Occupying first place in the Western Conference, Sporting Kansas City (3-1-1, 10 points) will put a four-game unbeaten run on the line Sunday when they visit five-time MLS Cup champion LA Galaxy (2-1-1, 7 points) in a nationally televised showdown on FS1. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. at StubHub Center in Carson, California.
Local radio broadcasts will air on Sports Radio 810 WHB (English) and ESPN Deportes KC 1480 AM (Spanish). The marquee matchup will stream live on FOX Sports GO, while the Sporting KC Uphoria app will provide live updates.
Sunday’s primetime match pits a pair of MLS originals who are coming off victories last Saturday.
Sporting KC posted a 1-0 home win over D.C. United behind midfielder Felipe Gutierrez’s league-leading fifth goal of 2018, including his third strike of the game-winning variety. The 27-year-old Chilean international was voted MLS Player of the Month presented by EA SPORTS for the month of March, becoming the 13th player in club history to receive the award and the first since May 2015.
Three points behind Sporting KC in the Western Conference table, the Galaxy are a week removed from pulling off an epic comeback in their inaugural meeting with crosstown rivals Los Angeles Football Club.
Trailing 3-0 in the 60th minute at StubHub Center, the hosts rallied for four unanswered goals over the final half-hour to become the second MLS team all-time to erase a three-goal deficit and win in regulation.
Influential midfielders Sebastian Lletget and Chris Pontius found the back of the net before 36-year-old star Zlatan Ibrahimovic stole the show in his MLS debut. Entering in the 71st minute, Ibrahimovic scored a stunning equalizer from 45 yards in the 77th minute and nodded home the winner in stoppage time.
The Galaxy will look to carry their newfound momentum into Sunday against a Sporting KC side that has faced just three shots on goal over the last 170 minutes of action.
Center back Ike Opara and holding midfielder Ilie landed MLS Team of the Week honors for their contribution’s in Saturday’s shutout of D.C., Sporting KC’s first clean sheet of 2018.
Both players will shoulder responsibilities in silencing Ibrahimovic – who was named Alcatel MLS Player of the Week on Tuesday – as well as forward Ola Kamara, who has bagged three goals in two previous appearances versus Sporting KC as a member of Columbus Crew SC.
In a rivalry that dates back to the inaugural 1996 MLS season, recent results in the series have seen Sporting KC hold a decisive upper hand. Manager Peter Vermes’ men are unbeaten in six straight meetings against LA, going 3-0-3 since October 2015 while outshooting the Galaxy 91-45 during that stretch.
Sporting KC has emerged with a result in each of their last two trips to StubHub Center, drawing 0-0 in June 2016 and prevailing 2-1 last June in a back-and-forth affair that saw Opara score a jaw-dropping bicycle kick that ultimately sealed the victory.
The sides most recently met on Sept. 24 at Children’s Mercy Park, where Diego Rubio and Daniel Salloi – who currently ranks second in MLS with three assists – tallied first-half goals to pace a 2-1 triumph and render Romain Alessandrini’s superb second-half free kick irrelevant.
Sporting KC has fared well on its early travels in 2018, prevailing in a 4-3 thriller at the Chicago Fire on March 10 and battling from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw at the Colorado Rapids a fortnight later. Vermes’ team has scored six goals in two road games after totaling just 10 goals in 17 away matches last year.
On the opposite sideline, all-time MLS coaching wins leader Sigi Scmid guides an LA team that has won each of its first two home games this season after finishing with a 3-9-5 home record in 2017. Prior to ousting LAFC, the Galaxy opened their campaign with a 2-1 defeat of the Portland Timbers that produced goals from Kamara and Alessandrini.
– Story from Sporting KC
