Real Salt Lake notebook: Team in win-Windy City situation

Real Salt Lake is happy to be going to the Windy City this weekend.

The players and coaches didn't openly express their preference about who they'd rather play in the Eastern Conference final prior to last Saturday's New England-Chicago match, but now that it's over, they're happy to be playing the Fire.

"First and foremost, I think we match up well with them. They're a very attacking-minded team, as are we, and I think that provides for some good soccer," said defender Nat Borchers. "Secondly, the grass versus turf is crucial for us because we all like to play on grass any chance we get. Then there is the atmosphere. It's going to be sold out, it's going to be electric and those are the types of games as a professional you want to play in."

If New England had prevailed, the Eastern Conference final would've been played on the turf of Gillette Stadium. In addition, the prospects of a good crowd were bleak after only 7,416 fans attended the first-round game two weeks ago. Amid such conditions, it's hard to imagine the match would've felt like a true conference final.

That won't be the case at all at Toyota Park.

A standing-room-only crowd of 21,528 fans were on hand for Chicago's win over New England on Saturday, and a similar crowd is expected for Cuauhtemoc Blanco's last home match with Chicago against Real Salt Lake.

"It has all the elements that our players have thrived on this year, playing against teams they have a lot of respect for, playing in stadiums that are grass and meant for soccer. I just think it's going to be a fantastic night. I'm really looking forward to it," said RSL coach Jason Kreis.

BELTRAN IN DOUBT: Defender Tony Beltran sat out last week's game with Columbus with a quadriceps injury, and his status for this weekend's clash with Chicago doesn't appear to be any better.

"He's plateaued a little bit. We're pretty nervous about his situation right now," said Kreis. "We thought he was getting better every day, but over the last couple of days, he's really kind of stayed the same, so it will be day to day."

If Beltran ends up missing his second straight match, Robbie Russell will likely start in his place.

REMAINING CONSISTENT: RSL left three days early for its playoff match in Columbus last week to acclimate itself and get two training sessions in leading up to the match. Kreis doesn't know if that contributed to his team's success against the Crew, but regardless the team is copying the formula.

RSL departs for Chicago this Wednesday and will train in the area on Thursday and Friday.

Unlike in Columbus, though, the team won't be staying in a different hotel than it did during the regular season.