"Five Things" is a season-long series presented by the Children's Mercy Sports Medicine Center that highlights the top storylines and players to watch ahead of each match. To visit the series archive, click here.
Western Conference leaders Sporting Kansas City (10-4-4, 34 points) will look to extend their four-game road unbeaten streak on Saturday when they visit in-form FC Dallas (5-7-6, 21 points) on Saturday night at Toyota Stadium.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT and fans can catch the action live on Bally Sports Kansas City Plus, Bally Sports Midwest Plus, BallySports.com, the Bally Sports app, Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM. Additionally, supporters are invited to attend the official watch party for Saturday's match at Rancho Grande Cantina in Parkville, Missouri (11015 MO-45) with programming and specials starting at 7 p.m. CT.
Sporting occupy sole possession of first place in the West, having earned four points from their previous two league fixtures in trips to LAFC and the Colorado Rapids. FC Dallas, meanwhile, sit two points below the playoff line but boast a 3-0-1 record in their last four games—not to mention the fact that they have had Sporting's number in recent years.
As excitement builds toward Saturday, we examine five major storylines surrounding the matchup in the space below.
1. Frequent Flyers
Navigating a breathless stretch of seven competitive matches in 22 days, Sporting Kansas City is also finishing an equally wild period of four games in four different cities in 11 days. The trek began with a visit to LAFC on Aug. 4, followed by fixtures in Colorado on Aug. 7 and Kansas City on Tuesday. It will conclude with a daunting visit to Frisco, Texas, on Saturday evening.
All things considered, Sporting have navigated the congested schedule well. Manager Peter Vermes' men swept aside LAFC at Banc of California Stadium before claiming a scoreless draw against the Rapids just 72 hours later. A heavily rotated squad fell to Club Leon in the Leagues Cup quarterfinals on Tuesday, but Sporting is set to deploy a rested and formidable lineup against FC Dallas. Captain Johnny Russell and fellow winger Daniel Salloi look poised to join Alan Pulido in attack, while Vermes will have no shortage of options in midfield and defense. Nicolas Isimat-Mirin will be a notable absence along the backline, however, as he works his way back from a hamstring injury.
2. Road Resilience
Since the start of 2020, no MLS club has enjoyed more success on their travels than Sporting. The team boasts a 10-5-3 road record over the last two seasons, including a league-best .639 winning percentage and plus-11 goal differential. Sporting's five away victories in 2021 are tied for the most in MLS.
Vermes' men have been particularly impressive away from home since the start of July, claiming road wins at the LA Galaxy, Seattle Sounders FC and LAFC prior to last weekend's draw in Colorado. With a result this weekend, Sporting would hit five regular season road games unbeaten for the first time since 2014.
3. Catching Fire
Led by third-year head coach Luchi Gonzalez, FC Dallas struggled out of the gates in 2021 by losing their first seven away matches. The Texas outfit got back on track with a 4-0 home win over the Galaxy on July 24 and has taken 10 points from their previous four matches, including a 2-1 victory against Sporting on July 31 at Children's Mercy Park.
Jesus Ferreira has bagged two goals in his last three appearances, fellow homegrown Paxton Pomykal has flourished in midfield and 18-year-old striker Ricardo Pepi has been a revelation with eight goals.
4. Frisco Fortress
FC Dallas has quietly built one of the longest home undefeated streaks in MLS history, extending their run to 18 regular season matches with a 2-0 win in their first meeting ever with Texas rivals Austin FC at Toyota Stadium last weekend. The home streak dates back to August of last year. With a result against Sporting, Dallas would move into a tie for the seventh longest home undefeated streak in league history.
5. A Chance at Revenge
Having lost to Dallas by a 2-1 scoreline two weeks ago, Sporting will take a shot at revenge this weekend. They will also attempt to reverse a noticeable trend in the series. Dallas are 5-0-1 in the last six regular season meetings since 2019, scoring 15 goals and conceding four.
Sporting are 1-5-2 in their last eight visits to Toyota Stadium dating back to 2013 and have won only twice at the venue since the Peter Vermes era began in 2009, prevailing 4-1 in June 2011 and 3-0 in October 2018.
