Sporting KC
Sporting KC v Chicago Fire: Preview, Injuries & Predictions
Leagues Cup starts this weekend. Sporting KC host both of their group stage games. Can they advanced and how far will they go?

Sporting KC vs Chicago Fire (Leagues Cup)
When: Sunday, July 28, 2024 at 8:00 PM CT
Where: Children’s Mercy Park
How to Watch/Stream: Apple MLS Season Pass
Sporting Kansas City have wiped their slate clean. Everyone is 0-0-0 in Leagues Cup, no matter where they are in the Major League Soccer or Liga MX standings. 47 teams will enter the competition in the coming weeks with the Columbus Crew and Club America getting byes through the group stage as their respective league champions.
The remaining teams were put into groups of three with Sporting KC drawing Toluca FC and the Chicago Fire. Toluca eliminated SKC from the 2023 version of the competition, a bit of revenge from the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League elimination Sporting handed out to Toluca.
Despite Toluca being the highest seeded team in the group, Sporting KC will host both group stage games with only the top four Liga MX teams getting hub city privileges (America, CF Monterrey, Chivas and Tigres). Toluca was seeded 5th of the Liga MX teams, leaving them on the road the entire way through the tournament, including to the very low seeded Fire.
Every team will get at least two games in the competition with a win earning three points, a draw heading straight to PKs where the winner gets two points and the losing team claims one. 30 of the 45 group stage teams will advance into a single elimination tournament where Columbus and America will join in. Only the third-place team in each group will be eliminated.
In the 2023 version of the competition, a struggling Sporting KC came out and shocked one of the best teams in MLS by getting ahead by two goals on FC Cincinnati before an Alan Pulido headbutt saw him see red. It wouldn’t matter because, despite drawing Cincy, KC would go on to defeat Chivas in what was essentially a road game to advance before they ultimately lost to Toluca.
Sporting KC were given a favorable draw this year since Chicago are nearly as bad as they are with 25 points through 25 games (SKC have 24 points through 26 games). Also, they host the opener on Sunday, before Chicago plays Toluca on short rest. Then KC host Toluca the following Monday, with Toluca getting short rest but KC having eight days to prepare.
Competition Roster Changes
Sporting KC made five changes to their roster for the Leagues Cup. Marinos Tzionis is out and four SKC II players are moving up for the tourney. Check out mini bios on the four second team players, who may be trying to breakthrough to the first team long-term.
Kansas City’s Form
- July 7th vs. FC Dallas – 3-2 Win
- July 10th vs. FC Dallas – 2-1 Win (Open Cup)
- July 13th @ San Jose Earthquakes – 2-1 Win
- July 17th @ Vancouver Whitecaps – 1-2 Loss
- July 20th vs. St. Louis City – 1-1 Draw
Chicago’s Recent Form
- July 3rd vs. Philadelphia Union – 4-3 Win
- July 7th @ San Jose Earthquakes – 0-1 Loss
- July 13th vs. NYCFC – 0-0 Draw
- July 17th @ FC Cincinnati – 1-0 Win
- July 20th @ Inter Miami – 1-2 Loss
Chicago has beaten bottom dwellers Philly and a 10-man Cincy team. They lost to Wooden Spoon ‘leaders’ San Jose, so that’s not great.
Injury/Availability Report
Official injury reports aren’t available until matchday minus one in the late afternoon/early evening, so here are last week’s report as we wait (if they even exist for Leagues Cup).Â
Sporting KC:
- OUT – Felipe Hernandez (administrative leave), Jake Davis (Intl. Duty – USMNT U-23s), John Pulskamp (Intl. Duty – USMNT U-23s), Marinos Tzionis (Transfer??)
- QUESTIONABLE – Robert Castellanos (ankle), Logan Ndenbe (Torn ACL), Memo Rodriguez (Quad), Johnny Russell (Groin), Dany Rosero (Hamstring)
Chicago:
- OUT – Chase Gasper (Leg), Andrew Gutman (Leg), Federico Navarro (Leg), Xherdan Shaqiri (Not Due to Injury), Carlos Terán (Leg)
- QUESTIONABLE – None
Stats
Sporting KC
Goals: Willy Agada (9), Erik Thommy (5), Alan Pulido, Johnny Russell (4), Stephen Afrifa (3), Remi Walter, Dany Rosero, Alenis Vargas, Memo Rodriguez, Jake Davis (2), Nemanja Radoja, Daniel Salloi, Robert Castellanos, Marinos Tzionis, Tim Leibold (1)
Assists: Rodriguez (6), Russell, Pulido, Radoja (4), Salloi, Leibold, Thommy (3), Davis, Agada, Khiry Shelton, Walter (2), Andreu Fontas, Robert Voloder, Zorhan Bassong, Kayden Pierre, Vargas (1)
Chicago
Goals: Hugo Cuypers (9), Brian Gutierrez, Maren Haile-Salassie (5), Kellyn Acosta, Fabian Herbers, Xherdan Shaqiri (2), five with one (1)
Assists: Haile-Salassie (6), Herbers (5), Gaston Gimenez, Gutierrez (3), Cuypers, Rafael Czichos, Chris Mueller, Shaqiri (2), six with one (1)
Predictions
Chicago feel infinitely beatable. They are just 2-7-4 on the road this season. Then again, Sporting KC are only 4-5-4 at home. The good news is KC have won three of their last five in all competitions. They mostly are only beating the bad teams (Austin, Dallas, San Jose) but Chicago are also a bad team.
The question will be how badly do Sporting KC want it and who plays? The team really seemed to miss Jake Davis in the midfield the last couple games and he won’t be back as he is an alternate at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Do KC punt on the Leagues Cup with a focus on getting healthy so they can finish their US Open Cup run? The numbers say they almost certainly won’t make it to the MLS Cup Playoffs, so is it worth passing on a potential trophy in Leagues Cup?
With the form and health they are in, they don’t seem set to make a deep run. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them get out of the group stage though. If they win the group, their opponent will be whoever wins the group between the Houston Dynamo, Real Salt Lake and Atlas. If they finish second, their reward is a road game against the Columbus Crew who pounded them earlier this season.
The tournament on the whole, even for a healthy and in form SKC, isn’t setup for their success. Teams play every few days after the group stage and KC just aren’t deep enough to handle that. But they should get out of the group before they get a rest ahead of their return to play against Orlando City, followed quickly by the US Open Cup semifinal against Indy Eleven.
Beating Chicago will be key to that.
PREDICTION: 2-1 SKC Win
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