After three straight home matches, Sporting Kansas City (3-1-0, 9 points) hits the road for an inter-conference matchup against defending Supporters’ Shield champion New York Red Bulls (1-3-0, 3 points) on Saturday at Red Bull Arena.
The match will kick off at 6 p.m., with live TV coverage beginning at 5:30 p.m. on 38 The Spot and SKCTV.
Saturday’s game will also be broadcast on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM.
Last Saturday, Sporting KC experienced its first loss of the 2016 regular season at home against Real Salt Lake. The Red Bulls also suffered defeat, falling 1-0 to New England Revolution.
The loss dropped Kansas City to second place in the Western Conference, just one point behind leaders FC Dallas. Meanwhile, the Red Bulls are currently tied for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
Manager Peter Vermes’ men also hope to break a six-game winless streak against New York, having gone 0-4-2 in their most recent meetings with the Red Bulls. The six-match dry spell (including playoffs) is Sporting KC’s longest current winless streak against any MLS team.
Sporting KC will be without its captain again this week as Matt Besler, who started 32 of 34 regular season MLS matches in 2015, continues to recover from a concussion suffered during the center back’s recent time spent with the United States Men’s National Team.
According to Major League Soccer regulations, players diagnosed with a concussion must pass the MLS concussion protocol before returning to the field. Besler is more than halfway through the seven-step process, with the final step being a full return to training.
Midfielders Justin Mapp (toe), Soni Mustivar (hamstring) and Brad Davis (concussion) will also miss Saturday’s match.
A watch party for this match will take place at No Other Pub in the Power and Light District of Kansas City, Mo.
– Story from Sporting KC