Seattle Sounders vs. Real Salt Lake – MLS, October 7, 2020

High-flying Seattle Sounders will be aiming to extend their lead at the top of the Western Conference when they welcome Real Salt Lake to CenturyLink Field on Wednesday, October 7.

The defending MLS Cup champions sit three points clear at the summit having won four of their previous five outings. Meanwhile, a run of one win in five games has seen RSL drop to eighth – nine points behind Seattle.

Can the Utah club upset the odds? Read on to see my Seattle Sounders vs. Real Salt Lake prediction and betting pick.

Real Salt Lake (5.75) only finished three points shy of the Sounders (1.50) in the Western Conference last year. But almost halfway through the current campaign, RSL is miles behind Seattle.

The top online soccer betting sites have clearly taken current form into account when pricing up this game. Brian Schmetzer’s side is the deserved favorite here, with struggling RSL the rank outsider.

Seattle continued their run of ruthless wins with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Vancouver Whitecaps on Sunday. The Sounders have now scored at least three goals in each of their previous six wins, with a 7-1 thrashing of San Jose Earthquakes also coming last month.

You probably won’t be surprised to hear that Schmetzer’s men are the highest scorers in the Western Conference (32). But perhaps more impressively, Seattle has also conceded the fewest goals in the division this year (13).

The Sounders are averaging over two goals per game this term and have so far conceded an average of less than one goal per game.

Top scorer Raul Ruidiaz netted his eighth goal in nine appearances in the win over Vancouver last time out. Indeed, the Peruvian’s recent performances have made him an early MVP candidate.

Unfortunately, Real Salt Lake has been moving in the opposite direction lately. The Claret & Cobalt ended a run of two straight defeats by beating LA Galaxy at the end of September. But having only taken one point from their last two games, there are now just three points between RSL and the bottom of the table.

Freddy Juarez won’t be too disappointed with the goalless draw against Minnesota United, but the 3-1 defeat to LAFC last weekend was poor. Bob Bradley’s men are no longer the force they once were, yet RSL was beaten 3-1 by the Los Angeles club and only got on the scoresheet thanks to an Eduard Atuesta own goal.

RSL shouldn’t struggle to qualify for the play-offs. However, the team isn’t likely to enhance their top-eight ambitions this week.

At the end of the day, Seattle has been ruthless over the past couple of months. The Sounders have scored over 2.5 goals while winning six of their previous nine games, and they have also kept a couple of clean sheets along the way.

Real Salt Lake is going through a rough patch at the moment, so their winless run is likely to be extended to three games on Wednesday.