Today, Sporting Kansas City will travel to face off against Seattle Sounders FC at 6 p.m. CT at CenturyLink Field.
The match will be televised live on FS1 and Fox Deportes, as well as on Spanish radio station La Grande 1340 AM.
Sporting KC and Seattle, along with the LA Galaxy, are two of three teams to win multiple major trophies since 2011. The teams have a history of closely-fought battles during the regular season, with neither winning by more than a single goal in all 12 meetings.
The two went head-to-head three times during the 2015 regular season, with Sporting KC playing the Western Conference rival to two draws and a 1-0 victory. Seattle’s lone goal scorer in the three matches against Sporting KC was Obafemi Martins, who was recently transferred to Shanghai Shenhua of the Chinese Super League.
2015 marked the fifth consecutive year Sporting KC made the MLS Cup Playoffs, but the team’s campaign was stopped short in the Western Conference Knockout Round after an 11-round penalty shootout against the eventual champion Portland Timbers.
Sporting KC finds itself coming off an undefeated preseason with increased depth after bringing in six new players this offseason, including former Houston Dynamo midfielder Brad Davis. Newcomer Justin Mapp also adds depth to Kansas City’s midfield, but will be out for his first regular season game with the team with a toe injury. In central defense, Ike Opara is questionable with a thigh strain, while Nuno André Coelho remains in contention for his first MLS appearance with the team.
Meanwhile, veteran midfielder Benny Feilhaber is coming off a career-best year. The 2015 season saw him set a club-record with assists with 20 in all competitions. Tim Melia also looks to continue the success from his first season with Sporting KC after being named MLS Comeback Player of the Year.
Sunday’s match kicks off Sounders FC’s eighth MLS season on the heels of the team’s seventh consecutive year making it to the MLS Cup Playoffs. Since 2009, Seattle has posted a 5-2-0 record in season openers at home, including a 1-0 win over Sporting KC to start their 2014 regular season campaign.
The Sounders enter Sunday’s match having already competed in the quarterfinals of the 2015-2016 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League, where the team fell to defending champion Club America 5-3 on aggregate.
In-game updates will be available online at SportingKC.com/gameon, on Twitter @SKCgameday and on Sporting KC’s mobile app Sporting KC Uphoria.
– Story from Sporting KC