Sporting Kansas City (3-0-0) looks to continue its perfect start to the season on Saturday with three more points against Real Salt Lake (1-0-2) at Children’s Mercy Park.
The match kicks off at 7:30 p.m. with three hours of live TV coverage on KMCI-TV, Channel 38, and SKCTV beginning at 7 p.m. Listeners can also follow the action on 99.3 FM (English) and La Grande 1340 AM (Spanish).
A limited number of tickets for Saturday’s 2013 MLS Cup rematch are available via Ticketmaster.com, and the first 10,000 fans through the gates will receive free spirit sleeves. Supporters are also encouraged to donate new or gently used soccer gear to provide for youth in underserved communities. In exchange for donating gear, fans will receive a 10 percent off coupon at SportingStyle locations inside the stadium.
Both Sporting KC and Real Salt Lake will start Saturday night’s match with an unbeaten record after their first three games of the 2016 MLS season. Manager Peter Vermes’ men remain atop the Western conference as the only team in the league to amass nine points in three games. Meanwhile, RSL clings to sixth place in the West with five points.
RSL has struggled to win in Kansas City in the past, with a 1-6-5 record across all competitions. The team scrapped up its only Kansas City victory in 2009. Last season, however, Salt Lake maintained the upper hand in the Western conference rivalry with two wins at home and a tie at Children’s Mercy Park. Sporting KC did manage one victory against RSL last year with a 3-1 comeback result in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semifinal at Children’s Mercy Park on Aug. 12, allowing the club to win the trophy later that year.
Despite a solid home record against their Utah rival, Sporting KC is winless in four league games against RSL since the start of 2014. Kansas City holds a narrow edge in the all-time regular season series with an 8-7-5 record, including a 5-1-4 mark at home.
This year marks the third time in team history that Sporting KC has begun the regular season with a 3-0-0 record. The team has conceded just one goal through three games, fewest in MLS, and has yet to allow a goal from the run of play.
Sporting KC opened the season with a 1-0 win in Seattle and a 2-1 home triumph over Vancouver before topping Toronto FC 1-0 in their most recent game on March 20. Dom Dwyer continues to climb the goal charts, scoring twice against Vancouver, while newcomers Nuno Andre Coelho and Brad Davis have also added goals in 2016.
Real Salt Lake is one of three unbeaten teams in the MLS, along with Sporting KC and Orlando City SC. The Utah side has recorded two draws in two away games against both Orlando and the Portland Timbers. RSL’s sole win was a 2-1 home result over Seattle Sounders FC.
Both clubs enter Saturday with regular starters ruled out.
Real Salt Lake will miss center back Jamison Olave, midfielder Kyle Beckerman and forward Juan Manuel Martinez as they serve one-game suspensions, while veteran playmaker Javier Morales is sidelined with broken ribs.
Meanwhile, Sporting KC is without captain Matt Besler (concussion), Justin Mapp (toe) and Roger Espinoza, who serves a one-game ban for picking up a red card against Toronto FC.
– Story from Sporting KC