Real Salt Lake vs LAFC: Guilavogui out as RSL seek to end 8-game winless streak
Real Salt Lake welcome Los Angeles FC on Saturday night in MLS Matchday 23, searching for a first league win in over two months. Pablo Mastroeni’s side are winless in eight MLS outings and will be without suspended forward Morgan Guilavogui at their home ground.
Team News and Injury Latest
Real Salt Lake are missing several regulars. Zach Booth (hamstring), Griffin Dillon (foot), Justen Glad (adductor), Ariath Piol (Achilles) and Stijn Spierings (ankle) are all out, while Emeka Eneli (knee), Lukas Engel (leg) and Philip Quinton (adductor) are questionable. The home side must also cope without designated player Guilavogui, who serves a one-match ban after picking up a yellow card in the 1-0 derby defeat at Colorado. Zavier Gozo’s recent transfer has left the right wingback spot unsettled, with DeAndre Yedlin, Saba Lobjanidze and Juan Manuel Sanabria rotating through the role.
LAFC’s treatment room is equally crowded. Head coach Steve Cherundolo is without midfielders Timmy Tillman and Igor Jesus, wingers Jacob Shaffelburg and David Martínez, fullback Sergi Palencia and backup goalkeeper Thomas Hasal. The club’s official preview noted that “right now we want to have everybody back” and that the group is “banged-up,” leaving the Black & Gold to lean on squad depth during a road-heavy stretch.
Real Salt Lake Form Guide
RSL’s 1-0 loss at Colorado extended their MLS winless streak to eight matches. The only goal came from a 58th-minute corner — Reggie Cannon’s unmarked header at the back post. Mastroeni was blunt afterwards: “If you strip it all away, what has to improve is our set-piece defending. It’s a 0-0 game, we’re away in a derby; that was otherwise a good result in the moment.” The Claret and Cobalt have scored just 34 goals in 20 league games, and only one Western Conference side has conceded more than their 32.
LAFC Form Guide
LAFC sit third in the West with a 10-5-7 record and a plus-14 goal difference — the third-best mark in MLS. Their road form is a modest 3-4-3, though the squad has kept four clean sheets away from home. The recent form line (D-L-L-D-W) suggests a side that has struggled for consistency, but the win last time out halted a four-match winless run and kept them in touch with the top two.