Must Win

RSL hosts Philly this weekend, a game that is, as the title suggests, a must win for RSL if they want to stay in the competition for a top 3 western conference spot. Winning is going to be incredibly difficult, though, given the challenges RSL will face not only from the Union, but with personnel. When this game got bumped back it was known that RSL would likely be missing a couple key players to national team duty. What wasn't known, however, was the amount of injuries that would coincide with those call-ups, leaving RSL in a very tight spot in terms of available players. It'll take a great effort from all available players to get this win, a must in my eyes, against a solid opponent.To get the full 3 points, RSL will have to execute on both ends of the pitch extremely well and do their best to preserve energy. Here are the 3 keys I think, if executed properly, will get RSL a win:

1. Long possession
- RSL will have, according to multiple reports, between 15 and 17 healthy players to suit up for this match. That isn't a huge deal considering only 14 players could be used in the game, anyways. What is the big deal, however, is who those players are. Saborio, Alvarez, Johnson, and Alexandre all got called-up for their respective national teams. Add that to our ridiculously long list of injuries and you come to the realization that our bench will feature such known players as Donny Toia and Blake Wagner - guys most serious RSL fans don't even recognize. To counter this, RSL has to be able to hold onto the ball for long stretches during the match. This might slow things down a bit, but it will do wonders come the 70th minute when the guys aren't exhausted.

2. Keep the ball moving through KB and Gil
- When we have been successful in the last few matches, we have utilized our midfield - especially the central part. Kyle seems to be coming into some really good form (a boost in confidence from his national team call-up, no doubt) and Gil is growing every minute of every match. The more we utilize these two, the more guys like Espindola can get open in space.

3. Find Espy
- Building on the last point, RSL has to find Espindola in the final third. The guy has been one of the few bright spots in a rough couple of weeks for Real. His work rate and energy are second to none, which is quite the accomplishment when you play with guys like Johnson and Beltran. If we get the ball to Espy in the final third (using steps 1 and 2 to do so) we'll be successful.

The defensive side of things is rather simple: work as a unit. With Olave back there, I am really confident despite the loss of Borchers for this match. Olave has the ability to close on players just a half second quicker than anybody else, which makes a big difference.

My Starting XI for RSL:
GK: Rimando
LB: Beltran
CB: Schuler
CB: Borchers
RB: Russell
LM: Warner
CDM: Beckerman
RM: Williams
CAM: Gil
FW: Espindola
FW: Paulo Junior

Again, it will be key for this team to not over exert itself. Players like Paulo Junior and Andy Williams will likely be slated as subs before the match even begins. Kreis better have each and every one of these guys ready to go the full 90.

Key Player for RSL: Fabian EspindolaHis work rate and energy will be tested in this one. I don't think we have the option to take him off, so he is going to be asked to do it for the full 90 minutes like he did last week in LA. If he is on, Philly (and pretty much every team in MLS) can't do much to stop him.

Prediction: RSL 2 - Philly 0
- Goals from Espy and Paulo Junior
A goal in each half will seal the deal, I think, for the home team. Philly is, to our advantage, coming in a bit out of form. They have struggled lately to get points and have fallen from the top 3 in the East. Freddy Adu and Sebastian Letoux will surely give our defense a test, but I think the guys will be ready for it.

FORZA REAL

Cheers,

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