Preview: Sporting KC continues playoff push Saturday at San Jose Earthquakes

Playoff implications surround another crucial Western Conference matchup on Saturday as Sporting Kansas City visits the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium. Kickoff is set for 9:30 p.m. CT as 38 The Spot and SKCTV air three hours of live television coverage starting at 9 p.m. CT. Listeners in the Kansas City area can follow live on ESPN 99.3 FM and La Grande 1340 AM, while additional in-game updates will be provided at SportingKC.com/GameOn and through the Sporting KC Uphoria mobile app.

No Other Pub in the Kansas City Power & Light District (1370 Grand Blvd.) will host an official watch party for the match, offering $7 specialty cocktails from Till Vodka.

Both clubs enter Saturday's contest on five-game winless streaks in all competitions. Sporting Kansas City (11-12-7, 40 points) currently occupies the sixth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, having settled for a pair of home draws in their two most recent MLS fixtures at Children's Mercy Park. The ninth-place Earthquakes have won just twice over the last four months and find themselves six points below the red line, albeit with two games in hand.

One week removed from a tense 2-2 stalemate against the LA Galaxy, Sporting Kansas City has ridden the coattails of Dom Dwyer, Jacob Peterson and Benny Feilhaber over the last month. Dwyer tallied his team-leading 14th goal of the year last Sunday, moving into the top five on the MLS scoring charts, while Peterson extended a career-high with his sixth goal of the season — five of which have come since July 24. Feilhaber, meanwhile, has notched five assists in his last seven appearances and is one shy of reaching double digits in assists for the second straight campaign.

Led by head coach Dominic Kinnear, the Earthquakes desperately need points in order to make the playoffs for the first time since 2012. San Jose stuttered to a scoreless draw at the Colorado Rapids last Saturday in a match characteristic of the club's 2016 campaign. The Earthquakes are last in MLS with 0.96 goals per game and have scored just eight times over their last 10 matches — a barren stretch that includes six ties and two defeats. Kinnear's men have even struggled in the friendly confines of home, winning just one of their last eight at Avaya Stadium (1-2-5).

U.S. international forward Chris Wondolowski leads San Jose with 10 goals, but seven of those came before the end of April. Quincy Amarikwa and Simon Dawkins add pace and dynamism to the Earthquakes attack, having combined for six goals and five assists in 2016, while wide midfielders Alberto Quintero and Shea Salinas are tied for the team lead with four assists. Sturdy center back Victor Bernardez and goalkeeper David Bingham patrol a defense that has allowed just 1.07 goals per game.

Controversy marred the first 2016 meeting between the sides on April 24. San Jose emerged with a 1-0 home win thanks to Wondolowski's 59th-minute penalty kick, just a few moments after Sporting Kansas City was denied a spot kick of its own when Andres Imperiale tripped Dwyer inside the box. The result gave San Jose its third straight shutout victory in the series. Wondolowski now has eight goals in his last 11 MLS appearances vs. Sporting KC, second most among active players behind Landon Donovan (14).

Long-standing history favors the Earthquakes as both teams prepare for Saturday's contest. Kansas City last won at San Jose in August 2000, but has gone 0-13-5 in 18 MLS matches since then (including playoffs). The home side has dominated this particular fixture since 2004, amassing an 18-1-2 record in all competitions. San Jose accounted for the lone road win in August 2015 at Children's Mercy Park. Presently riding a 12-game road winless skid dating back to mid-April, Sporting Kansas City will look exorcise the demons of past and present with a cathartic victory away from home.

Both clubs will be without a handful of players through injury. Justin Mapp (calf), Chance Myers (thigh) and Lawrence Olum (abdomen) are sidelined for Sporting Kansas City, while influential winger Graham Zusi has been upgraded to questionable after missing two straight league games with a lower leg strain. 

San Jose will certainly miss Marc Pelosi (knee), Mark Sherrod and Clarence Goodson (back), while a pair of integral midfielders are listed as questionable. Darwin Ceren has featured regularly for San Jose since transferring from Orlando City SC in early August, but a quad strain has the Salvadorian's status up in the air. Holding midfielder Anibal Godoy scored twice against Sporting KC last season but has missed three straight matches with a hamstring issue. The Earthquakes are 6-5-8 when Godoy plays in 2016, but 1-3-5 without him.