A pair of familiar foes will write the newest chapter of their rivalry on Saturday when Sporting Kansas City (3-5-5, 14 points) ventures south to face the Houston Dynamo (7-3-2, 23 points) at BBVA Compass Stadium.
The Western Conference battle will kick off at 7:30 p.m. with three hours of live coverage on FOX Sports Kansas City, FOX Sports Midwest Plus and FOX Sports GO beginning at 7 p.m. Sports Radio 810 WHB and ESPN Deportes KC 1480 AM will air live radio broadcasts, while the Sporting KC App will provide additional in-game updates.
The start of June marks the end of a wild week for Sporting, who will play their third game in seven days after experiencing a full spectrum of emotions in two recent contests at Children’s Mercy Park.
Johnny Russell bagged a sensational hat-trick in a riveting 3-2 victory over Seattle Sounders FC on Sunday, but the LA Galaxy curbed Sporting’s momentum with a 2-0 triumph on Wednesday for their first win in Kansas City since 2007.
Manager Peter Vermes’ men stare down the gauntlet of four straight MLS away matches throughout June, not to mention a U.S. Open Cup visit to Minnesota United FC on June 12.
Occupying 11th place in the standings and four points below the seventh and final playoff spot, Sporting is the only Western Conference side without a road win this season and will be eager to exorcise their travel struggles in the days and weeks ahead.
After winning the Open Cup but missing the playoffs in 2018, head coach Wilmer Cabrera has Houston looking like a legitimate postseason contender.
The Dynamo have 23 points on the season, occupying fourth place in the West, and boast an unbeaten 6-0-2 record at home. Striker Mauro Manotas (six goals, four assists) and winger Alberth Elis (four goals, six assists) have each accounted for exactly half of Houston’s 20 goals this year. Playmaker Memo Rodriguez, meanwhile, is piecing together his best season as a pro with five goals and two assists.
Saturday’s task may be daunting, but Sporting will be buoyed by the fact that they swept the 2018 regular season series against Houston.
Following an epic 3-2 home victory in which the hosts erased a 2-0 halftime deficit, Sporting went into BBVA Compass Stadium and grinded out a 1-0 win last August behind a first career assist from 16-year-old Gianluca Busio. The Dynamo did prevail in last year’s Open Cup quarterfinals, however, and Manotas tallied four goals in his three appearances versus Sporting in 2018.
Few MLS teams share a more intriguing head-to-head history this decade than Sporting and Houston.
Since 2011, the clubs have met 30 times in all competitions-Sporting leads by the slimmest of margins with an 11-10-9 record-and squared off in a slew of high-stakes battles. That includes four editions of the MLS Cup Playoffs (2011-2013, 2017) and each of the last four Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cups dating back to 2015. Sporting knocked off Houston en route to the 2013 MLS Cup and Open Cup titles in 2015 and 2017, while the Dynamo claimed a win over Vermes’ men on their way to lifting the 2018 Open Cup.
Sporting’s team selection on Saturday will be complicated by two factors: fixture congestion and player availability.
Playing its third game in a week, the club also has seven players listed on the injury report. Long-term absentees Roger Espinoza (knee), Gerso Fernandes (wrist), Erik Hurtado (knee), Jaylin Lindsey (knee), and Rodney Wallace (hip) remain out, while Botond Barath and Johnny Russell are deemed questionable after picking up knocks on Wednesday.
On the bright side, a trio of Sporting defenders is off the injury report and figure to be available on Saturday. Captain Matt Besler, fellow center back Andreu Fontas and influential right back Graham Zusi have all missed time in recent weeks, but all three featured Wednesday against LA. Forward Daniel Salloi is also back in the mix, having missed a fortnight of action earlier this month with a groin issue.
- Story from Sporting KC