Real Salt Lake vs. Sporting Kansas City – MLS, May 1, 2021

Real Salt Lake welcomes Sporting KC to Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday, May 1, as both sides aim to defend their unbeaten starts to the 2021 MLS season.

Having endured a bye on Week 1, RSL sealed an impressive 2-1 victory over Minnesota United last weekend. Meanwhile, SKC beat the Red Bulls before earning a draw with Orlando City.

Keep reading to find my Real Salt Lake vs. Sporting Kansas City prediction and betting pick.

As you can see, 10bet can’t seem to separate these two sides. SKC is the marginal favorite, although the price for the RSL win is almost identical.

You can’t blame the bookmakers for taking a cautious approach at this early stage in the season. Having said that, the juicy odds for the draw stand out at first glance.

Before making an RSL vs. SKC prediction, we need to take a closer look at the teams.

Minnesota was priced at 1.80 to beat Real Salt Lake last weekend, while you could back RSL at 4.15. Nobody expected an upset at Allianz Field, but the visitors clearly didn’t read the script.

A quick-fire Anderson Julio brace handed the Claret & Cobalt a 2-0 lead just before half-time. Robin Lod pulled a goal back for the hosts on 86 minutes, but RSL weathered the late storm and held on to claim a memorable win.

At the end of the day, Freddy Juarez’s men were clinical last weekend. Despite registering just 11 shots, they managed to hit the target four times. Minnesota racked up a whopping 23 attempts, with just two shots troubling RSL goalkeeper David Ochoa.

Having finished the previous campaign second from bottom in the Western Conference, RSL looked destined for another difficult year.

But if Juarez’s men can continue to put in performances like the one that saw them beat Minnesota, they are likely to cause their opponents plenty of problems this season.

Two goals in two minutes saw Sporting KC turn things around in the blink of an eye against the Red Bulls on Week 1. The Wizards were trailing RBNY with 30 minutes remaining, but strikes from Gadi Kinda and Daniel Salloi completed the comeback.

Unfortunately, Peter Vermes’ men were unable to emulate their opening weekend heroics last time out. But they still managed to pick up a point against Orlando.

When Gianluca Busio put SKC ahead on the stroke of half-time, things were looking good for the 2020 Western Conference champs. However, a second-half onslaught resulted in Nani netting a backheel equalizer.

Only the Galaxy has claimed maximum points this season, meaning the Wizards sit level on four points with Seattle, LAFC, and Vancouver in the early standings.

Vermes’ men have built themselves a solid foundation to build upon.

There is no denying that Sporting KC is stronger than Real Salt Lake, at least on paper. But following their standout win over Minnesota, the Claret & Cobalt will be brimming with belief at the moment.

Of course, beating SKC won’t be easy. But I can see RSL snatching a draw against the Wizards.

Having considered everything, I’m going with the draw for my Real Salt Lake vs. Sporting Kansas City prediction.