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Real Salt Lake : What should we expect from the Portland Timbers?
This week we aren’t going to focus as much on RSL. RSL had a solid performance in LA, despite the loss. There wasn’t any giant issues we need to worry about, on the night, LA was just the better team. Portland, however, brings an interesting element. Portland is currently 2-5-1 on the season with both of their wins being in their last two matches. A lot of people have written off Portland so far this season. However, we shouldn’t do this just yet. The RSL-Portland rivalry is a brutal and unpredictable one. RSL is entirely capable of beating this Portland Timbers team, but it may not be as easy as you think. It seems like Portland has found their groove of late, with their two road wins, and they just might want to get a third. We should expect this Portland to come out firing. This Portland team wants to beat us just as bad as we want to beat them.
Utah Royals FC : Who will replace Becky Sauerbrunn?
Around the NWSL, the Corsie-Sauerbrunn center back pairing is one of the fiercest and most dominant pairings in the league, but half of that pairing is headed off to the World Cup with the USA. Utah Royals FC will be losing a lot of people in the coming weeks, but one question that has been on the minds of URFC fans all season is this one: How do you replace arguably the best center back in the league? It seems like the likely answer is going to be Sam Johnson. URFC has a few other players who could potentially play the position, but Johnson is who fans should expect. Last year Johnson would fill in the spot for various absences and she has a lot of experience behind her. A lot of Utah’s other defensive options are young players, Johnson has more minutes under her belt that will likely earn her even more minutes through the World Cup break.
Real Monarchs SLC: Is being back at home what the Real Monarchs need to get back on track?
The Real Monarchs are undefeated at home so far in 2019. They are good at home. They’ve had a couple of bad losses on the road this year but being back at home will be good for this team. The Monarchs play Fresno this weekend, a team that has been struggling a little bit so far this season, and can use this game as a confidence boost. They need a good match under their belts, and being at home against a easier opponent should do just that.