Preview: Sporting KC back home to host Sounders FC in crucial Western Conference clash

Two teams desperately seeking a win square off Sunday when Sporting Kansas City hosts Seattle Sounders FC at Children’s Mercy Park. The Western Conference tilt will kick off at 2 p.m. CT with national television coverage on ESPN and ESPN Deportes, while local broadcasts will air on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM. In-game updates will also be provided at SportingKC.com/gameon and through the club’s official mobile app Sporting KC Uphoria.

A limited number of tickets for the game are still available at Ticketmaster.com, and the first 10,000 fans through the gates on Sunday will receive a free lunch bag courtesy of match sponsor Mark One Electric. A heat advisory will also be in effect, meaning all fans can bring one 20-oz. sealed bottle of water into the stadium. For important parking and tailgating information, click here.

Seventh-place Sporting Kansas City (8-10-4, 28 points) and ninth-place Seattle (6-11-2, 20 points) find themselves in an unfamiliar position entering the final three months of the regular season. Manager Peter Vermes’ side has qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs every year since 2011, while Sigi Schmid’s Sounders have done so in all seven years of their existence. Yet both teams currently sit below the red line — Sporting KC a point behind the Portland Timbers for the final playoff spot and Seattle nine points off the pace. The outcome of Sunday’s fixture could go a long way in deciding whether these clubs can extend their respective seasons beyond late October.

After stringing together a five-game unbeaten run, Sporting Kansas City’s resurgence was curbed with a pair of 1-0 road defeats last week to the Chicago Fire and Colorado Rapids. Both losses were emblematic of the club’s struggles in April and May: despite outshooting their opponents and dominating possession for long periods, Sporting KC was unable to find a breakthrough and fell victim to a pair of opportunistic goals from the hosts.

While goals have been hard to come by away from home, Sporting Kansas City returns to a venue in which they have scored eight goals over their last three games. Vermes’ men have won each of those three matches at Children’s Mercy Park, bouncing FC Dallas (2-0), Columbus Crew SC (3-2) and New York City FC (3-1) to recapture a strong home form that has characterized the club for much of the last five years. The attack will be further bolstered on Sunday by winger Graham Zusi, who is set to return after missing both contests last week with a pulled hamstring.

A perennial MLS Cup contender since their inaugural season in 2009, Sounders FC are 2-7-1 over their last 10 league games and own just one road victory this season. Seattle showed signs of a revival with a 5-0 demolition of FC Dallas last week, but followed it up with a 3-1 setback at Portland on Sunday and bowed from U.S. Open Cup in a 4-2 loss at LA Galaxy on Wednesday. Schmid fielded a reserve-heavy lineup in Southern California with Sunday’s pivotal trip to Kansas City looming.

Seattle has ground to make up in the West, and may just have the personnel to do it. U.S. international forwards Jordan Morris and Clint Dempsey lead the front line, having combined for 10 of the team’s 20 goals in 2016. Midfielder Andreas Ivanschitz has a team-high five assists and ranks fifth in MLS with 41 chances created, while veterans Brad Evans and Chad Marshall provide stability in central defense.

Sporting Kansas City is 3-7-3 all-time vs. Seattle, including a 1-4-1 mark in Kansas City. The lone home win came in the most recent meeting at Children’s Mercy Park in June 2015 — a cagey affair decided by Benny Feilhaber’s 84th-minute penalty kick. Sporting KC is unbeaten in four straight MLS matches against the Rave Green, winning two and drawing two, after claiming just one win in the first nine games of the series. The teams last met in the 2016 season opener on March 6 when Nuno Coelho’s 73rd-minute strike from distance gave Sporting KC its first win in Seattle since 2009.

As many as five Sporting Kansas City players will be sidelined Sunday through injury. Brad Davis is out as he recovers from a left calf strain suffered against Colorado, while Matt Besler (left MCL strain) and Justin Mapp (left calf) will also be absent after sustaining injuries in training this week. Coelho (left hamstring) and Paulo Nagamura (left quad) are listed as questionable, having already missed most of the last two months.

Meanwhile, a healthy Seattle squad will be without integral midfielder Osvaldo Alonso. The eighth-year veteran leads MLS in duels won and passing accuracy but will serve a one-game suspension on Sunday for caution accumulation.