Real Salt Lake vs New England Revolution Prediction: Another masterclass by Revolution?

Pitting the New England Revolution against Real Salt Lake, the fixture oddly brings together two teams in contrast to each other: one that is hot and another that is so cold. Real Salt Lake will seek to recapture momentum on home soil with consistency not coming easy. The New England Revolution, on their part, goes into this on a high after a dominating 5-0 away victory over Montreal; surely enough to give the team its much-needed confidence boost.

Real Salt Lake has been on a tough run, with only one win in their last five games. Their most recent game, a 2-0 home loss against San Jose, underlined the offensive struggles and defensive vulnerabilities that have plagued RSL. Over these five games, RSL has conceded 10 goals while scoring only 4-mediocre numbers that reflect a huge downturn in both attack and defense.

Their home form has also been alarming, as they failed to take advantage of their home field many times, which is really the difference in Major League Soccer. This team looks more like it's in a rebuilding phase where it's unable to find the real balance in midfield, always needing individual highlights from its players rather than flowing as a unit. Nevertheless, their head-to-head against New England, especially at home, can give them some sort of psychological edge.

The New England Revolution, on the other hand, arrives in Utah in much better form, not having lost a single one over their last five. What force they can be in attacking play was highlighted in the 5-0 demolition of Montreal on their travels, a feature that sees Carles Gil to the fore with prolific scoring. They played five games during this period, hitting 10 goals and conceding only three; hence, a good balance between offense and defense.

The Revolution's form away from home has been resolute, and they have shown they know how to collect points on the road—a skill that really comes in handy for this game against an RSL side desperate to bounce back. Part of the formula of late success has been New England dictating the flow of the game and finding cracks in the opponent's defense to expose. Moreover, their defense has been particularly solid, something that definitely may be a problem for RSL, which is struggling in the attack.

Historically, Real Salt Lake has dominated this fixture with 11 wins to New England's three. RSL is unbeaten in the last three meetings, including a 3-2 away win in their last meeting. That would also suggest from a head-to-head standpoint that RSL has often had the upper hand, especially in goal-scoring, with over 2.5 goals scored in five of the last seven meetings.

Past performance does not necessarily predict future outcomes, however, particularly when there is such a massive form disparity between the two teams. New England's recent performances would suggest they may be ready to challenge that norm and secure a positive result, even in a traditionally tough venue.

Considering the teams' current form, New England Revolution is a team that looks to have the edge in this tie. Their recent thrashing of Montreal shows the attacking capabilities and the solidity in their rear guard. In contrast, poor inconsistent performances from Real Salt Lake and their poor home form of late raise plenty of questions as to whether they can change any fortunes in this tie.

When considering that New England is in strong form and RSL has been in a recent streak of poor form on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball, then maybe, more indirectly, this is the match in which the Revolution break said poor run against RSL and come away with a narrow win. On the other side, the head-to-head between these clubs and the high-scoring games suggests that while RSL might find the net, New England's quality will see it through in the end.

• Away (+1.5) Handicap at 1.63 Odds
• Home or Away Win and Over 2.5 Goals at 1.61 Odds
• Correct Score 1-2 at 19.00 Odds