Real Salt Lake can move into a playoff position with a home victory over the struggling San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday in Sandy, Utah.

San Jose (7-9-8, 29 points) is just a point ahead of Salt Lake (8-11-4, 28 points), as the two clubs have been moving in opposite directions. The Earthquakes are on a five-match (0-2-3) winless streak in regular-season play, while RSL had a five-match unbeaten (4-0-1) run ended by last Saturday’s 1-0 loss to FC Cincinnati.

The narrow defeat to league-leading Cincinnati did nothing to dampen Salt Lake’s renewed spirit, according to head coach Pablo Mastroeni.

“You get on a good run of form, you have a lot of belief,” Mastroeni told ESPN 700 radio. “And the mistakes that we were making [in] the first part of the season, we’re cleaning those up. … I think confidence and belief are critical to sustaining good performances and good results.”

Consistent scoring remains Real Salt Lake’s “boogeyman” of the season, Mastroeni said. The team’s 24 goals rank near the bottom of the league, but RSL have countered by limiting opponents to only 29 goals.

The Earthquakes have the opposite issue, as San Jose is among the league leaders in goals scored (46) and goals conceded (42). Saturday’s 3-2 loss to the Seattle Sounders marked the sixth time this season that the Earthquakes allowed three or more goals in a match.

Given the tightening standings, San Jose forward Preston Judd views Saturday as “almost a must-win” for his team.

“We’re going to go out there, we’re going to give our best, be better defensively, keep scoring goals, and we’re going to get a result,” Judd said.

San Jose’s efforts could be helped by a depleted RSL back line. Salt Lake defenders Brayan Vera and Alexandros Katranis won’t play Saturday due to suspensions for caution accumulation.

Cristian Arango leads the Earthquakes with 16 goal contributions (11 goals, five assists). Diego Luna leads Real Salt Lake in both goals (eight) and assists (four).

In the two clubs’ first match of the season, the Earthquakes notched a 4-0 home rout over Salt Lake on February 22.

–Field Level Media