Five Things is a weekly series on SportingKC.com that highlights the top storylines, players to watch and matchday programming ahead of each game throughout the season.
The 2018 MLS regular season will come to a dramatic climax Sunday as Sporting Kansas City (17-8-8, 59 points) and LAFC (16-8-9, 57 points) battle for the Western Conference’s No. 1 playoff seed at Children’s Mercy Park. A limited number of tickets for the marquee matchup are available via SeatGeek.com, including standing-room only tickets, and thousands of prizes will be doled out to fans in attendance exclusively through the Sporting KC Uphoria app as part of Fan Appreciation Match festivities.
Sunday’s highly anticipated showdown, one of 11 MLS matches set to kick off simultaneously at 3:30 p.m. CT, is the top billing on Decision Day and will be televised nationally on FS1 and FOX Deportes. SiriusXM FC, ESPN 94.5 FM and ESPN Deportes KC 1480 AM will also broadcast the game live, while FOX Sports GO will provide a live stream.
With the stakes running as high as they have all season, here is what you absolutely must know about Sunday’s encounter between the top two teams in the West.
1. How the West is Won
By the end of Sunday, one of these teams will have the top seed in the West and a Knockout Round bye to the two-legged conference semifinals of the Audi 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs. Sporting KC would finish first with a win or a draw, while LAFC must win in order to supplant Manager Peter Vermes’ side for the No. 1 seed.
Sporting KC can still finish anywhere from first to fourth, having clinched their first home playoff game since the 2013 MLS Cup. The top two seeds will earn Knockout Round byes, while the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds will host a single-elimination Knockout Round match on either Oct. 31 or Nov. 1. With at in mind, here are Sporting KC’s seeding scenarios going into Decision Day.
Sporting KC can clinch a No. 1 seed if…
- Sporting KC beats LAFC, OR
- Sporting KC ties LAFC, AND
FC Dallas fails to beat Colorado by 15 or more goals
Sporting KC can clinch a No. 2 seed if…
- Sporting KC ties LAFC, AND
FC Dallas beats Colorado by 15 or more goals, OR - Sporting KC loses to LAFC, AND
Colorado beats or ties FC Dallas, AND
San Jose beats or ties Seattle
2. Record Breakers
The 2018 iteration of Sporting Kansas City has oftentimes been a thrill to behold. A deep attacking corps has spread the scoring wealth and ripped apart opposing defenses like no other team in the club’s 23-year history. With one regular season game still to play, Sporting KC has set franchise records in goals, away goals, assists and shots, while their chance creation totals have reached all-time highs since the Opta era began in 2010.
As with any balanced attack, the plaudits can be shared. Johnny Russell has become the fourth player in Sporting KC history to record double-digit goals and assists in a single regular season. Daniel Salloi leads MLS Homegrown Players with 19 combined goals and assists in all competitions. Diego Rubio scored or assisted in a club-record eight straight games from July to September. Khiry Shelton owns an 8-2-4 record as a starter. But individual praise pales in light of team accomplishments, and what Sporting KC’s offense has achieved in 2018 has been nothing short of impressive.
3. Formidable Foes
Not many clubs can claim to have enjoyed a better attacking season than Sporting KC. LAFC is one of those clubs. Led by Mexican star Carlos Vela, Uruguayan wunderkind Diego Rossi and European veteran Adama Diomande, LAFC rank second in MLS in scoring offense (2.03 goals per game) and have become just the fifth MLS expansion team to qualify for the playoffs. Head coach Bob Bradley’s men have been particularly lethal on the road, as their 35 away goals (2.19 per game) lead the league by a comfortable margin.
Vela has scored 13 goals this season, while Rossi and Diomande have 12 each. This makes LAFC the only MLS club to have three players with at least a dozen league goals in 2018. And that’s not to mention the side’s two midfield playmakers—Lee Nguyen and former Sporting KC veteran Benny Feilhaber—or diminutive winger Latif Blessing, who joined Feilhaber in an offseason move from Kansas City to Los Angeles. Needless to say, Sporting KC have their defensive work cut out against an LAFC side that has been shut out just three times all year.
4. August and Everything After
The last time LAFC failed to score in a match was Aug. 11, 2018, when they suffered their first and only home loss to date at Banc of California Stadium. That setback came at the hands of Sporting KC, who received goals in either half from Gerso Fernandes and Ilie Sanchez to run out 2-0 winners.
Since losing at home to Sporting KC, LAFC have gone 6-1-3 with 22 goals scored and 11 conceded. Vermes’ men have been just as strong since the start of August, going 8-2-2 over their last dozen MLS fixtures while outscoring opponents 24-9. With both teams in form and scoring goals in bunches, Sunday is likely to enthrall from beginning to end.
5. All for the Fans
In case you missed it, Sporting KC is hosting its Fan Appreciation Match this weekend. As if Decision Day didn’t serve up enough entertainment, all supporters at Children’s Mercy Park will have the opportunity to walk away with a slew of great prizes exclusively through the Sporting KC Uphoria app, available for free download on the App Store and Google Play. Among the thousands of prizes up for grabs:
- A pair of 2019 Sporting KC season tickets
- Player-autographed merchandise
- VIP experiences
- 50 percent off authentic jerseys
- Discount offers at SportingStyle and concessions
In addition, The Budweiser Brew House will open at 11:30 a.m. CT to show the Kansas City Chiefs football game, giving supporters the opportunity to spend their full day at Children’s Mercy Park. All fans are welcome into the Budweiser Brew House to cheer on the Chiefs, and after the game non-Members Stand ticket holders will be ushered to their respective seat locations.
