Sporting Kansas City will battle Seattle Sounders at the Children’s Mercy Park in an MLS Western Conference clash. Both teams are showing contrasting form at the moment, with the hosts looking solid while the visitors are in the middle of a rough patch.
Sporting Kansas come into this encounter off the back of a 2-1 victory at Colorado Rapids. That result means Peter Vermes’ men are unbeaten in their last three matches, claiming two wins in this run.
Home form has also been solid for Sporting Kansas, who are unbeaten in four of their last five matches at Children's Mercy Park. However, they will need to tighten up their defence, having failed to keep a clean sheet in their last four fixtures in front of the fans.
Seattle Sounders were held to a 1-1 home draw with Columbus Crew in their previous MLS fixture. That was their first game back in the league after the disappointing showing at the FIFA Club World Cup.
That draw means Seattle Sounders are winless in their last three MLS matches, having lost the previous two games. Brian Schmetzer's men are also unconvincing on their travels and are winless in four of their last five away matches in the league.
How the bookies view it: Upper hand for Seattle
Seattle Sounders have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 21/20 by BoyleSports to claim the win. A victory for Sporting Kansas is valued at 15/8 while a draw is set at odds of 13/5.
Head to head: Slight edge for Seattle
Seattle Sounders have a 15-13 advantage, with seven draws from 35 previous matches against Sporting Kansas City. Both teams won their home clash last season, with the hosts earning a 2-1 victory in the first meeting while the visitors triumphed 2-0 in the reverse fixture.
Players to watch: Eyes on Joveljic
Devan Joveljic is the man to watch for Sporting Kansas having found the net 12 times this season. The Serbian forward has also been on target six times in the last six matches and could be set to maintain that scoring run (Dejan Joveljic anytime goalscorer at 11/8 BoyleSports).
Seattle Sounders will look to Danny Musovski, who has six goals this season. The forward could be worth keeping an eye on to score anytime (Danny Musovski anytime goalscorer at 7/4).
Probable line ups:
Sporting Kansas are without Nemanja Radoja and Daniel Rosero, who are sidelined with Injury. Erik Thommy should feature in midfield while Joveljic is expected to lead the line once again.
Seattle Sounders also have injury problems, with Paul Arriola, Kim Kee-Hee and Stuart Hawkins currently sidelined. Albert Rusnak and Musovski are expected to retain their place in the team while Alexander Roldan should start at the back.
Sporting Kansas City: Pulskamp, Leibold, Fernandez, Miller, Shelton, Thommy, Bartlett, Garcia, Salloi, Joveljic, Suleymanov
Seattle Sounders: Frei, Tolo, Ragen, Bell, Roldan, Vargas, Roldan, de la Vega, Rusnák, Rothrock, Musovski
Anything else catch the eye?
Sporting Kansas' last four home matches have produced over 3.5 goals – available at 6/4 with BoyleSports. The last four meetings between both teams have produced over 1.5 goals in the first half (first half over 1.5 goals at 11/8).
The hosts have scored first in three of their last five league matches (Sporting Kansas to score first at 23/20).
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