Two sides who could do well with a win go head to head in MLS as Sporting Kansas City play host to Los Angeles FC at Children's Mercy Park on Saturday night.
The Black and Gold, who are on an eight-game unbeaten run against the home side since August 2021, will look to extend this impressive four-year streak and snap their run of three consecutive defeats.
Match preview
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Sporting Kansas City turned in a resilient team display last Sunday as they fought back from three goals down to salvage a thrilling 3-3 draw against Minnesota United when the two sides squared off at Children's Mercy Park.
A brace from Tani Oluwaseyi and Hassani Dotson's 15th-minute strike put Minnesota in a commanding three-goal lead heading into the final 20 minutes but Daniel Salloi and Dejan Joveljic scored either side of Morris Duggan's 72nd-minute own goal to force a share of the spoils in dramatic fashion.
Head coach Peter Joseph Vermes will hope that result can serve as a springboard for an upturn in form as they head into the weekend looking to secure their first win since beating Colorado Rapids 4-1 in the league back in September.
Before Sunday's stalemate, Sporting Kansas City had lost each of their five matches across all competitions to start the new campaign, a run which saw them crash out of the CONCACAF Champions Cup courtesy of a 4-2 aggregate defeat at the hands of Inter Miami.
While the Wizards will be looking to snap their run of 16 back-to-back games without a win across all competitions, they will need to be at their best this weekend as they go up against an opposing side whom they have failed to get the better of in their last eight encounters, losing six and claiming two draws since a 4-1 victory in August 2021.
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Los Angeles FC, on the other hand, were left empty handed yet again as they suffered a 1-0 defeat against Austin FC when the two sides squared off at the BMO Stadium last Saturday.
The Black and Gold were made to rue their lack of cutting edge in the attacking end of the pitch as Guilhermo Biro's 11th-minute strike was enough to hand Austin FC their first win in seven games against the home side since October 2022.
With that result, Los Angeles FC have now lost three games on the bounce in all competitions, suffering league defeats against Seattle Sounders and Austin on either side of a 2-1 loss against Columbus Crew in the second leg of their Champion Cup round-of-16 clash on March 12.
However, a 3-0 victory at home in the reverse leg on March 5 was enough to hand Steven Cherundolo's men a 4-2 aggregate win and see them through to the quarter-finals, where they have been drawn against reigning Supporters' Shield champions Inter Miami.
While Los Angeles will be looking to stop the rot this weekend, recent results on the road offer little optimism as they have lost each of their last competitive away matches, conceding 12 goals and scoring four since October's 2-1 win at Vancouver Whitecaps.
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Team News
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Sporting Kansas City will take to the pitch without the services of American defender Andrew Brody, who is set to sit out his third consecutive game through a muscle injury.
Daniel Rosero missed the stalemate with Minnesota last time out after coming off with an ankle problem against DC United and the 31-year-old is also out of contention for the hosts.
Zorhan Bassong has been called up to the Canadian national team for the upcoming Nations League clash against Mexico while teenage defender Ian James has earned a place in the United States' Under-20 squad.
As for Los Angeles, the attacking duo of Denis Bouanga and Nathan Ordaz are both on international duty with Gabon and El Salvador respectively and will sit out this weekend's clash.
On the injury front, Olivier Giroud is currently recuperating from a leg problem and will sit out this weekend's clash while Brazilian defender Marlon has been out of action since coming off injured against Seattle Sounders on March 8.
Odin Thiago Holm and Italian defender Lorenzo Dellavalle continue their lengthy spell on the sidelines through ankle and thigh problems respectively and will also sit out the trip to the Children's Mercy Park.
Sporting Kansas City possible starting lineup:
Pulskamp; Davis, Fernandez, Voloder, Ndenbe; Rodriguez, Radoja; Suleymanov, Garcia, Thommy; Joveljic
Los Angeles FC possible starting lineup:
Lloris; Palencia, Tafari, Long, Hollingshead; Tillman, Delgado, Jesus; Under, Ebobisse, Morales
We say: Sporting Kansas City 0-2 Los Angeles FC
While Sporting Kansas City have stumbled into the new campaign, they will look to build on their performance against Minnesota last time out and get their season up and running. However, Los Angeles boasts a superior squad on paper and we fancy them to extend their dominance in this fixture, heaping more misery on the home side.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
