Rapids look to end road woes at Real Salt Lake

The Colorado Rapids attempt to break a 15-game winless stretch in Utah when they visit Real Salt Lake on Saturday night.

The Rapids have never prevailed in 13 matches (0-9-4) at Rio Tinto Stadium in suburban Sandy and their last victory in the region came on April 30, 2007 at Rice-Eccles Stadium on the University of Utah campus in Salt Lake City.

"That's a hard place to play at," Colorado midfielder Enzo Martinez, who was on the Real Salt Lake City roster in 2012-13, told reporters. "The fans will be behind them. It's a derby match. For me, personally, I want to go in there and get three points."

The Rapids (2-1-2) are unbeaten over their past four matches after a season-opening loss to the New England Revolution.

However, winning on the road has been a tough task over the past 20 such matches. Colorado is just 1-16-3 with nine goals during the stretch.

Real Salt Lake (2-3-1) is struggling to find a groove and was blasted 4-0 by New York City FC on April 11 in their last match.

RSL is last in MLS in goals allowed (14) and goal differential (minus-8).

"Somewhere along the way from the second part of last year, we kind of forgot certain things," RSL coach Mike Petke told reporters following the loss against NYCFC. "It starts with me and the staff, of course, getting that bite back, getting that mentality that style of play that we had that made us successful in the second half of last year. Good thing is that we have plenty of time left."

RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando has a high 2.33 goals-against average while facing a league-high 41 shots. Forward Joao Plata has a team-high two goals but was benched for the last two encounters.

Rapids star goalkeeper Tim Howard has a 1.00 GAA and forward Dominique Badji is tied for third in the league with four goals.

--Field Level Media