- Real Salt Lake is third in the Western Conference
- Vancouver is 12th in the West
- Both teams are coming off victories
Real Salt Lake vs Vancouver is a matchup we’ve all been waiting for. The team enters the match with 25 points, while Vancouver has just 14 but is still trying to climb the standings.
Real Salt Lake vs Whitecaps Odds
According to MLS odds, their MLS predictions have Vancouver as a slight +140 favorite in the upcoming contest, while Real Salt Lake has +170 odds of winning. There are +220 odds on a draw in the match based on MLS stats.
The oddsmakers awarding Vancouver the more favorable odds indicate that they may have turned a new leaf after beginning their campaign in poor form, whereas Salt Lake has been producing results but unconvincingly.
Real Salt Lake vs Whitecaps Information
The impending match is a product of Major League Soccer and will kick off Saturday at 7:00 p.m. ET at BC Place in Vancouver, Canada. You can find all the action on ESPN+.
Real Salt Lake vs Whitecaps Betting Picks
Real Salt Lake
The team is third in the West with a 7-4-3 record; the team has also won three straight games and four of its last five as it continues to become a more popular face in MLS picks, produce results, and climb higher up the table.
Their most recent result, a 3-0 win over Houston Dynamo FC, saw them dominate nearly every aspect of the game, leading to them walking out with three points.
Salt Lake only finished seventh in the West in 2021, so their improved performances have been a revelation thus far.
Sergio Cordova, Bobby Wood, and Justen Glad are all level for the team lead with three goals, which is a fairly low amount for any team’s top scorer, much less one that has done so well.
Salt Lake’s team total of 17 goals ranks right in the middle of the pack amongst Western teams, while their goals conceded tally of 17 is in a nearly-identical location. Reasons like these are why the oddsmakers are not fully buying into the Utah representatives, like their performances, while productive, have not always been commanding.
Real Salt Lake is one of the few teams in the world that still operates out of a traditional 4-4-2 formation, placing two of their target men up front and funneling everything in the attack through them. They create a lot of chances and are rarely dominated in possession, although they are not great at retaining the ball either.
Their structure is functional and can lead them to pivot against different opponents, although there are cracks in their armor, as seen by the number of goals that they have allowed.
Here is how the team lined up in its last match: Zac MacMath, Marcelo Silva, Justen Glad, Andrew Brody, Aaron Herrera, Pablo Ruiz, Jasper Loeffelsend, Justin Meram, Maikel Change, Bobby Wood, Sergio Cordova
Zack Farnsworth will miss the match with an injury.
Vancouver Whitecaps
The Vancouver Whitecaps are 12th in the West with a 4-2-7 record, although they won their last match against Sporting Kansas City 1-0. That win was their third in their last five league matches, with a draw and a loss filling out the remaining parts of the stretch.
Like Salt Lake, their performances, even their wins, have not come in a commanding fashion, but they are at least starting to earn more points than they did during a woeful beginning to the campaign.
Lucas Cavallini is the obvious goal-scoring threat for the Whitecaps, although that is not saying much for such a toothless team; Vancouver ranks second-to-last in the conference in goals scored with 14, one ahead of the Kansas City squad that they just got the better of.
They have also conceded 23 goals, the fourth-most in the West, which gives them a deplorable goal difference of -9. Stats do not always tell the story of players or teams, but a terrible goal difference is usually indicative of how a team has performed.
The Whitecaps like to set up in a 3-4-2-1 and defend in a low block— in other words; they invite opponents to jump onto them and hope to resolutely sit back and eventually pick a few moments to bomb forward on a counterattack.
This type of philosophy works well for teams with speed and strong defenders, but Vancouver does not have the most important quality: a stingy defense. In essence, they will steal wins from games that they should not, but they will not consistently compete for the postseason until they become more comfortable going forward.
This was their lineup the last time they played: Cody Cropper, Ranko Veselinovic, Jacob Nerwinski, Javain Brown, Florian Jungwirth, Sebastian Berhalter, Cristian Gutierrez, Marcus Godinho, Lucas Cavallini, Leonard Owusu, Cristian Dajome.
Thomas Hasal is out with a finger injury.
Real Salt Lake vs Whitecaps Prediction
Soccer odds are not always correct, and in this case, they seem to be misleading, as Real Salt Lake has a great opportunity to win this match. If you’re making soccer picks, know that they create a lot of chances and are playing a team that will allow them to dictate play, which gives them the advantage.
Salt Lake has also simply been better than Vancouver, so betting on them would at least be a smart thing to consider.
If you love sports and want more sports betting information follow us as @InsidersBetDig on Twitter and sign up to our mailing list for free betting picks.