What we’re watching in Houston Dynamo vs. Real Salt Lake

RSL arrive in Houston after two weeks off for the US Open Cup semi-final

Lucas Muller | Wasatch Soccer Sentinel

August 23, 2023

Real Salt Lake are back in action after having over two weeks off. The squad were slated to play the LA Galaxy on Sunday, but the game was postponed due to storms in Southern California. The Houston Dynamo did play over the weekend, and they destroyed the Portland Timbers 5-0. It was such a terrible defeat that Portland fired head coach Giovanni Savarese in response. With RSL coming off a long break and bad loss, will they be able to overtake a high-flying Dynamo team on the road to make it to the Open Cup final?

Rust and road form

It’s been a long stretch that RSL have had off from play. While they did advance over Leon in the Leagues Cup, they fell to LAFC in the round of 16, which gave them some time off the field. Then the LAG postponement. No one can say RSL aren’t rested for this game, and that could be a good thing if they’ve kept themselves sharp. They looked very poor in their game against LAFC, and it remains to be seen if they have corrected those mistakes or not. They’ve been very good on the road in 2023, so if they can exorcise their Leagues Cup demons and regain their road form, then they have a good chance to advance to the final.