Sporting KC
Preview: SKC at Columbus Crew
Can KC get a result at the defending MLS Cup Champions?
Sporting Kansas City at Columbus Crew
2024 MLS Regular Season | Match 20
Saturday, June 22 | 6:30 p.m. CT (6:40 kickoff)
Lower.com Field | Columbus, Ohio
Broadcast Schedule:
Apple TV | MLS Season Pass
English Radio | Sports Radio 810 WHB
Spanish Radio | La Grande 1340 AM
Sporting Kansas City heads to Columbus as the two Original ’96 clubs face off for the first time since 2022. Both teams are wrapping up a stretch of three matches in quick succession when they meet Saturday evening. Sporting KC (3-11-5, 14 points) are looking for any result to regain form. The defending MLS Cup champions Columbus Crew (7-3-6, 27 points) sit in sixth place in the Eastern Conference. The Crew have played fewer matches than the teams above them since they have been participating in the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup where they finished as runner-up to Pachuca.
Historically
Sporting KC leads 26-22-9 in regular season play versus their fellow charter MLS club. They last met in 2022 when they played to a scoreless draw.
2024
Sporting Kansas City is clearly not in form. Injuries, lapses in defending, mistakes, and a dropping confidence has led SKC to the second fewest points in MLS. Sporting KC have a single win and only two draws in their last thirteen matches.
A positive for SKC this week has been a couple players starting to get into form. Second year forward Stephen Afrifa has a goal in each of the past two matches and Wily scored two goals of his own in Wednesday’s 4-3 loss against Real Salt Lake.
Offensively SKC has not been bad overall with a total of 31 goals, tied with Minnesota for sixth most in the Western Conference. Giving up 40 goals, second most in the conference, gives SKC the second worst goal differential.
The Crew have been one of the best teams under manager Wilfried Nancy since he took over last season. Winning the MLS Cup and going all the way to the CONCACAF Champions Cup final under his leadership. Managing the challenge of the Champions Cup and MLS play pushed the Crew to their worst run of form from late March through early May where they were winless across seven games with five draws bookended by a pair of defeats.
Since then, the Crew strung together four straight wins but did drop their last match on the road at Miami.
What will this match look like?
Both teams are playing on short rest and may rotate players.
Availability
Sporting KC is not only struggling to find form, the availability list makes it more complicated for manager Peter Vermes. The depth at midfield and outside back may force Vermes to not rotate players.
Sporting Kansas City
Questionable
Defender Tim Leibold (Quad)
Forward Alan Pulido (Knee)
Out
Midfielder Danny Flores (Concussion Protocol)
Midfielder Felipe Hernandez (Administrative Leave)
Defender Logan Ndenbe (ACL)
Forward Daniel Salloi (Ankle)
Midfielder Remi Walter (Knee)
Columbus Crew
Questionable
None
Out
Goalkeeper Evan Bush (Arm)
Forward Jacen Russell-Rowe (Not Due to Injury)
Officials
Referee: Marcos DeOliveira
Assistant ref: Ian McKay
Assistant ref: Chantal Boudreau
4th official: Nabil Bensalah
VAR: Kevin Stott
Current Sign All-American Suliafu
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Embarrassing
Doubly embarrassing now! 🙁
Quadruply embarrassing now! 🙁 🙁
Did Vermes just knee-jerk this idea of playing 3-4-3 today because their defense is so bad? How’s that working out for ya, Pete? No organization because your players have no idea how to play it tactically.
Dear ownership:
Peter Vermes needs to be fired tonight. How bad does this season need to get for your uneducated eyes to realize you cannot do a successful rebuild with Vermes in the lead? I don’t care how many other soccer minds you hire. It isn’t going to fix the rot that is Peter Vermes.
Was about to comment basically the same thing, well said
I’m a big SKC fan, but I so hope Columbus puts 6 on us.
Yep, we need these shock results to hopefully wake ownership up to the fact PV is not the freakin answer now or for the future
With San Jose having 2 games in hand, at this rate we could very well find ourselves bottom of the table in no time
This has to be the worst loss I’ve seen SKC take. They’re completely dominated in every aspect of the game.
Vermes’ desperation is on full display. You can’t roll out 3 in the back without practicing it for weeks, especially as bad as our collective group of CBs is. They could play a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1 but just play less aggressively, especially with Afrifa and Vargas as the wings. Just play defensively and play direct balls vertically on the counter. At least his players would understand their responsibilities. There are often 3 guys playing in the same space tonight, defensively They clearly have no cohesion and haven’t practiced a 3-4-3 enough to understand what to do.
Zero shots on goal. I don’t think we need to say anything else.
Three total shots. Zero on frame. One corner. Four goals conceded. Vermes, I can’t wait to hear your excuses…er….presser. Ownership, what more do you need to see?
#WeDeserveBetter
#ReidOut #VermesOut #BlissOut