Two Western Conference clubs eager to bounce back into the win column will square off Saturday as fifth-place Sporting Kansas City (9-6-6, 33 points) visits rivals Houston Dynamo (7-8-6, 27 points) at BBVA Compass Stadium.
Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. with three hours of live coverage beginning at 7:30 p.m. on FOX Sports Kansas City Plus and FOX Sports Midwest Plus. Viewers within the FOX Spots Midwest TV can also stream the match live on FOX Sports GO, while fans elsewhere across the U.S. can catch the action on ESPN+.
Local radio broadcasts will air live on Sports Radio 810 WHB (English) and ESPN Deportes KC 1480 AM (Spanish), with additional in-game updates available on the Sporting KC Uphoria mobile app.
Both teams have found victories hard to come by in recent weeks, making Saturday’s fixture all the more important as the Western Conference playoff picture begins to crystalize. Houston is winless in four straight, having sunk from sixth to ninth place since mid-July, while Sporting KC has taken a single point from a possible 15 over their last five matches to drop from first to fifth.
A frustrating 3-2 defeat to first-place FC Dallas last weekend snapped Sporting KC’s 10-game home unbeaten run in all competitions. The team continued its strong run of form on the offensive end-scoring multiple goals for the eighth time in 10 matches with second-half strikes from Gerso Fernandes and Daniel Salloi – but a Michael Barrios hat-trick gave FC Dallas its first win at Children’s Mercy Park since August 2011 and, more importantly, lifted the club nine points clear of Sporting KC in the Western Conference standings.
The Dynamo took a 2-1 loss in Portland last Saturday, with Timbers midfielder Sebastian Blanco and Houston winger Romell Quioto trading early goals before Fandendo – playing his final game in a Portland uniform prior to joining current USL side and 2019 MLS expansion team FC Cincinnati – came off the bench to poke home a dramatic 81st-minute winner.
Sporting KC and Houston are set to battle for the third time in a six-week span, with manager Peter Vermes’ men prevailing in a 3-2 thriller on June 23 at Children’s Mercy Park before suffering a 4-2 defeat in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals on July 18 at BBVA Compass Stadium. Houston forward Mauro Manotas has scored twice in both meetings this season, netting a first-half brace in June before notching a pair of late goals in last month’s Open Cup triumph.