Fresh off a tension-filled victory over the Seattle Sounders on the road last Saturday, Sporting Kansas City returns to Children’s Mercy Park Wednesday night to face the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Sporting K.C. still have first-place aspirations in the MLS Western Conference, while the Galaxy will try to solidify their playoff position.
Kansas City (16-7-7, 55 points) was three points shy of Seattle with a game in hand prior to Seattle’s match at LAFC Tuesday night. The Galaxy (13-11-7, 46 points) are tied for fourth with Portland and in a cluster of six clubs within five points of each other. Only four of those clubs can make the postseason.
“It’s really clear that there’s a good group of teams fighting to make the playoffs (and) for positioning,” Sporting K.C. manager Peter Vermes said Tuesday. “It’s really congested. Every one of these games is like a playoff game. Everyone is going to have to be ready for the fight in front of you.
“I expect it to be a high-intensity game. LA is a good team. (Galaxy manager) Greg Vanney has turned the group around. I expect them to come with everything they have.”
Sporting K.C. may have players returning to action after missing Saturday’s match in Seattle. Leading scorer Daniel Salloi and Jose Mauri both missed the Seattle match with ankle injuries. Vermes didn’t say whether either player would be available, but he did say all his injured players were improving.
Los Angeles is 2-0-2 in October, including a 2-2 draw against FC Dallas after trailing 2-0 at halftime. Javier Hernandez converted a penalty for his 14th goal and Sebastian Lletget netted the equalizer in the second half.
“We competed in the second half. We didn’t compete in the first half,” Vanney said after the FC Dallas match. “The first half lacked anything that looked like a team that was supposed to be fighting for a playoff spot.
“The second half looked completely the opposite. We looked like a team that was playing for everything. … At the end of the day tactics are irrelevant. You’ve got to win the duels; you’ve got to win the fights.”
–Field Level Media
