Real Salt Lake players have promised to stop David Beckham's bid for Major League Soccer success on Sunday.

Beckham's Los Angeles Galaxy will vie with Real Salt Lake for the American league title in the MLS Cup at Qwest Field with the game being billed as a match-up of stars versus an underdog team that came into the post-season play-offs with a less than sparkling record in the regular 2009 campaign.

Beckham and United States player of the year Landon Donovan have been the centre of attention following the Galaxy's Western Conference championship victory over Houston Dynamo last Friday.

Real Salt Lake, fifth in the Western Conference, went into the Eastern Conference as a wild card having won 11 games, lost 12 and drawn seven times during the regular season.

Salt Lake and Jamaica midfielder Andy Williams believes, however, that his team can upset the favourites.

"It's a big challenge but there's a saying in Jamaica that a small axe chops a big tree," Williams said.

"We consider ourselves the small axe, we have a big tree this Sunday and we've been underdog the last two play-off games and that's fine by us. We like the challenge."

Williams, 32, said the Real players had got all the motivation they needed from the wall-to-wall media coverage given to the Galaxy this week.

"You just turn on ESPN and you see David Beckham all over it, Landon Donovan but you're always going to have that.

"It's been our motto the last two years, put the team first, and it's paid off for us.

"Last year we were one game short and this year it's worked. We've put the team first and hopefully it continues working this Sunday."

Williams' fellow midfielder Kyle Beckerman believes the Galaxy's style of play, which allows both midfielder Beckham and forward Donovan to roam the field, suits his side's gameplan.

"We'll keep an eye on Donovan. I think that's a big thing. He'll come to the midfield a lot and we'll have to communicate a lot.

"With Beckham, I think when he moves around it will help us out when we win the ball. We're going to attack the space he just left.

"Mainly his roaming is going deep in defence to get the ball. That's fine with us."

Beckerman, 27, believes Salt Lake can minimise Beckham's threat as a pinpoint passer of the ball the deeper he roams.

He explained: "I think we're just going to try and dominate the midfield and push him out.

"It seems like when it gets tough in there he goes back and gets the ball off the back four to get that space.

"Our main concern is going to be when he goes back there, keep organised, then deal with the long ball.

"But if we're doing our thing, if we're working the ball well, controlling it, then his free-kicks, his long passes won't affect us."