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Preview: Sporting KC hosts FC Dallas on Saturday
Western Conference clash at 7:30 p.m. CT at Children's Mercy Park;
MLS charter clubs set for first of two meetings in 10-day span in KC
Broadcast Schedule:
Local TV | 38 The Spot
Streaming | SportingKC.com, SKC App, ESPN+
English Radio | Sports Radio 810 WHB
Spanish Radio | La Grande 1340 AM
(April 29, 2022) - Sporting Kansas City (2-6-1, 7 points) will aim to snap FC Dallas' seven-game unbeaten run when the two MLS charter clubs meet at 7:30 p.m. CT on Saturday at Children's Mercy Park. Tickets for the Western Conference match-up are available online via SeatGeek and match sponsor Price Chopper will give away 5,000 reusable bags to attendees after the match while supplies last.Saturday's showdown will be locally televised on 38 The Spot with three hours of coverage beginning at 7 p.m. CT. The broadcast will also stream live on SportingKC.com and in the Sporting KC app for viewers in Kansas and Missouri (excluding St. Louis area per MLS policy), as well as ESPN+ for out-of-market subscribers. Radio broadcasts will also be available locally on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM.
After rallying for a 2-1 comeback victory over in-state rivals Houston Dynamo FC last weekend, FC Dallas (4-1-3, 15 points) boasts the longest unbeaten run in Major League Soccer this season. The club's lone loss came in Week 2 of the MLS campaign in a 1-0 defeat at New England. FC Dallas has since posted scoreless draws in each of their past two away matches and arrives in Kansas City as the only team yet to record a goal on the road this season.
Led by first-year head coach Nico Estevez, FC Dallas leads Major League Soccer with only five goals conceded in the club's first eight matches. The team added 23-year-old Dutch goalkeeper Maarten Paes in January on a six-month loan from FC Utrecht and Paes, the only FC Dallas player to play every minute in 2022, now leads the league with a 0.63 goals against average.
On the opposite end of the field, 21-year-old striker Jesus Ferreira has hammered home five goals - one off the Golden Boot pace - to give the U.S. Men's National Team forward 23 goals and 17 assists in his MLS career. The team's youthful attack also features 22-year-old midfielder Paxton Pomykal and 19-year-old winger Alan Velasco, who was acquired in February for a club record fee from Argentine club Independiente.
Last season, FC Dallas finished 11th in the West and 23rd overall. Now it's Sporting KC currently sitting in those positions in the table after going winless in four matches this month.
Sporting is coming off a scoreless draw last weekend against the Columbus Crew and now has kept clean sheets in three of the team's four home matches - a mark that is best in MLS. Defender Kortne Ford was selected to the MLS Team of the Week after leading all players with 10 duels won against the Crew.
In the attack, Sporting KC's front three of Johnny Russell, Khiry Shelton and Daniel Salloi have scored or assisted on each of the team's last 10 regular season goals against FC Dallas dating back to 2018. Russell and Salloi each have five career regular season goals against FC Dallas, one shy of Preki for most of any KC player in the all-time series.
Sporting Kansas City won the season series in 2021 -- earning road victories at Toyota Stadium in August and September -- but have only taken one point in the past five home matches against FC Dallas (0-4-1) dating back to 2018. Sporting will be without five players on Saturday, headlined by season-ending knee injuries to Designated Players Gadi Kinda and Alan Pulido in addition to the new absence of Nicolas Isimat-Mirin, who suffered a concussion and underwent surgery to repair a broken cheek bone following last week's match.
Manager Peter Vermes has started nine different lineups, most of any team in MLS, in the team's first nine matches of the season due to injuries and national team call-ups. However, veteran defender Graham Zusi has played every minute for Sporting this season and is once again poised for a major milestones as a start on Saturday would break a tie with Matt Besler for most regular season starts in club history.
Saturday's contest comes on a weekend in which the two clubs will meet in multiple competitions as their U-15 and U-17 academy teams go head to head in MLS NEXT action while Sporting Kansas City II and North Texas SC square off on Sunday night in the MLS NEXT Pro Week 6 finale. Moreover, Sporting KC and FC Dallas will play again on May 10 in the marquee match of the U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 as the only match-up in the round between past tournament champions.
Following Saturday's match, The Final Whistle postgame show will air live on Sports Radio 810 WHB with hosts Aly Trost, Chad Reynolds and Dave Borchardt. Listeners can tune in via the Sporting KC mobile app or online at 810WHB.com.
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