Preview: Sporting KC ends travel-heavy month of August with match at Philadelphia Union on Saturday

Sporting Kansas City's grueling month of August comes to a close Saturday when the club revisits the site of its 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final victory. The Philadelphia Union will welcome Manager Peter Vermes' men to Talen Energy Stadium for a 6 p.m. CT kickoff in a compelling interconference matchup that features two teams currently in playoff position.

SKCTV and 38 The Spot will televise three hours of live match coverage beginning at 5:30 p.m. CT, while listeners can follow the action on Sports Radio 810 WHB (English) and La Grande 1340 AM (Spanish). In-game updates will also be available online at SportingKC.com/GameOn and through the club's official mobile app Sporting KC Uphoria. Supporters are invited to No Other Pub in the Kansas City Power & Light District for the game's official watch party, where the two-for-one score and pour drink special will be in effect.

Approaching their fifth match in 15 days, fifth-place Sporting Kansas City (11-11-5, 38 points) has the opportunity to jump as high as third in the Western Conference table by the end of the weekend. The task won't be easy given a 3,000-mile trip to Philadelphia from Vancouver, where the club suffered a devastating 3-0 defeat to Whitecaps FC in the CONCACAF Champions League on Tuesday. Sporting KC is also on an 11-game winless run in MLS, drawing four and losing seven ever since beating the New York Red Bulls 2-0 on April 9.

The Philadelphia Union (10-9-7, 37 points) have enjoyed an excellent turnaround in 2016, already equalling their point total from last season with eight games to spare. Jim Curtin's side has been particularly potent in the attacking third, leading MLS with 1.73 goals per game and 27 home goals at Talen Energy Stadium. The Union look a 3-1 home loss to Toronto FC last weekend but bounced back with a 2-1 road win at Columbus Crew SC on Wednesday, receiving second-half goals from impressive rookies Keegan Rosenberry and Fabian Herbers.

Seeking their first postseason appearance since 2011, fourth-place Philadelphia is nine points above the red line in the Eastern Conference. Chris Pontius leads the side with 10 goals and five assists, while Swiss playmaker Tranquillo Barnetta is sixth in MLS with 54 chances created. Dutchman Roland Alberg has been a revelation since the start of June, scoring eight goals in his last 11 MLS matches, and former Sporting KC forward C.J. Sapong has chipped in seven goals of his own.

The Union backline features Jamaican international goalkeeper Andre Blake as well as Rosenberry, a 22-year-old right back out of Georgetown who is the only MLS field player to play every regular season minute for his team this year (26 starts). Philadelphia's squad was further bolstered on Aug. 3 when the club acquired U.S. international midfielder Alejandro Bedoya, who has started the last three games.

Sporting Kansas City rested several normal starters on Tuesday as Vermes rotated his squad amidst a congested schedule. Matt Besler, Jimmy Medranda, Roger Espinoza, Benny Feilhaber, Graham Zusi and Dom Dwyer are all in contention to slot back into the lineup, but the team will also have to account for seven absences on Saturday. Nuno Coelho (hamstring), Justin Mapp (calf), Tim Melia (back spasms), Chance Myers (hamstring), Lawrence Olum (abdomen) and Seth Sinovic (ankle) comprise a lengthy injury list for a team that will be appreciative of the forthcoming international break. Center back Kevin Ellis, meanwhile, will serve a one-game suspension for misconduct in last weekend's win over Vancouver.

Philadelphia's squad isn't 100 percent healthy either. Maurice Edu has missed the entire season with a stress fracture and will remain sidelined Saturday, while veteran midfielders Brian Carroll and Ilsinho are questionable with foot injuries.

The clubs last met at Talen Energy Stadium in September 2015, squaring off in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final. The gripping affair saw Sporting KC win 7-6 on penalties after a 1-1 draw through regulation -- the goals coming from departed wingers Krisztian Nemeth and Sebastien Le Toux, respectively. The lone regular season matchup of 2015 was played on an Easter Sunday in April, when Sporting KC reversed a 2-1 deficit in second-half stoppage time to win a 3-2 thriller at Children's Mercy Park. Kansas City leads the all-time series with a 6-4-5 record in all competitions, including a 3-2-3 mark at Talen Energy Stadium. Zusi has particularly relished the fixture, tallying five goals and three assists over 11 appearances in all competitions.