Nashville SC head into their next MLS affair this weekend unbeaten in 25 consecutive games played in the Music City, as they return to GEODIS Park for a matchup against Sporting Kansas City on Sunday.
Last Saturday was a stalemate for the Boys in Gold, who drew 0-0 with the San Jose Earthquakes, while SKC are dead last in the Western Conference, winning only one domestic encounter since April.
Match preview
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Since the opening of their new stadium earlier this season, Gary Smith's side have looked a lot more like the team we remember from 2021 - tough to get past, allowing a goal or fewer in four of their previous five matches in all competitions.
Last weekend, they conceded their share of shots on target (six), although rarely were those shooting opportunities in dangerous scoring positions.
They are among the best sides in the league at closing down space in their own penalty area, rarely allowing an easy goal.
While they have never missed the postseason, it remains unclear if this group are ready to jump from a good team to an elite one.
Their primary footballing identity has been one of a rugged defensive unit, though Nashville have proven that they can win with various setups and in an attack-minded approach.
Throughout the 2022 campaign, the Boys in Gold have not lost a regular-season encounter in which they have drawn first blood.
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Sporting KC are going through some unprecedented times in 2022, currently the second-worst team in the league, just two points ahead of the Chicago Fire.
After contending for the top spot in the Western Conference until the final day of the 2021 regular season, this side are making the kind of history that no one wants.
Until this campaign, no team in MLS had been without two Designated Players (DPs) for an entire campaign, but that is what KC are contending with at the moment, as Alan Pulido and Gadi Kinda have not seen the field this year.
Losing their two most expensive signings in club history has devastated this organization, not only financially, but statistically as well, with KC scoring the second-fewest goals to this point of the season (14).
Manager Peter Vermes has acknowledged that he is experiencing things that he has never gone through, forcing the long-time boss to devise solutions that they never thought he would have to face.
For the moment, Vermes and his staff have failed to find any good solutions to their predicament, winning only once since April, although they have looked sharp at the U.S. Open Cup, currently in the last eight of that competition.
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Team News
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Nashville goalkeeper Joe Willis recorded his 44th career MLS clean sheet in their previous outing, Dax McCarty appeared in his 422nd regular-season match and Alex Muyl led the team in touches with 76.
Daniel Lovitz completed 40 passes to lead the Boys in Gold against the Quakes, Hany Mukhtar leads the league in shots (55) and shots on target (31) as he is first for Nashville in goals (six) and tied with CJ Sapong for most assists (three).
There are still several players who are doubtful for Nashville this weekend because of injuries, including Teal Bunbury (right knee), Robert Castellanos (right ankle surgery), Randall Leal (ankle) and Handwalla Bwana (thigh).
Kansas City midfielder Roger Espinoza is one of only three players in the league to record an assist in 13 different MLS campaigns, joining Dax McCarty and Kei Kamara in that exclusive group.
Johnny Russell has four goals in his last four matches, leading the team with seven strikes in all competitions, academy products Cameron Duke and Felipe Hernandez are tied for the lead in assists with three, while Daniel Salloi can reach the century mark in MLS starts should he feature in the opening lineup on Sunday.
Uri Rosell will be suspended for this encounter after being dismissed early in the second half in their 2-1 defeat to the New England Revolution, while Ozzie Cisneros (hamstring), Jake Davis (adductor) and Nikola Vujnovic could all miss this match through injury.
Nashville SC possible starting lineup:
Willis; Muyl, Romney, Maher, Lovitz; Anunga, McCarty, Davis, Washington; Sapong, Mukhtar
Sporting Kansas City possible starting lineup:
Melia; Zusi, Ford, Fontas, Sweat; Espinoza; Shelton, Walter, Duke; Russell, Hernandez
We say: Nashville SC 1-0 Sporting Kansas City
Even when they are not at their best, the footballing gods seem to smile down on Nashville SC when playing at home, and we do not anticipate their rock-solid defence will have any trouble contending with a side in Kansas City who have been depleted both mentally and physically.
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