Match Preview

Preview: Sporting KC renews rivalry with St. Louis on Saturday in showdown at Children's Mercy Park 

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Sporting Kansas City vs. St. Louis CITY SC
2024 MLS Regular Season | Match 26
Saturday, July 20 | 7:30 p.m. CT (7:40 kickoff)
Children's Mercy Park | Kansas City, Kansas

Broadcast Schedule:
Apple TV | Free on MLS Season Pass
FOX Sports | FS1 and FOXSports.com
English Radio | Sports Radio 810 WHB
Spanish Radio | La Grande 1340 AM

Sporting Kansas City will host archrival St. Louis CITY SC at 7:30 p.m. CT on Saturday at Children's Mercy Park in the second of three regular season meetings this season in Major League Soccer's newest rivalry.

Standing-room only tickets are available via SeatGeek and the first 10,000 fans inside the gates will receive an LED light up rally towel for a special halftime stadium illumination in support of match sponsor Children's Mercy Kansas City.

Fans ages 21 and over are invited to attend the Michelob Ultra Blue Hell Tailgate from 5-6:30 p.m. CT in Blue Lot 2 at Kansas Speedway as well as the KC Cauldron and South Stand SC tailgates in the White Lot nearby. In addition, the American Royal will be providing attendees with free samples of Kansas City's world-famous barbecue on Saturday as part of its 125th anniversary celebration.

Sporting Kansas City supporters can also shop the adidas x MLS Archive Collection for the first time at Children's Mercy Park on Saturday -- including the team's new third jersey celebrating the club's proud history as a founding member of Major League Soccer -- or order online in advance at SportingStyle.com for matchday pickup.

Sporting Kansas City will reach the end of the team's busiest stretch of the season on Saturday -- playing a seventh match in just 22 days -- and the schedule saved the best match-up for last as SKC and St. Louis meet while separated by just one point in the Western Conference standings.

The two sides have already met once in Kansas City earlier this season -- playing out a wild 3-3 draw at Children’s Mercy Park on April 20 -- after five encounters across all competitions in 2023 that were capped off by Sporting sweeping No. 1 seed St. Louis in the playoffs to end the club's expansion season. SKC forwards Daniel Salloi (two goals, four assists) and Alan Pulido (three goals, three assists) have each found success against St. Louis with six goal contributions apiece in the six previous match-ups.

Since the most recent meeting in April, St. Louis has parted ways with head coach Bradley Carnell and has shaken up the roster with the departure of Aziel Jackson to Columbus last month and Sam Adeniran to Philadelphia on Thursday. Six new signings have been added to the roster since the start of the season with three Homegrown Players and three foreign acquisitions -- headlined by Bundesliga veterans Cedric Teuchert and Marcel Hartel -- who will be awaiting debuts after the opening of the transfer window this week.

Both clubs enter Saturday's showdown coming off mid-week road losses in the Pacific Northwest. Sporting fell 2-1 in Vancouver despite Willy Agada's team-leading ninth goal of the season across all competitions. The 24-year-old Nigerian has four goals in his last three starts and will look to continue his run of form on Saturday at Children's Mercy Park, where he has scored 16 goals in 16 regular season starts since his debut in July 2022.

St. Louis suffered a fourth straight road loss on Wednesday in a 2-0 setback in Seattle and remains winless in their last 13 MLS away matches dating back to 2023. Joao Klauss, who leads the team with five goals, missed his fifth straight match due to injury for a side that is anchored by Roman Burki - the league's highest paid goalkeeper -- along with fellow Designated Player Eduard Lowen, who led the team in assists (14) and goal contributions (20) a year ago. This season, St. Louis leads the league with 398 shots while employing a style of play that has also produced the fewest passes and the most fouls of any team in the league.

Saturday’s fixture comes on the final MLS matchday before a planned pause in the schedule for Leagues Cup 2024 that will see five weeks elapse before Sporting Kansas City resumes the regular season campaign on Aug. 24.

Sporting KC Upcoming Schedule
July 20 vs. St. Louis CITY SC (MLS)
July 28 vs. Chicago Fire FC (Leagues Cup)
Aug. 5 vs. Deportivo Toluca FC (Leagues Cup)
Aug. 7-25: Leagues Cup Knockout Stage
Aug. 24 vs. Orlando City SC (MLS)
Aug. 27 vs. Indy Eleven (U.S. Open Cup)

SKCvSTL will be free to watch on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV in addition to a national television broadcast on FS1. Pub partners in the Sporting Pub Network will also show all of the action, including a watch party at No Other Pub in the KC Power & Light District, and radio coverage will air on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM with live streams available in the Sporting KC App.