Sporting Kansas City remains on the road this weekend when the team heads west to take on Real Salt Lake at America First Field on Saturday night. Kickoff is set for 8:40 p.m. CT and will be available to stream for free on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV in English and Spanish. The match will also be available on the radio locally on Sports Radio 810 WHB (English) and La Grande 1340 AM (Spanish).
1. ROAD RUN CONTINUES
Sporting Kansas City continues the club’s road-heavy schedule this weekend when the team visits first-place Real Salt Lake on Saturday night at America First Field. RSL’s rise to the top of the West in the early days of the 2024 campaign has been largely due to the club’s excellent road form (3-1-2), with the side posting a 2-1-1 mark at home.
Sporting saw the club’s unbeaten start on the road in 2024 come to an end this past weekend with a 2-1 loss in Minnesota. Sporting continued the club’s trend of scoring goals, having scored a goal in each of its last five halves dating back to April 13 and has been shutout just once so far in 2024 (0-0 at LAFC on March 9). Sporting also faced its first two-goal deficit of the season in the match against Minnesota before Alan Pulido’s goal made the final score 2-1.
The club will have a quick turnaround following Saturday’s match, with the squad visiting Union Omaha in the U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday night in Sporting’s first midweek match of the 2024 campaign.
2. REAL RIVALS
Sporting Kansas City continues the club’s road-heavy schedule this weekend with a visit to old rivals Real Salt Lake at America First Field on Saturday night. The two teams are entering the match in contrasting veins of form, as Sporting is currently in the midst of a four-game winless run (0-2-2) while RSL is unbeaten in six (4-0-2) and find themselves atop the Western Conference standings.
Sporting claimed the season series against RSL in 2023, going 1-0-1 across two matches in the regular season. The first meeting took place on July 12, 2023 at Children’s Mercy Park with Sporting surrendering a two-goal lead to draw 2-2. Daniel Salloi and Johnny Russell both struck in the first half but Sporting settled for a point following second-half goals from Chicho Arango and Anderson Julio.
The stakes couldn’t have been higher when the two sides met at America First Field on Oct. 7, 2023 in the penultimate week of the season, as Sporting knew only a win would keep their slim hopes of a postseason berth alive. The visitors got off to a perfect start as Erik Thommy drew a red card on Justen Glad just 37 seconds into the match and Thommy scored from the ensuing free kick. Russell and Alan Pulido went on to make it 3-0 before RSL mounted a furious but ultimately unsuccessful comeback as the match ended 3-2.
Sporting trails the all-time series against RSL 13-16-9 and have gone 5-11-3 on the road - winning just two of their last 11 regular-season matches at the venue.
3. PULIDO SCORES FOR SECOND STRAIGHT MATCH
Sporting Kansas City forwards Alan Pulido finished off another flowing move to score his second goal in as many games during last Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Minnesota United FC at Allianz Field.
Pulido received the ball on the edge of the area following some neat interplay between Daniel Salloi and Nemanja Radoja down the left wing, and the Mexican striker showed his class and composure by taking a touch and firing beyond Dayne St. Clair in the Minnesota goal to make the score 2-1. Pulido is now tied for second on the team with three goals in 2024, one behind Erik Thommy.
The goal saw Pulido reach 31 goals in the regular season for Sporting KC in just his 70th appearance, rising into a four-way tie for ninth in club history joining the company of Benny Feilhaber, Mo Johnston and former teammate Graham Zusi.
Pulido now has 33 goals and 14 assists in 79 appearances across all competitions for the club since joining ahead of the 2020 season.
4. SALLOI & RADOJA EARN ASSISTS
Sporting Kansas City forward Daniel Salloi and midfielder Nemanja Radoja were each credited with an assist on Alan Pulido’s excellent team goal in last weekend’s 2-1 loss to Minnesota United FC at Allianz Field.
Radoja clipped a perfectly-weighted ball over the top to a streaking Salloi down the left wing and the Hungarian in turn picked out Pulido in the middle of the area who stroked the ball home to reduce the deficit for Sporting just before halftime.
The assist was Salloi’s second of the season and first since he set up Radoja on March 23 in the 3-2 defeat against the LA Galaxy. Last season, Salloi led Sporting with 22 goal contributions, including 12 assists - just one behind team leader Erik Thommy. Salloi now has 97 career goal contributions (58 goals, 39 assists) for Sporting KC in all competitions, tying Chris Klein for fourth most in club history.
Radoja tallied three assists in his maiden season with Sporting in 2023 and Saturday’s contribution marked his first assist of the 2024 campaign.
5. PIERRE & SHELTON MAKE SEASON DEBUTS
Sporting Kansas City duo Kayden Pierre and Khiry Shelton each made their season debuts during last Saturday night’s 2-1 defeat against Minnesota United FC at Allianz Field.
Pierre, who earned the start at right back with Jake Davis serving a one-game suspension due to yellow card accumulation, played the opening 70 minutes before being replaced by Shelton for the closing stages.
The appearance was Pierre’s first since Aug. 4, 2023 in the club’s Leagues Cup match against Toluca and his first MLS appearance since March 18, 2023. His last start came on Sept. 17, 2022 before missing the majority of the 2023 campaign with a series of hamstring injuries.
Shelton, who featured regularly in 2023, made his first appearance of the season after undergoing ankle surgery in preseason that kept him sidelined for approximately two months.
