MLS Cup Playoffs: Minnesota United vs. Real Salt Lake

When: 8:10 p.m. Saturday
Where: Allianz Field
Stream: Apple TV Season Pass
Radio: KSTP-AM, 1500
Weather: 51 degrees, cloudy, 8 mph east wind
Betting line: MNUFC minus-115; draw plus-265; Salt Lake plus-265

Form: MNUFC and RSL played to three draws in 2024, including a scoreless tie in Game 1 of the first-round series on Tuesday. The Loons went on to take a 1-0 series lead with a 5-4 win in penalty kicks.

Quote: Jefferson Diaz looked cool and comfortable as he converted the game-winning penalty kick in the sixth round, but the Colombian had his own doubts as he approached the spot. “It was such a good feeling,” he said Friday, with Spanish interpretation from Deasy Ramirez. “Because when I did it, I thought I was going to miss.”

Context: Third-seed Salt Lake needs a win Saturday to avoid elimination; sixth-seed MNUFC will look to advance at home and avoid a winner-take-all Game 3 in Sandy, Utah, on Friday.

Scene: MNUFC is making it a party for the team’s first home game in MLS Cup Playoffs with fans present since 2019. Minneapolis musical group Polica will play on the lawn at 6:15 p.m. The march to the match will start at “The Calling” — the new loon statue — at 6:45. Supporters are encouraged to wear black for a “blackout” inside the stadium and they will receiver rally towels when they enter the gates.

Stat: The Loons are 1-1 in home playoff games, losing 2-1 to L.A. Galaxy in a charged environment in 2019 and beating Colorado 3-0 in an empty stadium due to the pandemic in 2020. The club went on the road to start the 2021 and ’22 playoffs, falling to Portland and Dallas, respectively.

Absences: Matus Kmet (thigh) is expected to be out. Zarek Valentin (Achilles tendon) is out for the season.

Schedule: Ramsay said the Tuesday-Saturday format between Games 1 and 2 really helped players regenerate in time to play this weekend. If the Loons had Wednesday, there might have been more concerns about player fitness. Dotson left Tuesday’s game with a niggle, but he trained without issue Friday.

Defensive scouting report: MNUFC has allowed only one goal in the last six matches and zero in two against RSL. Salt Lake’s best chance Tuesday came on a Loons giveaway in the 13th minute, but St. Clair was there to deny Diego Luna.

“We know the problems they are going to cause us really, really well,” Ramsay said. “We feel like it is on them to try to cause us a different problem in a sense because based on what we have faced so far, we feel like we know it well.”

Offensive scouting report: The Loons have scored only one goal in three matches against RSL, including zero across the second regular-season game Oct. 2 and zero Tuesday.

“That is not a huge concern of mine, coming to play at home,” Ramsay said. “Because I feel like we are in a really good roll here (seven total goals in the last two matches in St. Paul). We got a really good feeling playing here. We’ve excited the crowd in the last two games. … We feel like we can rest into that without me really forcing that issue.”

Prediction: Salt Lake has not been good on the road this season (5-4-8), while Minnesota has been playing its best in St. Paul in the last few weeks. Get out the brooms. Loons are tidy — and sweep RSL — with a 1-0 win.

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