Colorado Rapids boss Chris Armas hopes recovering players and resetting the team's focus will help them come through Saturday's Rocky Mountain Cup clash with Real Salt Lake.
Colorado saw their three-game unbeaten run halted as they lost 3-2 to the LA Galaxy in midweek, just falling short of a comeback after going 2-0 and 3-1 down.
The Rapids sit fifth in the Western Conference standings, two places and six points adrift of Real Salt Lake, albeit having played one additional game, ahead of Saturday's matchup.
With Omir Fernandez and Calvin Harris missing due to knocks, Colorado were depleted last time out, but Armas is hoping for a clean bill of health this weekend.
"I don't harp on too much about what we don't have, but we'll get back and we'll recover, reload and then throw everything at Salt Lake on the weekend," Armas said.
"We'll have some guys getting healthy, Omir [Fernandez] is back, so we'll be ready to go. It's good to see Johnny [Lewis] have a strong performance.
"We'll have enough to cause Salt Lake some problems."
"Every player knows this is going to be a big game for us, for the club and for the fans," forward Cole Bassett added.
"I don't think this is one you have to motivate us for. We know the importance."
Real Salt Lake, meanwhile, stayed within two points of Western leaders Los Angeles FC as the teams played out a 1-1 draw in midweek, Brayan Vera equalising after Pablo Mastroeni's team fell behind early on.
"We knew if we could have taken all three points it would have been a dream performance, but that result and a fantastic performance is in line with the team we are and the mindset we must have," Mastroeni told KSL Sports.
"It's not going to be an easy game", he added of this weekend's derby. "I just want to see this type of resilient, committed performance.
"Every team in this league is a super difficult opponent. There's just no easy game".
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Colorado Rapids – Cole Bassett
Bassett scored his eighth goal of the season on Wednesday, extending his career-high tally in 2024.
He also has a career-best 12 goal contributions this season as his four assists are tied for the second-most in a single year in his career (five in 2020).
Real Salt Lake – Brayan Vera
Vera scored the fourth goal of his MLS career in Real Salt Lake's draw with LAFC, all of which have been from outside the box.
Since Opta began detailed data collection of MLS in 2010, Vera and David Beckham (11) are the only players with at least four goals with 100% of them coming from outside the box.
MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW
Real Salt Lake beat Colorado 5-3 in the last Rocky Mountain Cup matchup on May 18, recording their 20th regular-season win over the Rapids since the start of 2014, three more than any other team has managed against a single opponent in that span.
Colorado are, however, unbeaten in seven regular-season home games (five wins, two draws), earning six points more at Dicks Sporting Goods Park this year (23) than they did throughout the entire 2023 season (17).
Real Salt Lake have only lost one of their last 12 MLS road games, though seven of those have finished level, making the draw a real likelihood here.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Colorado Rapids – 35.4%
Real Salt Lake – 38.5%
Draw – 26%
'Everybody called me a liar' - LeBron thrilled by impressive Knecht
LeBron James heaped praise on Dalton Knecht after he tied the NBA's single-game rookie record in the Los Angeles Lakers' win over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday.
He scored nine 3-pointers, including going 6-for-6 in the third quarter, while scoring a career-high 37 points in the Lakers' 124-118 win, their sixth on the bounce.
Knecht now shares the record with Rodrigue Beaubois (2010), Yogi Ferrell (2017) and Utah's Keyonte George (2024).
The Lakers' six-game winning streak is their longest since February 2021, while they have also extended their perfect home record this season to 7-0.
James, who had 26 points and 12 assists, had previously said that he was a fan of Knecht, having watched him at Tennessee while he was in college.
"Same s*** I saw last year," said James, when asked about being ahead of the curve in praising Knecht.
"Everybody on the internet called me a liar. So, what am I now?
"I watched him. I watched Tennessee a lot. I did not think he would fall to us. I thought it would be impossible."
Knecht was the 17th overall in the 2024 NBA draft, and James brushed off the suggestion that the Lakers 'found' him.
"They [The Lakers] didn't 'find' DK," he added. "The other 16 teams f***** it up. Did anybody watch him? You don't 'find' an SEC player of the year."
Martino: Miami fell 'too short' with early MLS playoff exit
A frustrated Gerardo Martino admitted Inter Miami fell "too short" after being knocked out in the first round of the MLS playoffs by Atlanta United.
Miami won the first match in the best-of-three series at Chase Stadium, but subsequently lost the next two, being beaten 3-2 in the decider on Saturday.
Bartosz Slisz netted the winner in the 76th minute, but the hosts struggled to find an equaliser that would have forced penalties, with Brad Guzen in inspired form as he thwarted their attack.
It is arguably one of the biggest upsets in playoffs history, with Miami the favourites to lift the MLS Cup after a record-breaking regular season saw them claim 74 points in the Eastern Conference.
"In this last part of the year, we get used to achieving the objectives that we set for ourselves, and we have not been able to achieve the most important one," Martino told reporters.
"If you think about where we were in November last year, obviously there is progress as far as the club is concerned, not just the team.
"If you think about the expectations we had for this playoff, obviously we have fallen too short."
While the loss has come as an obvious shock, Atlanta have actually now won three matches against Miami this season.
Jamal Thiare scored two goals in two minutes to give the Five Stripes the lead in the first half, having also hit the post moments before Miami had opened the scoring.
They face another trip to Florida to face Orlando City in the Eastern Conference semi-finals, and the forward is excited to see what else Atlanta can do.
"It took everyone's special amount of running and giving everything that they got," said Thiare. "Everyone's held each other accountable, fighting when we're basically backs against the wall.
"We didn't want to finish the season like this, so it was a good effort in training, but it was really something that the group discovered along the lines of the last few games. And something great is igniting from all of this."
Inter Miami 2-3 Atlanta United: Slisz completes comeback to upset favourites
Atlanta United stunned MLS Cup favourites Inter Miami, coming from behind to win 3-2 and setting up another trip to Florida to face Orlando City in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Bartosz Slisz scored the all-important winner to ensure Atlanta overturned the deficit in the series, having lost their first trip to Chase Stadium.
The hosts started brightly, with Matias Rojas sharply turning in the rebound of Lionel Messi's saved shot moments after Jamal Thiare was denied by the post.
However, the Senegalese striker would soon turn things around with two goals in two minutes – he powered his first shot past Drake Callender after some chaos in the box and was left with a simple tap-in from close range for his second.
Diego Gomez was denied an equaliser by VAR shortly after, having drifted offside before receiving Luis Suarez's pass, while Brad Guzen made a string of fine saves to keep Atlanta's lead intact.
He could not keep them out forever though, with Messi peeling away at the back post to nod in an equaliser in the 65th minute.
It was Slisz who would have the last say though, leaping high to power a header past Callender against the run of play, with Atlanta causing the biggest upset of the playoffs so far.
Data Debrief: One for the books
Miami were classed as the favourites to win the MLS Cup this year, but their defeat to Atlanta maybe should not be too big of a surprise, with this their third loss against them this season.
The Five Stripes ended a six-match winless run on the road in the play-offs (D1 L5), but have still conceded multiple goals in each of their last six such games.
Slisz is not known for his goalscoring, but he stepped up at the right time for Atlanta - it was just his second goal in MLS this season, and his first since May 18.
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