Five Things is a weekly series on SportingKC.com that highlights the top storylines, players to watch and matchday programming ahead of each game throughout the season.
Winners of two straight away games, resurgent Sporting Kansas City (11-6-6, 39 points) returns to Children's Mercy Park on Saturday to host the Portland Timbers (10-5-7, 37 points) at 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets for the marquee Western Conference matchup are available via SeatGeek.com, with FOX Sports Kansas City Plus, FOX Sports Midwest Plus and FOX Sports GO airing three hours of live coverage beginning at 7 p.m. CT. Listeners can also follow the action on Sports Radio 810 WHB (English) and ESPN Deportes KC 1480 AM (Spanish).
Second-place Sporting KC and fifth-place Portland are separated by just two points in the wild West, and Saturday's fixture could go a long way in deciding the final playoff picture come season's end. Manager Peter Vermes' men are buzzing with confidence heading into the weekend, while Portland will look to stop the bleeding incurred by consecutive losses. We examine five major storylines surrounding #SKCvPOR in the space below.
1. Back in Business
Just two short weeks ago, it felt like the world was falling on Sporting KC. A five-game MLS winless skid had dropped the club from first to fifth in the West, and an ordinarily stout defense was leaking loads of goals.
Oh, how quickly the tables can turn. Vermes' side has responded emphatically since the start of August, reeling off a pair of shutout road wins over Houston and LAFC to vault back into second place. Thanks to two straight defeats from leaders FC Dallas, Sporting KC is now just three points off the pace going into a two-game homestand at Children's Mercy Park.
Sixteen-year-old Gianluca Busio played beyond his years in a 1-0 defeat of Houston on Aug. 4, assisting Diego Rubio's game-winner, before Rubio ran the show in last Saturday's 2-0 win against LAFC as Sporting KC became the first visiting team to triumph at Banc of California Stadium. Rubio set up Gerso Fernandes' early strike and Ilie Sanchez doubled the lead with a second-half penalty kick. A common defensive denominator in both wins? Veteran left back Seth Sinovic was back in the lineup, joining regulars Matt Besler, Ike Opara and Graham Zusi.
2. Pegged Back
Portland began the season with five straight away games that yielded just two points. From mid-April onward, however, first-year head coach Giovanni Savarese had the Timbers clicking on all cylinders. Portland went 15 regular season games unbeaten, racking up 10 wins and five ties, before suffering a 2-1 home loss to Vancouver last Saturday. Things got even worse on Wednesday when Portland traveled cross-country and fell 4-1 to Wayne Rooney and D.C. United.
Indeed, Sporting KC and Portland appear to be trending in opposite directions. One struggled for most of the summer before flipping the switch in August, while the other steamrolled through May, June and July before hitting a wall over the last week. Sporting KC just might be smelling blood against a wounded Portland side, but Savarese's side will probably be a tough nut to crack. The Timbers went 3-0-2 on the road from May to July and aren't too far removed from piecing together the sixth-longest unbeaten streak in MLS history.
3. Stingy Series
Positive thinking: this series is due to produce some goals.
Since 2014, nine regular-season meetings between Sporting KC and Portland have produced just nine goals combined. During this nine-game stretch, Sporting KC owns a solid 4-1-4 record and a remarkable seven shutouts. Goalkeeper Tim Melia has particularly relished the fixture, boasting a 0.20 goals against average and a 95.7 save percentage in five regular-season appearances against the Timbers.
These teams most recently met on June 9, scrapping to a scoreless draw at Providence Park that saw Melia and opposing goalkeeper Jeff Attinella make four saves each. The last time they squared off at Children's Mercy Park, Diego Valeri and Daniel Salloi traded goals in a 1-1 draw on July 1, 2017.
4. Living Legends
Chances are you've heard of Matt Besler and Graham Zusi. They're two of the most accomplished and iconic players in Sporting KC history, and they now occupy first and second place, respectively, on the team's all-time regular-season appearances list. Ticket holders will want to get to their seats early on Saturday night, as Besler and Zusi will be formally recognized on the field during pregame for their outstanding contributions to the club.
5. Nemo's Homecoming
After entering as a 76th-minute substitute last Saturday at LAFC, forward Krisztian Nemeth is set to make his long-awaited return to Children's Mercy Park. The Hungarian hasn't donned a Sporting KC uniform at the stadium since 2015, when he amassed 16 goals and seven assists as an integral member of the 2015 U.S. Open Cup champions.
It remains to be seen whether Nemeth will come off the bench or break into the starting lineup, but one thing's certain: he likes playing in front of the Children's Mercy Park faithful. In 2015, Nemeth scored nine goals in 17 home games across all competitions.
