RSL completes road trip against sputtering Goats

Carson, CA – Real Salt Lake will cap a three-game road trip on Sunday at The Home Depot Center against a struggling Chivas USA side.

Salt Lake has claimed a win and a loss in its first two matches of the trip, with three points at New England before a 3-2 defeat in Montreal last Saturday.

Chivas, meanwhile, has earned only one point from its last five games and has been outscored 7-0 by Sporting Kansas City and Portland in its last two outings.

Salt Lake will be hopeful of collecting three more points on Sunday to continue its recent dominance over Chivas, which includes seven wins in the last 10 meetings between the two sides.

RSL's last outing saw the club give up two late goals in a loss to the Impact, but midfielder Kyle Beckerman feels his team will use the result as motivation going forward.

"Of course we're disappointed and frustrated, we have to try and learn from it," Beckerman said after the defeat. "I think a loss like this can really help us move forward. We need to get a good week of practice in and then when we get back into this position we'll get something out of it."

Chivas has lost its last four home meetings with Salt Lake, and based on the club's current form, it's hard to see that streak coming to an end.

The three-man back line of Chivas has come under some criticism recently, but help could be on the way in the form of a return for defender Walter Vilchez.

Vilchez suffered knee and ankle injuries in the second week of the season and could return to action as soon as this weekend, and he feels there is nothing wrong with the system under head coach Jose Luis Sanchez Sola.

"I have played in backlines of three, four and five men," Vilchez told MLSsoccer.com. "All of them are effective depending on what players you have and what their capacities are. We have the type of players to utilize that three-man back line.

"We've had some interesting matches when it comes to defense. Some of the goals we've allowed have been mental mistakes more than errors due to the formation or system."

Chivas must not only figure out its issues in defense, but also find a way to score goals on a consistent basis after being held without a goal in four of its last five contests.