SANDY — Real Salt Lake returns to its home pitch inside Rio Tinto Stadium Saturday night to host top of the Major League Soccer Eastern Conference table, Sporting Kansas City, in the first and only meeting between the two clubs this regular season and a match that’s being called a potential preview of this season’s MLS Cup.

It’s a team the Salt Lake club say’s it’s very aware of and very well prepared to face.

“A very physical team, a very aggressive team, a team that lives and dies on their high pressure soccer,” RSL head coach Jason Kreis told ESPN 700 earlier this week. “They play with three forwards, they like to get the ball in the opposing team's path and battle for it there, and once they have it they’ve got some guys that are technically gifted and dynamic passers of the ball. A team that’s full of weapons, offensive weapons against you and a team that knows how to fight a battle.”

Running on a hot streak, the Claret and Cobalt enter the match sitting 11-5-4 on the season and currently unbeaten in its last 11 matches across all competitions in MLS and U.S. Open Cup play.

The Kansas-based club enters the match 9-5-6 on the season and on a five-match unbeaten streak, most recently coming off a 3-0 win at home against Toronto FC last Saturday.

With the recent injury of RSL goalkeeper Josh Saunders and the club’s first-string goalkeeper with the U.S. Soccer Men’s National Team for Gold Cup action, the match will see RSL goalkeeper Jeff Attinella get his first MLS start of his career.

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It's a start he says he’s ready for and staying focused on what he can do on the pitch.

“I’m really not trying to look too far into who we’re playing against as much as I am just trying to look forward to doing my best and playing the way that I’ve been training lately because I feel like I’ve been training at a pretty good level,” Attinella told ESPN 700 Friday. “I’m just going to try to do my best personally and try not to think about too much who’s on the other side of the ball.”

The Salt Lake club will also still be without four regulars who remain on international duty for Gold Cup play. RSL midfielder Kyle Beckerman, defender Tony Beltran and Rimando remain with the USMNT while RSL forward Alvaro Saborio remains with Costa Rica.

Fans may get their first glimpse of the Claret and Cobalt’s newest player in defender Brandon McDonald who it acquired from MLS opponent D.C. United Wednesday.

McDonald was acquired in just the right time for the Salt Lake club as it currently faces a slight shortage in the center back position with RSL defenders Kwame Watson-Siriboe and Chris Schuler out with long-term injuries and defender Carlos Salcedo recovering from gal bladder surgery earlier this week.

Following Saturday’s match, RSL will return to the road for two straight weeks to face the New York Red Bulls July 27 and the Colorado Rapids Aug. 3. Kira Terry is a sports writer covering Real Salt Lake for KSL.com. Follow her on Twitter, @kiraterry.

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