PREVIEW: Sporting Kansas City Take on the San Jose Earthquakes in the Regular Season Home Opener

Sporting Kansas City vs. San Jose Earthquakes: Pre-Match Preview

Where to Watch: Apple MLS Season Pass

Sporting Kansas City are back in action at Children’s Mercy Park this weekend, hosting the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday. This early season match carries a little extra weight as both sides are aiming to build on their opening weekend results and establish some early momentum. Kansas City, after a disappointing 2024 and a lack-luster early start to the 2025 campaign, will be looking for a bit of redemption in front of the home fans. On the other side, San Jose, fresh off an impressive opening day victory, will aim to continue their strong start.

Sporting Kansas City

Sporting Kansas City will enter this match with a point to prove and some wounds to lick. The poor 2024 season has led to a significant roster overhaul in the offseason. Thus far, the 2025 campaign has begun with a 1-0 loss to Inter Miami, a 1-0 loss to Austin FC, and then a 3-1 drubbing by Miami once more, eliminating them from the CONCACAF Champions Cup right off the bat.

Sporting Kansas City has shown glimmers of promise, but have now suffered three straight defeats, giving up five goals and scoring just one. Adding to this is a congested start to the season, with this being the fourth game in ten days. We’ve already seen some squad rotation, but early season fatigue adds another layer of consideration to Peter Verme’s preparation for this one.

The offseason roster changes were certainly needed and well received and now require some fast cohesion and chemistry. New signings Manu Garcia, Dejan Joveljic, and Shapi Suleymanov will need to quickly integrate into the team’s system and build understanding with their teammates. A match against San Jose will be a good test of their adaptability.

Despite the initial struggles, Sporting Kansas City has real offensive potential. In recent years Vermes has honed a system that can generate a lot of good chances when firing on all cylinders. It probably goes without saying, but whether or not the new additions, and I’m thinking Garcia most specifically, can help Sporting unlock defenses and generate some fireworks could be a key factor in this game and for season overall. Dejan Joveljic is expected to be a consistent goal threat for Kansas City, and it will be fun to see how his movement and finishing skills play off Daniel Sallói’s pace and directness and Erik Thommy’s skillset and vision.

The defense, on the other hand, is still much an area of concern. In 2024, they struggled to keep clean sheets and were among the worst defensive teams in the league. The loss of some key defensive players didn’t make things look much rosier, and so far, Kansas City’s back line has given up five goals in three games, continuing a worrying trend. Perhaps we shouldn’t read much into the CONCACAF matches, but the fact remains Sporting Kansas City don’t seem to have quickly solved their defensive woes.

There may be some reason for optimism, however. Robert Volder is young and has shown potential as a promising defender and John Pulskamp has shown promise and will be eager to establish himself after the departure of Tim Melia.

San Jose Earthquakes

The San Jose Earthquakes will arrive in Kansas City with a renewed sense of purpose and hope. After seeing themselves finish at the bottom of the West in 2024, they began their 2025 campaign with a resounding 4-0 thrashing over a heavily rotated Real Salt Lake. This was a statement win for them, with four different players scoring, suggesting that they may be well improved under the tutelage of Bruce Arena.

The dangers of San Jose’s attack were on full display in their opening match. Cristian Espinoza continues to be one of the league’s most consistent chance creators, and he could prove to be a handful to Sporting KC’s defense with his ability to hit crosses and create chances for teammates. The arrival of attacking threat Cristian Arango added firepower as well, and Josef Martínez is always able to both score and provide attacking cover for others, while also serving up the occasional assist.

On the defensive side, San Jose, like Kansas City, have struggled. In 2024 they conceded an MLS-record 78 goals, demonstrating significant weakness that Sporting Kansas City will certainly look to exploit. Bruce Arena has a track record of defensive organization and time will tell if he has been able to bring about significant improvement.

Interesting Matchups and Tactical Battles

While MLS game day lineups are notoriously hard to predict, a few interesting matchups could play out over the course of the game that may wind up proving critical for either side.

• Dániel Sallói (SKC) vs. Cristian Espinoza (SJ): Sallói and Espinoza will be looking to create chances for their respective teams. Espinoza’s creativity and crossing ability will test Sporting KC’s defense, while Sallói’s pace and directness could cause problems for a fragile San Jose’s backline.
• Nemanja Radoja (SKC) vs. Ian Harkes (SJ): Radoja and Harkes are experienced midfielders who will be crucial in controlling the tempo of the game. Their battle in the middle may dictate possession, and both will need to be on their toes for counter attacks going in either direction.
• Robert Voloder (SKC) vs. Cristian Arango (SJ): Voloder is young and will face a tough challenge against Arango, a proven goal scorer. Arango’s movement and finishing ability will test Voloder’s awareness and positioning.

Both teams will come in with an attacking mindset, but their approaches will be different and probably vary as the game develops. Peter Vermes has of late favored a possession style of attack, building from the back and creating chances through passing combinations and runs. Look to see if they try exploit San Jose’s defensive vulnerabilities by overloading the flanks and delivering crosses into the box.

San Jose, under Bruce Arena, hinted that they plan to more direct. They may well seek to use Espinoza’s pace and crossing ability to create chances for Arango. They’ll be hoping their midfield line can hold their own against Kansas City, looking to win second balls and launch quick counterattacks against a Kansas City defense that has been caught out of position all too often.

Early Season Implications

This match carries early-season significance for both sides. Sporting KC fans are hoping that the arrival of Manu Garcia, Dejan Joveljic, and Shapi Suleymanov will have injected new life into the attack. A win for Sporting KC would be a much-needed boost after their opening losses, and a crucial step towards climbing the Western Conference standings. It would also relieve a bit of pressure after their disappointing 2024 season and provide a platform for their new signings to shine. And, truthfully, a win would sooth some of the sting of the Tuesday loss to Inter Miami CF.

For San Jose, a positive result away from home would help solidify their impressive start and send a warning to others that they could well be a contender in the West, along with demonstrating the immediate impact of Bruce Arena.

With both teams looking to start the season strong, this match has an outsized amount of relevance as Kansas City and San Jose both look to establish early momentum and confidence. Sporting needs to shake off a run of early woes and not see themselves digging a hole early once again. An early goal in this game would get the confidence going, and a win could lead the way to a strong start, setting the tone for the rest of the season and provide a platform to build on in the coming months.

Historically, matches between Kansas City and San Jose average about 2.5 goals per game, with MLS matches of late tending at around 3.0, but with the offenses and defenses that will be on the field, I don’t think a lot of folks would expect this a low scoring affair.

My prediction? Kansas City wins this one, 3-2. But what do you think?