The single-game knockout round can be unforgiving.

After a 34-game regular season, a team’s season hangs on its performance in one game, likely on a short turnaround with another short turnaround awaiting if you’re victorious.

For the second consecutive season, this is the path the Galaxy must travel.

The Galaxy, the third seed in the Western Conference, host sixth-seeded Real Salt Lake Wednesday night in one of the two conference single-eliminations in the Knockout Round.

The winner stays alive and the loser goes home, as was the case last year for the Galaxy. The Galaxy entered as the fifth seed and had to travel to Seattle. The season ended with a 3-2 loss.

“Now is the time to do your talking on the field, instead of talking off the field,” Galaxy forward Robbie Keane said. “Now it is what we do on the field, let’s see who stands up and let’s see who’s going to be counted because this separates the men from the boys now.

“This is where it counts, now.”

Keane has missed the past two games of the regular season, but he said he felt “fine” Monday following training.

If the Galaxy win tonight, they will host the first leg of the conference semifinals Sunday against Colorado.

However, first up on the agenda is RSL.

The teams met twice during the regular season. The Galaxy won the first match, 5-2, at home in April before playing to a 3-3 draw in September. The Galaxy led 3-1 after the 64th minute.

“We’re starting over with a fresh slate,” Galaxy goalkeeper Brian Rowe said. “The season doesn’t matter anymore. I know our team mentality … we have a great mindset going into the game and I think home-field advantage will be good for us.

“We have to just play our game and not worry about them and just keep possession of the ball. Move it (the ball) and work hard for each other, defensively not give up a goal, and I think at home that would give us a great opportunity to be able to get one (a victory.)”

The Galaxy posted an 8-1-8 record at home — the lone loss to FC Dallas in the U.S. Open Cup at StubHub Center. RSL went 4-11-2 on the road.

“We kept our heads above water,” Galaxy coach Bruce Arena said. “We’ve been somewhat consistent in the fact that we’ve been a team that’s been positioned to win a MLS Cup all each and every year, so that’s OK, but we’ll see how this year plays out.”

To the Galaxy’s credit, amid all of the turmoil of who’s in the lineup and who’s not, they’ve allowed just one goal in three games in October and could be set up for another playoff run.

“I think the last three weeks have been really good,” Landon Donovan said. “What hasn’t shown up yet is the quality in the attacking third. I think when you look at the way we play, the ability to not give away too many chances and just the effort, we have a chance. Now we need to make plays on the other end of the field.”

REAL SALT LAKE at GALAXY

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at StubHub Center

TV/Radio: UniMas

Update: RSL (12-12-10) finished sixth in the Western Conference with 46 points. RSL didn’t exactly close the regular season in strong fashion, going winless in the last seven games (0-4-3). Joao Plata leads RSL with nine goals and 11 assists. Yura Movsisyan (nine goals) and Juan Manuel Martinez (seven) are others to watch in the RSL attack. This is the fifth postseason meeting (2009, 2011, 2013 and 2014) between the clubs. Giovani dos Santos scored three goals against RSL in the regular season.