Sporting Kansas City look to avenge a mid-season loss to the Union as the two teams meet on Wednesday, October 24, 2012. What will be the keys to the match?
Take control early
Sporting KC will have a strong home advantage on Wednesday with a around 20,000 in attendance at LiveSTRONG Sporting Park. It's important to feed off the energy from the crowd and turn that into an early lead. KC has struggled offensively in recent matches with scoreless draws at Montreal and NY and have not scored more than two goals in a match since early July. If Sporting KC can take control of the match in the first 15-20 minutes with a goal or two, it could effectively put the match out of Philadelphia's reach.
Anyone can beat anyone in MLS
The Union have 24 fewer points (seven fewer wins) but are more than capable of winning Wednesday night's match. MLS is a league that is very competitive with any team able to beat any other team on a given day. Sporting can't afford a let down or lack of effort against a Union side that will want to play the role of spoiler. A lackluster start or mental mistake on a set piece can give the Union confidence and make for a very tough match.
Zusi remains the key
Graham Zusi, who has played a lot of matches in the last few weeks, is still the key to this team's attack. He provides great service to CJ Sapong and Kei Kmara along with an ability to score on free kicks. KC have a very strong record when Zusi scores or has an assist and his play will be a great indicator for Wednesday night. Zusi is an integral part of KC because of his ability to break down an opposing defense with a long-range shot, through ball, or pinpoint pass.
Turn possession into goals
KC usually has 60% or more of possession at home but at times has struggled to convert that into goals. The large advantage in possession usually forces visiting teams to sit back in their own end and have 10 or 11 players defending. Wednesday night shouldn't be any different and Sporting will need a combination of patience and clinical finishing to score goals. In the playoffs, Sporting should expect teams to "pack it in" and Wednesday will probably be no different.
