Three-minute preview: Seattle Sounders FC at Sporting Kansas City
Seattle Sounders FC at Sporting KC
WHEN/WHERE: 2 p.m. Sunday at Children’s Mercy Park
TV/RADIO: ESPN; WHB (810 AM), KDTD (1340 AM)
ABOUT SEATTLE (6-11-2, 20 points): A club with United States men’s national team striker Clint Dempsey and highly-touted rookie Jordan Morris is third-worst in Major League Soccer in scoring. The Sounders have been shut out five times over their last 10 games. As a result, they have never tallied fewer points through 19 games than they have this season.
ABOUT SPORTING KC (8-10-4, 28 points): The club followed its five-game unbeaten streak with a pair of 1-0 road losses last week. Sporting KC will be without defenders Matt Besler (knee) and Nuno Coelho (hamstring), though signs point to Graham Zusi (hamstring) rejoining the club after a three-game absence. Sporting KC entered the weekend in seventh place in the Western Conference. The top six teams qualify for the playoffs.
BOTTOM LINE: Sporting KC is 2-0-2 against Seattle since moving to the Western Conference last season, holding the Sounders to only one goal across four matches. The heat index is projected to approach 100 degrees Sunday, potentially altering both teams’ playing styles.
PREDICTION: Sporting KC 1, Seattle 0
Sam McDowell: 816-234-4869, @SamMcDowell11
This story was originally published July 24, 2016 at 9:03 AM with the headline "Three-minute preview: Seattle Sounders FC at Sporting Kansas City."