucedo, and while we have absolutely no guarantee he starts or even plays, it's hard to see him not being used given the glut of matches Real Salt Lake is in the middle of.
With a much, much bigger match on Tuesday, the loss against Portland and the subsequent ceding of playoffs gives Jeff Cassar the option to play some of his young stars, and we think Saucedo should be there. With Joao Plata probably out, and Burrito Martinez and Sebastian Jaime needed for Tuesday, there's every opportunity for Saucedo to ply his trade.
Watch him on the ball — how has he learned this season? Is he more confident making a clean pass and a good run? Does he interact well with his teammates in possession?
2. Luis Gil
Yeah, Luis Gil hasn't been great for RSL this season, but I'm actually looking forward to watching him today. Maybe I'm crazy, but this will almost certainly be the last game he plays for Real Salt Lake, and I want to see what happens next.
Not because I feel like we're missing an opportunity — I sincerely think Luis Gil needs a chance of scenery to get back to his best, even if I don't know where he should be — but more because he's still one of us, even if his motivation is lacking. And he might also see this as one of those "shop window" opportunities, and that could mean he plays well. Of course, if he does, we might get that feeling of existential regret, but we can't really do anything to avoid that.
3. Boyd Okwuonu
Okwuonu could be one of our best second-round draft picks, but without playing more, it's going to be hard to say. With Tony Beltran increasingly comfortable on the left side, it could be an opportunity for Okwuonu to start staking a claim for 2016. Is he a capable right back in the system?
Maybe, but if he's not now, he has every opportunity to be. He was solid with the U.S. U-23s pretty consistently, and that should earn him a berth in this nigh-meaningless affair.
Besides all that, wouldn't it be fun to see him excel against the team that snubbed him? He could have been a homegrown player for Dallas and they turned down the opportunity.