If the Eastern Conference Final between Columbus and Chicago was as expected as finals go, then the Western Conference Final is the exact opposite.

Real Salt Lake, a team which before two weeks ago had never tasted playoff soccer, hosts the New York Red Bulls, an Eastern team that gets the opportunity to become the West champions by virtue of MLS’ crazy CFL-esque playoff crossover system.

Had anyone said at the start of the season that RSL and the Red Bulls would eventually be one game away from the MLS Cup Final, they would have surely been laughed at. Hell, had anyone said the same with two weeks left in the regular season, they would have drawn a lot of scorn, as neither side looked certain to even qualify for the post-season.

But the gods of fate have shined brightly on both sides, and after unspectacular seasons, they both get a chance to book a spot in MLS’ showcase game against the Columbus Crew next week.

So what we have tonight is a hugely unpredictable game between two hugely unpredictable teams.

Which New York team will show up? Will it be the side that thoroughly dismantled the massive-favoured Houston Dynamo 3-0 last week with a dominating, clinical performance? Or will it be the Red Bulls team that plays hit-and-hope football, relying entirely on Juan Pablo Angel?

Which Salt Lake side will be on display at the sold out Rio Tinto Stadium? Will it be the sharp passing team that played with enough flair and confidence to defeat a very good Chivas team over two legs? Or will the inconsistent RSL side - the one that struggled to make full use of a very talented core of players – show up?

It says here that the home team will be the victors, by virtue of a better midfield capable of controlling the play. Of course, the Red Bulls have already dispatched of a vastly superior team in Houston, so what’s to stop them from doing the same tonight?

New York’s luck has to run out some time. They scraped into the playoffs thanks in large part to the incredible ineptitude of DC United to pick up points over the final month of the regular season, clung to a 0-0 draw against the Dynamo in the first leg of the opening round series, and found the rare spark that allowed them to do what no other team in MLS has ever done – beat Houston in the playoffs – in the second leg.

The time is now for the Red Bulls’ wings to be clipped.

Prediction: Real Salt Lake 2 – New York Red Bulls 1