Sporting Kansas City and Los Angeles Galaxy will be looking to kick-start their 2023 Major League Soccer campaigns when they face off at Children's Mercy Park this weekend.
SKC have taken one point from a possible six so far, while the Galaxy find themselves second from bottom in the Western Conference after losing their opening match.
Match preview
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Sporting Kansas City suffered a 1-0 defeat to Portland Timbers in their first game of the season, despite racking up 12 shots while enjoying the lion's share of possession at Providence Park.
Having dominated Colorado Rapids last weekend, Peter Vermes's men can count themselves unlucky to have been held to a goalless draw at DSG Park, as they notched 11 attempts on target to Colorado's four.
Sporting KC finished atop the Western Conference in 2018 and 2020 before ending the 2021 campaign in third place, but they finished all the way down in 12th last season, winning just 11 of their 34 games in 2022.
If the early stages of the new campaign are anything to go by, SKC are on course to endure another difficult season, so they will be eager to register a positive result this weekend.
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Los Angeles Galaxy were scheduled to kick off their campaign with a clash against arch-rivals Los Angeles FC, but El Trafico was postponed due to inclement weather in California.
As a result, the Galaxy have only played one match this year, and it did not end well, as FC Dallas ran out 3-1 winners at Toyota Stadium last weekend thanks to a second-half brace from Jesus Ferreira.
It is worth noting, however, that Greg Vanney's men created the bulk of the goalscoring opportunities in Texas and also saw the majority of the ball, although the visitors failed to build on Dejan Joveljic's opener.
Having finished fourth in the Western Conference last season – 10 points clear of Sporting Kansas City – the five-time MLS Cup champions will be confident of igniting their campaign at the expense of their hosts.
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Sporting Kansas City will be without the injured quartet of Kortne Ford (Achilles), Logan Ndenbe (hamstring), Gadi Kinda (knee) and Johnny Russell (hamstring) this weekend.
There are also question marks over the fitness of Alan Pulido (knee) and Khiry Shelton (adductor), so William Agada and Erik Thommy are expected to make up the host's forward line.
As for LA Galaxy, they have two key players sidelined due to injury, with Javier Hernandez (hamstring) and Douglas Costa (calf) unavailable for selection this weekend.
Hernandez scored 18 goals in 34 MLS appearances last year, so the former Manchester United and Real Madrid striker will be sorely missed as he continues to recover from injury.
That said, Dejan Joveljic is more than capable of deputising for Hernandez, having netted 16 goals in all competitions last season, while ex-Barcelona star Riqui Puig adds a touch of class to the Galaxy's midfield.
Sporting Kansas City possible starting lineup:
Pulskamp; Zusi, Voloder, Fontas, Sweat; Tzionis, Espinoza, Walter, Salloi; Agada, Thommy
Los Angeles Galaxy possible starting lineup:
Bond; Leerdam, Caceres, Mavinga, Edwards; Alvarez, Brugman, Puig, Delgado, Rodriguez; Joveljic
We say: Sporting Kansas City 1-2 Los Angeles Galaxy
Given that Sporting Kansas City have flattered to deceive during the early stages of the new campaign, we expect LA Galaxy to flex their muscles and claim all three points at Children's Mercy Park.
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Ben Morris
