Preview: Sporting KC ends road swing Saturday at second-place Colorado Rapids

A pivotal Western Conference clash beckons on Saturday as fifth-place Sporting Kansas City (8-9-4, 28 points) travels west to meet the second-place Colorado Rapids (9-2-7, 34 points) at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. The third meeting between the clubs this season will kick off at 8 p.m. CT, with three hours of live television coverage beginning at 7:30 p.m. on 38 The Spot and SKCTV. Local radio broadcasts will air on 99.3 FM and 1340 AM, and in-game updates will be provided at SportingKC.com/gameonand through the club’s official mobile app Sporting KC Uphoria.

Three days removed from a 1-0 setback at the Chicago Fire on Wednesday, Sporting Kansas City will look to deliver Colorado its first defeat since early April. Major League Soccer's surprise package of 2016, the Rapids are riding a club-record 13-game unbeaten streak that began with a 2-1 victory at Children's Mercy Park on April 13. Third-year head coach Pablo Mastroeni has guided Colorado to a remarkable turnaround after finishing last year in the cellar of the Western Conference. Three points behind FC Dallas in the Supporters' Shield race, Colorado boasts the best home record in MLS at 7-0-2 and has conceded just four goals in nine games at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.

While Colorado has been hot at home, Sporting Kansas City has struggled on their travels since winning their first two road games of 2016. The team is 0-5-3 away from home since April 17, a skid that was extended following a controversial midweek loss to Chicago. Dom Dwyer's second-minute goal was ruled out for offside, while the Fire scored on a contentious restart following a dead ball. The result snapped Sporting Kansas City's five-game unbeaten run that began June 2 and prevented the club from climbing to third in the Western Conference table.

Playing their third game in seven days, Sporting KC could be faced with further squad rotation on Saturday. Vermes made four changes to the starting XI in Chicago, including the return of center backs Matt Besler and Nuno Coelho, but a first-half injury to Coelho means more changes are in store against Colorado.

The Rapids looked destined for defeat last Saturday at Vancouver Whitecaps FC, trailing 2-1 in second-half stoppage time and down a man after Eric Miller had been sent off 25 minutes earlier. But the 95th minute provided a stunning twist when Kevin Doyle, who had scored Colorado's first goal of the game, clipped a far-post cross to defender Axel Sjoberg for the last-gasp equalizer.

Doyle leads a balanced Rapids attack with four goals, while Luis Solignac and U.S. international Jermaine Jones have netted three apiece. Jones has proven to be an instrumental addition to the squad since joining from the New England Revolution, as the Rapids are 5-0-3 when he plays. Resolute in defense and boasting an MLS-best 0.72 goals against average, Colorado added U.S. Men's National Team veteran goalkeeper Tim Howard when the summer transfer window opened July 4. He has made eight saves over the last two games, a pair of road draws against Vancouver and Portland.

Peter Vermes' men went 6-0-5 against Colorado from 2009 to 2015 (including playoffs), but the Rapids have won each of the last four meetings since. That stretch includes a 1-0 triumph on May 11 at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in which Dillon Serna scored a 78th-minute match winner.

Having made his first start since May 21 on Wednesday, Coelho suffered an injury setback against Chicago and will miss Saturday's game with a pulled hamstring. Chance Myers (hamstring), Paulo Nagamura (thigh) and Graham Zusi (hamstring) remain questionable. The Rapids will be without Serna, who suffered a season-ending knee injury on June 29, as well as defenders Bobby Burling (knee) and Sean St. Ledger (knee).