With a postseason berth now assured, Sporting Kansas City will focus their attention on trying to reclaim first place in the Western Conference, trailing the Seattle Sounders by three points, as the Wizards return to Children's Mercy Park to host the Los Angeles Galaxy on Wednesday.
On Saturday, KC scored a 79th-minute winner to claim a big 2-1 result over the Rave Green, while the Galaxy fought their way back from a two-goal deficit to earn a 2-2 draw with Dallas.
Match preview
Throughout the 2021 campaign, the Wizards have been in a see-saw battle for first against Seattle, with Sporting landing a blow to the reigning Western Conference champions this past weekend.
Just like a year ago, we might not know who will come out on top until the final regular-season game, but KC do have a game in hand over Seattle and the Colorado Rapids down the stretch.
With so much on the line in their final meeting of the season against the Rave Green, these two veteran teams were intent on stopping any kind of rhythm that the opposition could accumulate on Saturday, with a total of 35 fouls committed between both sides, plus eight cautions.
Afterwards, Peter Vermes said that he was proud of the way that his players battled through some tough stretches, particularly in the second half as Seattle pushed hard for an equaliser, and despite getting scored on in the 58th minute, KC were able to keep their composure defensively, with some timely tackles after that.
Kansas City have now made the postseason in 10 successive campaigns, the second-longest active streak, behind the team that they are currently chasing atop the Western Conference.
This team have made it a point to get on the front foot early, particularly at home, where they have scored first in three of their last four fixtures within the opening 20 minutes.
The Galaxy showed a ton of resilience to fight their way back from a 2-0 hole at home to Dallas, extending their unbeaten run to four games as they sit in fifth in the Western Conference.
With three games to go, Greg Vanney has his team in position to get back into the postseason, but it will not be an easy road the rest of the way as they end the regular season away to Kansas City and Seattle, before wrapping things up at home against Minnesota United.
There has been a bit of good fortune for LA on their current unbeaten run as they have earned a penalty kick in each of their last three matches, converting every time, while also benefiting from an own goal last week versus the Houston Dynamo, courtesy of an error by Zarek Valentin to put them up 2-0 going into half-time.
They have undoubtedly created their fair share of opportunities lately and been strong on the counter, but their style of play has left them susceptible in transition, conceding 28 shots on target in their previous four games.
Over their past two campaigns, their form down the stretch has let them down, winning only one of their final three regular-season encounters in 2019 and 2020.
This year, a similar run could be detrimental to their playoff aspirations, as they are only four points ahead of Real Salt Lake for that final playoff spot, though RSL do have a game in hand.
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Team News
Johnny Russell now has a goal in seven straight matches for KC, scoring the winner versus the Sounders as he is tied for the fifth-longest goalscoring streak in MLS history and his 37 career strikes have put him into a tie with former Colorado Rapids ace John Spencer for most by a Scottish player in league history.
Leading goalscorer Daniel Salloi and Jose Mauri will be question marks with ankle issues, Alan Pulido has not recovered from a knock to his knee, Jaylin Lindsey has a hamstring problem and Felipe Hernandez is suspended.
Roger Espinoza set up the winner for Russell, his first of the campaign, as he now has 11 game-winning assists in his Sporting career in regular season play, putting him just two back of Beni Feilhaber, while Remi Walter picked his first career goal in a Kansas City shirt.
Chicharito helped kickstart the comeback for the Galaxy with his 14th of the year from the penalty spot, while Sebastian Lletget got his second of the season with Samuel Grandsir collecting his third assist on that play.
Julian Araujo missed their match with Dallas because of yellow card accumulation, Nick DePuy will be ineligible for this fixture after being cautioned with five minutes to play, and Jorge Villafana remains questionable with an undisclosed injury.
Jonathan Bond has been extremely busy in goal for LA, stopping 24 of the last 28 shots that have been fired his way, helping his team earn points in each of those encounters.
Sporting Kansas City possible starting lineup:
Melia; Martins, Fontas, llie, Zusi; Espinoza, Duke, Walter, Kinda; Shelton, Russell
Los Angeles Galaxy possible starting lineup:
Bond; Fisher, Williams, Coulibaly, Araujo; Dos Santos, Raveloson; Grandsir, Vazquez, Lletget; Chicharito
We say: Sporting Kansas City 2-0 Los Angeles Galaxy
It is a good thing that the Galaxy have a bit of a cushion down the stretch of the regular season, as they will have a tough time getting points the rest of the way, and they will be hard-pressed to rattle a team as well-disciplined as KC, who have only conceded one penalty kick all year.
Even without Salloi and Pulido, KC are a top-notch team with balance and structure all over the field, so look for them to put more pressure on Seattle by picking up three points on Wednesday.
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