Preview: Sporting KC looks to bounce back against Houston Dynamo in home finale on Sunday

Major League Soccer’s dramatic stretch run continues Sunday when Sporting Kansas City (12-8-12, 48 points) squares off with rivals Houston Dynamo (12-10-10, 46 points) in the penultimate weekend of the 2017 regular season. Sporting KC’s home finale at Children’s Mercy Park serves as the second of back-to-back games against Houston, with kickoff slated for 6:30 p.m. CT on FOX Sports Kansas City, FOX Sports Midwest, FOX Sports GO, ESPN 99.3 FM (English) and La Grande 1340 AM (Spanish).

A limited number of tickets for Sunday’s showdown are available at SeatGeek.com as Sporting KC looks to secure a club-record seventh straight berth in the MLS Cup Playoffs. The first 15,000 fans through the stadium gates will receive a Sporting KC "I Am Loved" button courtesy of match sponsor Helzberg Diamonds. Additional in-game updates will be available via the Sporting KC Uphoria mobile app, where users can redeem a free carton of Talenti Gelato at any Kansas City-area Price Chopper location from Sunday through Tuesday.

In a contest is rife with postseason implications, Sporting KC and Houston sit second and fifth in a crowded top half of the Western Conference, respectively. Manager Peter Vermes’ men sit on 48 points — three behind leaders Vancouver Whitecaps FC — knowing a win on Sunday would clinch a top-four spot in the West and a home playoff game, while a draw would be enough to officially punch their ticket to the Audi 2017 MLS Cup Playoffs. Houston, meanwhile, would seal a return to the postseason for the first time since 2013 with a victory of their own.

• Sporting KC Playoff Scenarios

This weekend’s battle — one of five in the Western Conference kicking off concurrently at 6:30 p.m. — comes just four days after the Dynamo defeated Sporting KC 2-1 at BBVA Compass Stadium in a match that was rescheduled from Aug. 26 due to Hurricane Harvey. Midfielder midfielder Jimmy Medranda’s stunning long-range blast fired Sporting KC ahead in the 33rd minute, but Houston roared back in the second half behind a Tomas Martinez strike and an own goal to extend their regular-season unbeaten run against Sporting KC to seven matches (4-0-3).

Sunday’s meeting will have a distinctly different look, as both teams will welcome back several players who were absent Wednesday on international duty. Sporting KC will boast U.S. Men’s National Team trio Matt Besler, Benny Feilhaber and Graham Zusi in addition to Cape Verde midfielder Kevin Oliveira and Lebanon forward Soony Saad. Houston will be bolstered by the return of Honduran internationals Alberth Elis, Romell Quioto and Boniek Garcia as well as Panamanian defender Adolfo Machado.

On the injury front, Sporting KC goalkeeper Tim Melia is set to miss his second straight game after pulling his hamstring in a 1-1 draw at Minnesota United FC last Saturday. Melia is a surefire MLS Goalkeeper of the Year candidate whose 0.78 goals against average in 2017 is the lowest in MLS history among goalkeepers with at least 30 games played. Eight-year veteran Andrew Dykstra filled in for Melia on Wednesday, making three saves in his first start for the club.

• 2017 MLS Standings

Sporting KC and Houston have met twice previously this season, as Vermes’ side emerged 2-0 victors in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 on June 28 in Houston. The Dynamo are visiting Kansas City for the first time in 2017, and will be encouraged by results in their recent travels to the world-class stadium. Houston has avoided defeat in six straight regular-season trips to Kansas City, where Sporting KC last beat the Dynamo on Sept. 10, 2011. This streak excludes Sporting KC’s home wins in the 2012 and 2013 MLS Cup Playoffs and 2015 U.S. Open Cup.

The arrival of Besler and Zusi will boost a vaunted Sporting KC defense that has conceded just 27 goals in 32 games, eight fewer than any other club. Besler and Opara have formed the stingiest center back partnership in MLS, while Zusi’s two-way dynamism is showcased by his 49 chances created, the second-most ever by a defender in a single regular season.

On the opposite sideline, first-year MLS forwards Elis and Quioto will strengthen a potent Houston attack prides itself on lightning-quick counter-attacks. The 21-year-old Elis has tallied 10 goals in four assists in his first MLS season, and Quioto has added six goals and three assists of his own. Both players scored for Honduras in a dramatic 3-2 World Cup qualifying win over Mexico on Tuesday — a result that vaulted Los Catrachos into an intercontinental playoff next month against Australia. In defense, Machado has started and played every minute in all but one game for Houston, having missed Wednesday’s fixture after helping Panama to their first-ever World Cup berth the previous night in a 2-1 defeat of Costa Rica.