Sporting Kansas City can advance into the second round of the MLS Cup playoffs with a victory versus St Louis City on Sunday at Children's Mercy Park in game two of that best-of-three series.
In the opening match last weekend, Kansas City stunned their state rivals 4-1, putting them a game away from a fourth appearance in the Western Conference semi-finals since 2018.
Match preview
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Playing in numerous make-or-break games down the stretch of the regular season seems to have served KC well coming into their first playoff appearance since 2021, scoring three or more goals in three of their previous four matches, going unbeaten over that stretch.
That is a sharp contrast from what this team displayed at the beginning of the campaign, earning just three points from their opening 10 domestic encounters, failing to score in seven of those fixtures.
Their victory in St Louis was their first away from home in the playoffs since 2011, while they hold an all-time playoff record of 6-4-3 at Children's Mercy Park, losing their previous post-season match played there, versus Real Salt Lake, 2-1 in 2021.
Playing in Missouri seems to suit this team well come playoff time, with SKC boasting a post-season record of 11-1-3 in their home state.
With four goals in the opening game of this series, Sporting tied a club record for the most in a single MLS playoff encounter, which was also the second-most by a road team in the post-season and with multiple strikes this weekend, they would reach 50 goals scored at home in the MLS Cup playoffs.
Peter Vermes has made 11 playoff appearances as an MLS coach, tied with Bob Bradley for third all-time, while his combined 18 post-season appearances as a player and manager are the most in league history.
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The Cinderella story in St Louis is on the verge of ending this weekend, as the club that defied all odds in 2023 must do so again on Sunday.
St Louis have picked a bad time to cool off, losing three successive domestic fixtures for the first time in club history.
At the moment, Bradley Carnell's men do not look at all like the side we saw throughout the majority of the regular season, scoring only once while conceding nine times on their three-game losing run after leading the Western Conference this year in goals (62) and goal difference (+17).
Getting off to a quick start has been critical to their success in 2023, with St Louis going 15-1-3 domestically this year when scoring the opening goal.
Throughout the campaign, they have executed a high press approach to near perfection, leading the West for goals scored despite finishing last in average possession (44%) and passes per game (352).
In their only visit to Children's Mercy Park this season, St Louis suffered a 2-1 defeat, the only time over this MLS campaign that they had lost away from home after drawing first blood.
Team News
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SKC kept captain Johnny Russell on the bench in the opening match due to a sore groin, Tim Leibold was out for the same reason, Kayden Pierre is likely to miss another game due to a hamstring strain, while Kortne Ford will not return this year after undergoing Achilles surgery.
All four of the KC strikes last weekend came from outside the box, the most-ever for a single MLS match, with Gadi Kinda, Logan Ndenbe and Remi Walter all scoring for the first time in a playoff fixture, while Daniel Salloi had a goal and an assist and now has seven career goal contributions for this team in the post-season, one fewer than Graham Zusi.
Kinda and Alan Pulido became the fourth and fifth players in club history to register multiple assists in a playoff game, while Tim Melia is now 9-3-1 in his last 13 MLS starts after beginning the domestic campaign with a record of 0-4-1.
Rasmus Alm is unlikely to feature for St Louis on Sunday because of a sports hernia, while there were two newcomers to their starting 11, as Indiana Vassilev and Jared Stroud replaced Akil Watts and Nicholas Gioacchini.
Tim Parker has a career-high five goals in MLS this season, notching their only strike in match one of this series, Joao Klauss and Gioacchini, who led the team with 10 goals each in all competitions this year, have not netted in a while as the former is goalless in three successive encounters and the latter has not scored since notching a brace in a 5-3 win over Austin FC in August.
Eduard Lowen has not had a goal contribution since that 4-1 victory over SKC in late September despite leading St Louis in assists this season (14) and Roman Burki, who finished second in MLS regarding saves this year (123), has conceded nine goals in his last three matches.
Sporting Kansas City possible starting lineup:
Melia; Davis, Rosero, Fontas, Ndenbe; Walter, Rodoja, Kinda; Russell, Pulido, Salloi
St Louis City possible starting lineup:
Burki; Nerwinski, Parker, Hiebert, Markanich; Jackson, Lowen, Blom, Stroud; Klauss, Gioacchini
We say: Sporting Kansas City 2-2 St Louis City (Sporting Kansas City wins on penalties)
We believe St Louis will put up a fight in this must-win game, but this team look overwhelmed and uncertain in big moments, while the experience of SKC in these pressure situations seems to have given them a leg up on their competitors.
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