Preview: Sporting KC continues playoff push Friday vs. Houston Dynamo

With September's international break in the rearview mirror, Sporting Kansas City continues its playoff push Friday when the club hosts rivals Houston Dynamo in the 100th MLS regular season match at Children's Mercy Park. The game will kick off at 7 p.m. CT with local television coverage on 38 The Spot and a national Spanish-language broadcast on UniMas. Supporters can also follow the action on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM.

A limited number of tickets for Friday's showdown are still available at Ticketmaster.com, and the first 10,000 fans through the gates will receive free tote bags courtesy of UMKC. Additional in-game updates can be found online at SportingKC.com/gameon and through the club's official mobile app Sporting KC Uphoria, where supporters can redeem an offer for free Klondike Bars or Popsicles at Price Chopper beginning Friday at 10 a.m. CT.

Fifth-place Sporting Kansas City (11-12-5, 38 points) is six points clear in the Western Conference playoff picture and one win away from making history. The club has earned six straight regular season home wins since June 19, one shy of tying the team record set in 1998 and 2000. Peter Vermes' men have also posted three straight shutouts in the friendly confines of Children's Mercy Park, holding visitors without a goal for 346 minutes dating back to July 10.

Despite its excellent home form, Sporting Kansas City remains a game below .500 largely due to a road winless streak that stretches back to April. The skid extended to 12 games on Aug. 27 when Roger Espinoza and Jimmy Medranda were sent off in a 2-0 defeat at the Philadelphia Union. While Medranda must serve a one-game suspension on Friday, Espinoza saw his red card rescinded last week by the Independent Review Panel and will be available or selection. 

Vermes will be further encouraged by the shrinking number of players on Sporting Kansas City's injury list. Midfielder Justin Mapp (calf) and defender Lawrence Olum (abdominal strain) join Medranda as the only absentees on Friday. Better yet, Matt Besler and Graham Zusi have returned from duty with the U.S. Men's National Team fully fit and well rested. Both played 90 minutes in a 6-0 win over St. Vincent and the Grenadines last Friday — a match in which Besler scored his first U.S. goal on the day his daughter Parker Rhea was born in KC — but neither featured in the Americans' 4-0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago on Tuesday. Zusi was an unused substitute, while Besler returned to Kansas City to be with his newborn child.
The Houston Dynamo (5-11-10, 25 points) enter the contest in a far more precarious position, currently rooted to the bottom of the Western Conference table and likely to miss the MLS Cup Playoffs for a third straight year. Houston has particularly struggled on their travels, going 1-9-3 away from home with a minus-9 goal differential. Former head coach Owen Coyle stepped down on May 25 with the Dynamo sitting at 3-7-2, and while interim boss Wade Barrett has just five losses in 17 games in charge (all competitions), the Men in Orange have been unable to climb out of last place.
Coming off a 3-1 home loss to FC Dallas on Aug. 27, the Dynamo could be without several key contributors on Friday. Standout goalkeeper Tyler Deric (elbow sprain) and defenders Agus Garcia (knee sprain) and Abdoulie Mansally (quad strain) are sidelined indefinitely. Forward Andrew Wenger leads the team with five goals — including one in Houston's 2-0 home win over Sporting KC on May 7 — but is doubtful with a calf strain, while regular starters Will Bruin (knee) and David Horst (hamstring) are listed as questionable.
The rivalry between Sporting Kansas City and Houston has blossomed since 2011 as the sides have met 22 times over the last six seasons, including five playoff matches and three Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup ties. The clubs have battled twice this season, with Houston claiming home wins on both occasions. Wenger and recently departed winger Giles Barnes scored goals in a 2-0 league victory before Mauro Manotas bagged a brace as Houston ousted Sporting KC 3-1 in the U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 on June 29. Brad Davis, who won two MLS Cup titles during a 10-year stint with Houston between 2006-2015, tallied the lone goal for Sporting KC.

Sporting Kansas City's 100th regular season tilt at Children's Mercy Park comes against a side that is unbeaten in five straight league games at the world-class venue. Houston lost its inaugural regular season game at Children's Mercy Park on Sept. 10, 2011, but has earned one win and four draws since (excluding MLS playoffs). That streak will have to snap on Friday if Sporting Kansas City wants to rewrite history with a seventh straight regular season home win.

A pair of center forwards have stamped their names on the series in recent years. Dom Dwyer — Sporting KC's scoring leader with 12 goals in 2016 — has netted six times in his last nine appearances vs. Houston in all competitions, while Bruin has four goals in his last six games against Sporting KC.