For the first time since 2008, Sporting Kansas City will play an MLS match at Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday when they host Inter Miami.
KC let a three-goal lead slip away last weekend, playing to a 3-3 draw with the Portland Timbers, while the Herons also dropped two points in their previous domestic fixture which ended in a 2-2 draw against the Colorado Rapids.
Match preview
In the opening 45 minutes last Saturday, Kansas City looked to be cruising to a second successive comfortable victory before committing a needless foul in their penalty area, which shifted the momentum of that match to the visitors.
We are still in the early stages of the domestic campaign, but Peter Vermes has seen his side leave plenty of points on the table, dropping nine already this year when leading at the half, as they sit seventh in the Western Conference standings.
Saturday will mark 28 years to the day that SKC played their first-ever game in Major League Soccer, which incidentally also took place at Arrowhead, defeating the Colorado Rapids 3-0 on April 13, 1996.
While they have had trouble maintaining leads this season, Sporting have been much improved in the attacking third despite missing some veterans in that position, netting multiple goals in four successive domestic contests for the first time since August 2020.
Eight of their 12 goals scored in this competition have come in the opening 45 minutes of play, netting three first-half strikes last weekend for the first time in the regular season since September 17, 2022 (a 4-1 win over Minnesota United).
This weekend will mark the first time an MLS club based in Miami will visit Kansas City since the Miami Fusion were beaten 3-1 by the Kansas City Wizards in a 2001 MLS playoff fixture.
The MLS Cup favourites, when the season began, have hit a rough patch domestically, going winless in three straight league contests after beginning the campaign with points in four of their opening five fixtures.
Their CONCACAF Champions Cup campaign ended on Wednesday as the Herons were beaten 3-1 by Monterrey, losing that tie 5-2 on aggregate, having now lost their last two away contests in all competitions by multiple goals.
Because of their participation in the Champions Cup, Tata Martino has had to heavily rotate his squad ahead of virtually every domestic encounter this year, with 26 different Miami players seeing the field to this stage of the 2024 MLS regular season, the most in the competition this year.
As you might expect from a side that boasts so much attacking quality, the Herons have made the back of the net bulge numerous times throughout the domestic campaign, scoring a league-high 16 times thus far.
On the opposite side, though, the Herons have been anything but tidy defensively, conceding a dozen times, the third-most in the Eastern Conference.
For a side with so many veteran superstars in virtually every position, they also make their share of mistakes, committing a league-high seven errors leading to shots by the opponent in MLS this season, three more than any other team in this competition.
Team News
Khiry Shelton will not be available for this match after recently undergoing ankle surgery, SKC captain Johnny Russell missed another encounter last week with a hamstring strain and Logan Ndenbe is still recovering from a torn ACL suffered in 2023.
Andreu Fontas was an unused substitute against the Timbers but could have recovered from a hamstring strain, while Alan Pulido was back in the fold, playing the final 19 minutes plus stoppage time.
Daniel Rosero netted his second of the campaign in their previous encounter, while Willy Agada netted a brace, giving him a team-high three goals this season, though he missed a second-half penalty that would have given his side a 4-0 lead.
In their CCC clash on Wednesday, Lionel Messi played a full game for the first time since mid-March, but he has not featured in consecutive encounters since last month so we expect him to start this match on the bench.
Benjamin Cremaschi was an unused substitute for that encounter but is nearing a return from his knee issue, while Serhiy Kryvtsov has a sore hamstring.
Miami will be without Federico Redondo this weekend because of an LCL injury, Ian Fray is recovering from a torn ACL, Yannick Bright was on the bench in midweek, having previously missed time with a hamstring strain, Facundo Farias is out for the season due to an ACL injury and Jordi Alba is eligible to play despite being sent off with a pair of cautions on Wednesday.
Messi netted his fourth of the MLS campaign last weekend, putting him one back of Luis Suarez for the team lead, with Leo Afonso scoring his first of the season, while Diego Gomez had their only strike against Monterrey on Wednesday.
Sporting Kansas City possible starting lineup:
Melia; Davis, Rosero, Voloder, Leibold; Walter, Radoja, Rodriguez; Thommy, Agada, Salloi
Inter Miami possible starting lineup:
Callender; Aviles, Freire, Negri; Weigandt, Ruiz, Busquets, Alba; Campana, Suarez, Afonso
We say: Sporting Kansas City 2-3 Inter Miami
No lead is safe when you play a side with the attacking quality of Inter Miami, even if Messi comes off the bench as we expect he will this weekend.
SKC have looked uncomfortable all season when trying to defend a lead, and one has to wonder how they may react if they lead this weekend against a Miami side likely to have plenty of support in the stands.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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