Interesting game for the 1st place, between first placed Los Angeles and second placed Real Salt Lake, with the same points but one more game played.

Los Angeles is having a fantastic season, and the main reason to bet on them is because I expect a reaction, as they are coming from an embarrassing defeat 1:5 against Columbus Crew at their own stadium. It was one of their heaviest defeats in club history, they were humiliated in front of thousands of Los Angeles FC fans, but they are back again this week and they turn their attention to Real Salt Lake. Los Angeles FC have one play here and that is to win this upcoming game by all means necessary to quell the worries growing within the team. So, it's their confidence and form on the line when they host Real Salt Lake at the Banc of California Stadium.

Cherundolo's side were unbeaten in 13 games across all competitions before that Columbus hammering, conceding just seven goals across that impressive run.

They have one of the best squads in the league, including some veterans from Europe such as Hugo Lloris and Oliver Giroud, recently signed. However, their most impressive player this season so far is Denis Bouanga, who has scored 14 goals and 9 assists so far. Bouanga, alongside his teammate goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, was recently named in the MLS All-Star team.

They have two suspensions for this fixture: Sergi Palencia and Jesus Murillo; both starters in defense usually.

On the other hand, Real Salt Lake is having an amazing season. They are second in the table, and as opposed to Los Angeles (who have one of the best teams in the MLS), they have an average squad.

They are also coming from a 3:0 defeat against Portland Timbers in a game where they were totally outplayed. However, the worst notice in that game was the yellow card to their striker, topscorer and best player Cristian Arango. That red card meant a suspension, so he will miss this fixture.

Cristian Arango has been the best striker in the MLS so far (and also named in the MLS All-Star team). He has scored 17 goals, leading the global topscorers table, with 11 assists as well. This means that Real Salt Lake will miss a total of 28 goals for this fixture. Although they are an offensive and high-scoring team (48 so far), Arango’s absence is a big blow for them. He will be replaced by Andres Gomez.

With the absence of Arango, Real Salt Lake will rely on Diego Luna's recent goal-scoring form. The young American has scored two in RSL’s last three matches after narrowly missing out on being part of the USA's Olympic squad that's headed to Paris next month.

Another player who is one of their best defenders - Justen Glad, could miss this fixture as well due to an injury.

I expect an open and interesting game here. Los Angeles will face the highest-scoring team in the West Conference without their two main defenders (Sergi Palencia and Jesus Murillo), which will be a challenge for them. LAFC gets a boost with Timothy Tillman's return from suspension due to yellow-card accumulation; plus Cristian Olivera is expected to be available after representing Uruguay at the 2024 Copa América.

Furthermore, RSL without Arango is at least half as dangerous as they use to be.

I see more potential, quality and motivation in the home side to win this fixture.

第一名洛杉矶队和第二名皇家盐湖队之间的比赛很有意思，积分相同，但多打了一场比赛。

洛杉矶正在经历一个梦幻般的赛季，我押注他们的主要原因是我期待他们的反应，因为他们刚刚在主场1:5尴尬地输给了哥伦布队。这是他们俱乐部历史上最惨重的失败之一，他们在成千上万的洛杉矶球迷面前蒙羞，但本周他们又回来了，他们把注意力转向了皇家盐湖城。洛杉矶FC在这里有一个目标，那就是用一切必要的手段赢得这场即将到来的比赛，以平息球队内部不断增长的担忧。所以，当他们在加州银行体育场主场迎战皇家盐湖城队时，他们的信心和状态就在一线。

在哥伦布大败之前，切伦多洛的球队在所有比赛中保持了13场不败，在那场令人印象深刻的比赛中只丢了7球。

他们拥有联盟中最好的阵容之一，包括一些来自欧洲的老将，比如最近签约的雨果·洛里斯和奥利弗·吉鲁。然而，本赛季迄今为止，他们最令人印象深刻的球员是丹尼斯·布安加，他已经打进14球，助攻9次。最近，布安加和他的门将队友雨果·洛里斯一起入选了美国职业足球大联盟全明星队。

他们在这场比赛中有两人被禁赛:帕伦西亚和穆里略;通常都是先发防守。

另一方面，真正的盐湖正在经历一个惊人的赛季。他们在积分榜上排名第二，与洛杉矶(他们拥有美国大联盟中最好的球队之一)相反，他们的阵容一般。

他们刚刚0比3输给波特兰森林队，那场比赛他们完全被击败了。然而，那场比赛中最糟糕的通知是他们的前锋，最佳射手和最佳球员克里斯蒂安·阿兰戈的黄牌。那张红牌意味着禁赛，所以他将错过这场比赛。

到目前为止，克里斯蒂安·阿兰戈一直是美国大联盟最好的前锋(也入选了美国大联盟全明星阵容)。他已经打进17球，领跑全球射手榜，还有11次助攻。这意味着皇家盐湖将在本场比赛中失去28个进球。虽然他们是一支进攻和得分很高的球队(目前为止48分)，但阿兰戈的缺席对他们来说是一个巨大的打击。他将被安德烈斯·戈麦斯取代。

由于阿兰戈的缺席，皇家盐湖将依靠迭戈·卢纳最近的进球状态。这位年轻的美国人在RSL最近三场比赛中打进两球，此前他差一点就错过了参加下个月前往巴黎的美国奥运代表队。

另一名球员，他们最好的后卫之一——贾斯汀·盖德，也可能因为受伤而错过这场比赛。

我期待一场公开而有趣的比赛。洛杉矶将面对西部得分最高的球队，没有他们的两个主要后卫(塞尔吉·帕伦西亚和赫苏斯·穆里略)，这对他们来说将是一个挑战。蒂尔曼因黄牌累积而停赛归来，LAFC得到了提振;此外，克里斯蒂安·奥利维拉有望在代表乌拉圭参加2024年美洲杯后复出。

此外，没有阿兰戈的RSL的危险性至少是以前的一半。

我在主场看到了更多的潜力，质量和动力来赢得这场比赛。