Starting XI: Taking Flight

Starting XI, presented by Ford, is a biweekly series on SportingKC.com that highlights 11 of the biggest storylines and news updates from Sporting Kansas City, MLS and soccer around the globe. Click here to visit the Starting XI archive.

Sporting Kansas City’s pursuit of the top spot in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference will continue Saturday when the club (12-6-11, 47 points) welcomes first-place Vancouver Whitecaps FC (14-10-6, 48 points) to Children’s Mercy Park for an 8 p.m. CT kickoff. FOX Sports Kansas City Plus and FOX Sports Midwest Plus will air three hours of live coverage beginning at 7:30 p.m. CT, while FOX Sports Kansas City will show the match live in progress after Royals baseball. Listeners can follow the action live on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM, and the Sporting KC Uphoria app will provide live updates.

Tickets for Saturday’s contest are on sale at SeatGeek.com as Sporting KC looks to extend a club-record 24-game home unbeaten run in the MLS regular season, the third-longest such streak in league history. Manager Peter Vermes’ men, who trail Vancouver by a single point in the table, are currently tied for second in the West alongside Portland Timbers and Seattle Sounders FC. The Whitecaps face the challenge of a quick turnaround, having suffered a 3-0 road loss at Seattle on Wednesday night.

2. Playoff Math

A busy slate of midweek MLS matches saw Sporting Kansas City's playoff picture become even clearer. Vermes’ side can clinch a spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs as early as Saturday, when the side welcomes Western Conference leaders Vancouver Whitecaps FC to Children's Mercy Park at 8 p.m. CT. It would be a club-record seventh straight appearance in the MLS Cup Playoffs, an active streak surpassed only by Seattle Sounders FC (since 2009) and the New York Red Bulls (since 2010).

Sporting KC will clinch a playoff spot Saturday if...

• SKC beats Vancouver AND Real Salt Lake loses or ties at LA Galaxy, or
• SKC beats Vancouver AND Houston loses vs. Minnesota, or
• SKC ties Vancouver, AND Real Salt Lake loses at LA, AND San Jose loses or ties vs. Portland

If any of the three scenarios come to fruition, Sporting KC will punch its ticket to the postseason with three games to spare.

3. Radio Rewind

It's been a fantastic, whirlwind couple of weeks for Sporting KC. The team lifted the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup title last Wednesday, sandwiched between a pair of important league wins that vaulted KC within a point of first place in the Western Conference. As such, there is no shortage of talking points ahead of Saturday's crucial clash with Vancouver. To preview the match and reflect on the team's recent success, Vermes and midfielders Ilie and Benny Feilhaber have each made appearances on Sports Radio 810 WHB this week. Click here to listen to their insightful and introspective interviews.

4. Taking Shape

The newest crown jewel of American soccer is taking shape right here in Kansas City, Kansas. The construction of the National Training and Coaching Development Center fulfills a vision shared by Sporting Club, U.S. Soccer and Children’s Mercy to build a first-class environment to develop elite players, coaches and referees of all ages. Set to open in December, the state-of-the-art NTCDC will become the new, expansive training home of Sporting KC, capable of hosting clubs and national teams from around the world thanks to its stunning facilities and countless cutting-edge amenities. It will also accommodate the Children’s Mercy Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Center and the U.S. Soccer National Coaching Education Center, making Kansas City the hub for youth athlete sports medicine services and overall soccer development in the United States.

Day by day, month by month, the NTCDC inches closer and closer to completion. As this exciting process unfolds, SportingKC.com is publishing a feature series showcasing the various components of Kansas City’s latest flagship soccer venture. In part three of NTCDC Spotlight, we highlight the Sports Performance Lab and Hydrotherapy Suites.

5. Midweek Matchups

While Sporting Kansas City spent its Wednesday night resting for Saturday, seven other Western Conference sides took the field for midweek matches. The headliner saw Seattle stomp first-place Vancouver 3-0 to take a tie of second place alongside Sporting KC and Portland. The Houston Dynamo dropped two valuable points at home, tying LA Galaxy in a 3-3 thriller, while FC Dallas snapped an abysmal 10-game winless run with a 2-0 victory against the Rapids. The San Jose Earthquakes, meanwhile, fell below the red line with a potentially fatal 4-1 setback at home to the Chicago Fire.

6. Clinchers

Entering the weekend, no team in the Western Conference has clinched a spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs. In the East, however, the complexion is far different. Four teams have now secured playoff berths with multiple games to spare, as front-runners Toronto FC and New York City FC were joined on Wednesday by Atlanta United FC and the Chicago Fire. Both sides punched their playoff tickets behind blowout victories, with Atlanta pounding the Philadelphia Union 3-0 and Chicago ousting San Jose 4-1. As it presently stands, Columbus Crew SC and New York Red Bulls are well-positioned to take the final two playoff spots in the East.

7. Young Stud

Sporting KC defender Erik Palmer-Brown was named to MLSsoccer.com's "24 Under 24" rankings on Tuesday, coming in at No. 17 in a series highlighting the best young players in Major League Soccer. The 20-year-old center back, who made his first "24 Under 24" appearance in 2015, has played 21 matches for Sporting KC since becoming the club's third Homegrown Player in August 2013. Palmer-Brown has logged nine appearances this season, including two in Sporting KC's run to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup title.

A native of Lee's Summit, Missouri and a product of the Sporting KC Academy, Palmer-Brown has thrived this year as captain of the United States U-20 Men's National Team. He guided the side to the CONCACAF U-20 Championship title in March, earning Golden Ball honors as the player of the tournament, before helping the U.S. reach the quarterfinals of the FIFA U-20 World Cup in June.

8. Rangers Riding High

The Swope Park Rangers (16-7-6, 54 points) vaulted up to third place in the USL’s Western Conference with a comprehensive 3-0 defeat of LA Galaxy II (7-15-5, 26 points) at Children’s Mercy Victory Field on Wednesday night. Kharlton Belmar bagged his team-leading 13th goal of 2017, scoring in his fourth straight match, before Lebo Moloto and Amer Didic found the back of the net in the second half to complete the rout.

With a playoff berth already secure, the Rangers will hit the road on Saturday to face Rio Grande Valley FC (9-13-7, 34 points) at 7:30 p.m. CT inside H.E.B. Park in Ediburg, Texas. The match will stream live on SportingKC.com.

9. Leroy Rolling

Each week throughout the fall, SportingKC.com will recap the performances of Sporting KC Academy products who featured for their respective schools in NCAA action. Players who came through the SKC Academy and continue to train with Sporting KC during the offseason can maintain their homegrown status and be eligible for a homegrown contract with the first team.

The previous weekend included another standout performance from freshman forward Leroy Enzugusi, who struck for Drake in games against UMKC and Central Arkansas to extend his scoring run to four straight matches.

10. Home Cooking

The Sporting Kansas City Academy U-15s, U-17s and U-19s will play their home openers in the 2017-18 U.S. Soccer Development Academy on Sunday at Swope Soccer Village. The tripleheader against Lonestar SC (Texas) kicks off at 11 a.m. CT with the U-15s, followed by the U-17s at 1:30 p.m. and the U-19s at 4 p.m. All matches are free and open to the public to attend. Follow @SKCAcademy on Twitter for live updates Sunday and throughout the Development Academy campaign.

11. Ancelotti Out

German powerhouse Bayern Munich has parted ways with Italian manager Carlo Ancelotti, the club confirmed on Thursday morning. Bayern incurred a 3-0 loss at Paris-St. Germain yesterday, their heaviest Champions League group stage defeat in 21 years, and Ancelotti was promptly dismissed with assistant coach and former France international Willy Sagnol taking the helm on an interim basis. Ancelotte won the Bundesliga title last season in his first year as Bayern boss, but has fallen short of expectations in the Champions League and Bayern currently sit third in the Bundesliga table.

Games to Watch (Sept. 29 - Oct. 1)