Preview: Sporting KC head east for rivalry match with St. Louis

Sporting Kansas City vs St. Louis City SC

When: Saturday, September 30 at 7:30pm CT

Where: CITYPARK, St. Louis, Missouri

How to Watch: Apple TV

The playoff hunt continues as Sporting Kansas City head east on I-70 for the third installment of their rivalry with St. Louis.

Injury Report

Sporting Kansas City:

Out – Johnny Russell (Red Card), Kayden Pierre (hamstring), Kortne Ford (Achilles)

Questionable – Tim Leibold (groin), Alan Pulido (quad)

St. Louis City SC:

Out – Lucas Bartlett (shoulder), Miguel Perez (ankle)

Questionable – Rasmus Alm (groin)

Form:

St. Louis City

Regular Season Record: 16W-5D-10L

Last 5 (1W-3D-1L):

• Saturday, September 2 at Sporting Kansas City – 2-1 Loss
• Sunday, September 10 at Los Angeles Galaxy – 2-2 Draw
• Saturday, September 16 at Houston Dynamo – 1-1 Draw
• Wednesday, September 20 vs LAFC – 0-0 Draw
• Saturday, September 23 at Minnesota United – 2-1 Win

Sporting KC

Regular Season Record: 10W-8D-13L

Last 5: 3W-0D-2L

• Saturday, September 2 vs St. Louis City – 2-1 Win
• Saturday, September 9 at Inter Miami – 3-2 Loss
• Saturday, September 16 at Minnesota United – 1-0 Win
• Wednesday, September 20 vs Nashville SC – 3-0 Loss
• Saturday, September 23 vs Houston Dynamo – 2-1 Win

Preview:

Here we go again.

Still unsure of what the official name of this rivalry is, but if the first two meetings between Sporting Kansas City and St. Louis City have any bearing on the upcoming matchup, we are in for a show.

Previous Two Matchups:

• Saturday, May 20 at St. Louis – SKC 0 – STL 4
• Saturday, September 2 at Kansas City – SKC 2 – STL 1

So far, the home team has claimed all three points in each matchup, with SKC the most recent victor after an embarrassing 4-0 shutout loss in the inaugural meeting.

Anyone who watched the last meeting between Kansas City and St. Louis can confirm that this is, in fact, a rivalry. It gets chippy and the teams play like they do not like each other. A gift and a curse for a team (SKC) trying to return to the playoffs after a season-and-a-half of playing below their standard, and another team (STL) who fired out of the gates to start their inaugural season and sit atop the Western Conference, looking to make noise as a powerhouse.

When the two sides met earlier this month, St. Louis were without Kansas City-born forward Niko Gioacchini, the club’s leading scorer (10) who remained on the bench after being listed as ‘questionable’ leading up to the bench. On top of that, João Klauss and Eduard Löwen only played in the second half of the loss.

This time, SKC enter the rivalry match without their captain Johnny Russell who was unsuccessful in an appeal of an ‘opinion-inducing’ red card received during the club’s 2-1 over the Houston Dynamo last week.

SKC's appeal of Johnny's red card was denied. #SportingKC #MLS pic.twitter.com/tl7g9p63p9

— Thad (@TheBackpost) September 27, 2023

Alan Pulido, who remains in the Golden Boot race with an MLS-career-high 13 goals this season, did not see the field against the Houston Dynamo and remains questionable with a quad contusion. That being said, Daniel Sperry reports that Pulido will dress for the match against St. Louis. Time will tell if he sees the field at CITYPARK.

Barring a meltdown, St. Louis have cemented themselves as the top-seed in the conference ahead of the playoffs. They lead No. 2-seed LAFC by 8 points with 3 matches to play, though LAFC have a game in hand.

Sporting KC, on the other hand, sit right below the playoff line and are officially in the “Let’s Do Math” phase of the season of trying to sneak into the postseason.

Prediction:

Sporting Kansas City have work to do. Personally, I would revisit a quote from Peter Vermes about the Houston Dynamo match.

“I promise you, you’re not going to die by the end of the game.”

St. Louis (and their fans) do not want to go down in the all-time series of the rivalry and will look to defend their home turf. A draw could feel like a win for SKC, but even a point won’t come easy against the No. 1-seed.

Prediction: STL 2 – SKC 0