Sporting Kansas City hits the road for the first time in April this weekend when the team pays a visit to Minnesota United FC at Allianz Field on Saturday night. Kickoff is set for 7:40 p.m. CT and will be available to stream 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-HEAVY SCHEDULE STARTS SATURDAY
Sporting Kansas City closed out a disappointing homestand this past weekend with a 3-3 draw against cross-state rivals St. Louis and will now embark on a grueling portion of the club’s 2024 regular-season schedule, playing four of their next five matches on the road.
Saturday’s draw marked the fourth straight home match that the team saw an early lead slip to either draw or lose. While the team has scored multiple goals in six straight regular-season matches for the first time since 1996, the team has also conceded three goals in four consecutive home games for the first time in the club’s history.
With a road-heavy upcoming schedule, it’s worth nothing that Sporting is actually unbeaten on the road in 2024 and has lost just three times in their last 15 matches dating back to last season, going 6-3-6 in that time.
2. LOONS CALLING
Sporting Kansas City begins a tough period in the club’s schedule this weekend with a trip to face off against Minnesota United FC at Allianz Field on Saturday night. Sporting will play four of their next five MLS matches on the road.
Sporting swept Minnesota across three regular-season meetings last season, winning two games at home and one away. The first meeting saw Sporting pick up just their second win of the season with a 3-0 victory on May 13, 2023 at Children’s Mercy Park behind goals from Dany Rosero, Daniel Salloi and Gadi Kinda.
The two sides met again on Sept. 16, 2023 at Allianz Field and despite Minnesota creating a host of chances, it was Sporting who stole a 1-0 victory after Kinda came off the bench to snatch a late winner.
The third and final meeting came in a dramatic Decision Day bout on Oct. 21, 2023 where both sides knew they needed a win to stand a chance of qualifying for the MLS Cup Playoffs. Johnny Russell scored twice and Remi Walter also got on the scoresheet as Sporting cruised to a 3-1 win and a spot in the postseason.
Sporting leads the all-time regular-season series with Minnesota 11-4-4 but have a losing 2-4-4 record on the road. Sporting has a remarkable 9-0-0 mark at home in the series, scoring 25 goals and conceding just three.
3. THOMMY SHINES AGAIN
Sporting Kansas City midfielder Erik Thommy was named to the MLS Team of the Matchday for the second consecutive week following another terrific performance in the 3-3 draw with St. Louis at Children’s Mercy Park on Saturday night.
The German started on the right wing before shifting back to his customary spot in attacking midfield following the introduction of Johnny Russell early in the second half. Thommy was a constant threat to the St. Louis backline all match, reaching team-highs with five shots and five fouls suffered.
In the 77th minute of the match, Thommy latched onto a brilliant ball over the top from Andreu Fontas and went through one-on-one with fellow German goalkeeper Roman Burki before firing the ball into the top corner to give the hosts a late lead.
Thommy now has three goals in his last two games and a team-leading four goals on the season. Since joining the club midway through the 2022 campaign, the 29-year-old has tallied 12 goals and 15 assists in 64 appearances across all competitions as the attacking force of the Sporting midfield.
4. PULIDO & AGADA LINK-UP FOR BRILLIANT GOAL
Sporting Kansas City forwards Alan Pulido and Willy Agada linked up to devastating effect to open the scoring in Sporting’s 3-3 draw with St. Louis last Saturday night at Children’s Mercy Park.
After Tim Leibold and Daniel Salloi combined down the left wing, the German left back found Pulido in a pocket of space 25 yards from goal and he played a smooth one-two with Agada before the Mexican fired home into the side-netting for his second goal of the season.
The goal saw Pulido reach 30 goals in the regular season for Sporting KC in just his 69th appearance, becoming the third fastest player to reach the 30-goal milestone in club history. The only players to have reached 30 regular-season goals faster than Pulido were Preki who reached 30 goals in 59 games and Dom Dwyer who did so in 66 matches.
Pulido now has 32 goals and 14 assists in 78 appearances across all competitions for the club since joining ahead of the 2020 season while Agada has reached 15 goals and four assists in 37 matches.
5. GOALS COMING AT RAPID RATE
Sporting Kansas City continued the club’s recent trend of participating in wildly high-scoring matches this past weekend with a second 3-3 draw in three matches following a frustrating ending against rivals St. Louis at Children’s Mercy Park.
There have been 26 goals scored in Sporting’s last five matches (2-3 vs. LA, 3-1 at TOR, 3-3 vs. POR, 2-3 vs. MIA, 3-3 vs. STL) - an average of 5.2 goals per game. In club history, Sporting’s matches have averaged 2.78 goals per game.
Sporting has now scored multiple goals in six straight regular season matches for the first time since the club’s inaugural season in August 1996. Of concern is the fact that Sporting has now conceded three goals in four consecutive home matches for the first time ever.
