Chester, PA - On Sunday night, Philadelphia Union returns back to action after the MLS All-Star Game to face Real Salt Lake at Talen Energy Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 PM EST (TV: The Comcast Network, KMYU, MLS LIVE). This is the first and only meeting of the season between the two teams.

Philadelphia looking for first win over Real Salt Lake

In eight total matchups between the two sides, Philadelphia has never beaten Real Salt Lake. Out of those eight matches, the sides have tied six times and Real has won twice.

Both teams come in desperate to gain good momentum heading into the second half of the season.

Real Salt Lake come into Sunday’s match with a record of 8-6-7 and a total of 31 points in 21 games, which is good for fifth place in the MLS Western Conference. However, their recent form has been concerning. In their last six games, RSL is winless and has only taken four points out of a possible 18, while going 0-2-4.

Philadelphia has only performed slightly better than Salt Lake over this period. In their last six, the Union have gone 2-3-1 and have given up a whopping 14 goals during this span. Currently, Philadelphia sits in third place behind both New York teams (New York Red Bulls and New York City FC) with 30 points in 21 games. Three points between the three sides separate the top of the MLS Eastern Conference and a Union win on Sunday could vault the team back to the top of the conference, if results go their way.

Philadelphia and Salt Lake dealing with selection dilemma

For Philadelphia, midfielder Tranquillo Barnetta will be suspended for Sunday’s match due to yellow card accumulation. In recent matches, Barnetta has been slotted in the number eight role alongside the central defensive midfielder, which has been either Brian Carroll or Warren Creavalle. With Barnetta out, Philadelphia Union head coach Jim Curtin has a couple of options.

If Curtin opts to go defensive, Creavalle and Carroll could pair together in the double pivot, which is the likely pairing. To go with a more offensive lineup, Curtin would have to move Ilsinho to central attacking midfielder, which moves Roland Alberg back to the eight role and probably means either Sebastien Le Toux or Walter Restrepo start on the wing.

On the other side of the pitch, Real Salt Lake will be without leading goal scorer, Yura Movsisyan, according to Chris Kamrani of the Salt Lake Tribune. Kamrani also reported that midfielder/defender Jordan Allen is also questionable after suffering hamstring tightness in the Chipotle Homegrown Game on Wednesday night. With Movsisyan out, Olmes Garcia could be in line for the start.

Matchup to watch: Keegan Rosenberry - Joao Plata

One of the key matchups to watch in this game will be Joao Plata versus Keegan Rosenberry. Plata is an extremely dangerous winger that will certainly grab special consideration from Rosenberry.

In his 2016 campaign, Plata has five goals as well as seven assists in 17 games played. Rosenberry is a rookie that is arguably the best right back in Major League Soccer as he was voted to the MLS All-Star Game on Thursday. The added wrinkle into this matchup will be Ilsinho, who has usually played in front of Rosenberry on the wing. The Brazilian is more of an offensive-minded player, so keep an eye on how far Rosenberry gets up on offense to compensate for the dangerous Plata.