Sporting Kansas City vs. New York City FC
2017 Preseason | Desert Diamond Cup
Kino Sports Complex | Tucson, Arizona
Saturday, Feb. 25 | 4:30 p.m. CT
Live Stream: SportingKC.com, FOX Sports GO
Sporting Kansas City will face New York City FC on Saturday in Tucson to close out the club's 2017 preseason, presented by Children's Mercy. Kickoff at Kino Sports Complex is set for 4:30 p.m. CT with live streams on SportingKC.com, FOX Sports GO and the Sporting KC Uphoria app.
Jimmy Medranda and Graham Zusi turned heads in an otherwise forgettable loss to the New England Revolution on Wednesday, scoring spectacular goals from distance as Sporting Kansas City fell to 1-3-1 in the preseason. Manager Peter Vermes rotated the squad heavily, giving starts to 10 players who had come off the bench in the previous two Desert Diamond Cup matches against the Colorado Rapids and New York Red Bulls, respectively.
Saturday serves as both teams' final tune-up ahead of the 2017 MLS regular season. As such, starting lineups for the fixture may strongly resemble how Sporting KC and NYCFC plan to set up in Week 1.
New York City FC enters Saturday seeking its first win at the Desert Diamond Cup, having suffered defeats in their first three games to the Red Bulls, Rapids and Houston Dynamo. The Blues have mustered just one goal during their stay in Tucson, coming from reigning MLS MVP David Villa in the 15th minute of a 3-1 loss to Houston last Saturday.
Led by second-year head coach Patrick Vieira, New York City FC advanced to the playoffs for the first time in 2016. A 7-0 aggregate defeat to Toronto FC in the conference semifinals did little to tarnish a successful regular season in which NYCFC earned 15 wins and led MLS with 62 goals. Villa alone accounted for 23 goals, finishing second in the Golden Boot race, while young forwards Jack Harrison and Khiry Shelton scored four times each. In defense, Vieira will hope to shore up a backline that leaked 57 goals last year, three shy of most in MLS.
Sporting Kansas City has won both battles against New York City FC all-time, including a 3-1 home triumph last July at Children's Mercy Park that featured goals from Medranda, Benny Feilhaber and Ike Opara. The series will continue Sept. 6 when Vermes' men visit Yankee Stadium for the lone regular season meeting of 2017. Sporting KC emerged with a 1-0 victory at the hollowed venue in March 2015.
Following Saturday's contest, both clubs will return home ahead of their respective season openers. Sporting Kansas City will visit D.C. United on March 4, while New York City FC visits Orlando City SC the following day for the first game at Orlando's new, soccer-specific stadium.
Fans visiting Kino Sports Complex on Saturday can use promo code "SPORTING" to get 15 percent off tickets to Sporting KC's match. Access VisitTucson.org for information on hotels, attractions, restaurants and more.
