Sporting Kansas City is back on the road this weekend when the team heads to the west coast to face off against LAFC at BMO Stadium on Saturday night. Kickoff is set for 9:30 p.m. CT and will be available to stream on Apple TV, while the game will also be broadcast locally on the radio via Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM.
1. BUILDING ON MUCH-NEEDED HOME VICTORY
Sporting Kansas City will look to build on the positive midweek performance that led to a 2-1 victory over Minnesota United at Sporting Park when the team jets out west this weekend to take on LAFC at BMO Stadium on Saturday night.
Sporting picked up just their second home win of the season on Wednesday with Designated Players Dejan Joveljic and Manu Garcia each finding the back of the net - just the second time that both players have scored in the same game.
New signings Or Blorian and Emir Karic have already made a positive impact on the backline, with the team conceding just two goals across 124 minutes that the pair have shared on the field since the league restart on July 16. Fellow newly-signed defender Moises Mosquera continues to build fitness as he approaches his debut with the club.
After a challenging start to the season, Sporting has now won three of the team’s last five matches - resulting in nine of the 14 points Raphael Wicky’s squad has accumulated this season. Sporting remains eight points back from the playoff line but with 18 games left to play, the team’s recent uptick in form will keep postseason hopes alive.
2. HEADING TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Sporting Kansas City has a quick turnaround this week as the team follows up Wednesday’s victory over Minnesota at Sporting Park by heading to Southern California on Saturday night to take on high-flying LAFC at BMO Stadium.
Sporting last visited LAFC over a year ago on June 8, 2025, falling to a 3-1 defeat at BMO Stadium. Dejan Joveljic finished off a neat move assisted by Manu Garcia to give the visitors a first-half lead on the night, but LAFC answered with goals from Eddie Segura, Denis Bouanga and Olivier Giroud to complete the comeback and take all three points.
LAFC topped Sporting on both occasions that the two sides met last season, having also claimed a 2-0 victory at Sporting Park on March 22, 2025. David Martinez gave LAFC the lead in the first half before Aaron Long added a second after the interval to seal victory for the visitors.
All-time, Sporting trails the all-time series 4-9-2 against LAFC, including a 2-4-2 mark on the road. Sporting had the better of the series early on when LAFC joined MLS in 2018, winning four of the opening six contests, but has since gone winless in the last nine (0-7-2) dating back to 2021.
3. JOVELJIC REMAINS DEADLY IN FRONT OF GOAL
Sporting Kansas City forward Dejan Joveljic found the back of the net once again midweek, scoring the team’s opening goal in the 2-1 victory over Minnesota United at Sporting Park on Wednesday night.
Joveljic showed off his patented movement to lose his marker in the penalty area before diverting Capita Capemba’s low cross into the back of the net for his team-leading eighth goal of the season in the 28th minute.
The Serbian striker now has goals in back-to-back games since the World Cup break after also tallying against St. Louis last week. Among all SKC players with 15 or more career regular season goals, Joveljic ranks first in goals per game with 26 goals in 48 regular season games (0.54).
With eight goals and two assists this season, Joveljic now has 10 goal contributions in five straight seasons - only the third player in MLS to do so alongside Cristian Espinoza and Hany Mukhtar.
Joveljic made his MLS debut against Minnesota in 2021 and he has recorded a goal contribution against MNUFC in each of the past six seasons.
4. GARCIA CONTINUES HOT STREAK
Sporting Kansas City midfielder Manu Garcia continued to light up the scoresheet with the Spaniard grabbing the game-winning goal during the club’s 2-1 victory over Minnesota United at Sporting Park on Wednesday night.
Garcia capped off a brilliant team goal that started at the back with goalkeeper Stefan Cleveland before Calvin Harris and Jake Davis combined to tee up the 28-year-old to rifle home his team’s second goal in the 54th minute.
The Designated Player now has a goal contribution in each of his last five appearances dating back to May 13, a new personal MLS career best streak and tied for the fifth longest streak in MLS this season.
With three assists in his last five games, Garcia has also recorded 14 assists in 43 games during his time at the club for a rate of 0.33 assists per game - the second-best mark in club history behind Preki.
5. FOUR PLAYERS RECORD ASSISTS MIDWEEK
Sporting Kansas City quartet Lasse Berg Johnsen, Capita Capemba, Jake Davis and Calvin Harris each recorded assists during the team’s midweek 2-1 victory over Minnesota United at Sporting Park.
Capita and Berg Johnsen combined to set up Dejan Joveljic’s opener, with Capita recording his first assist for the club to make it three goal contributions in his last five games. Berg Johnsen recorded his fourth assist of the campaign, just one off the team lead.
Harris and Davis linked up to assist Manu Garcia’s second-half game-winner. Davis notched his third assist of the season on the goal while Harris set a new career-high and joined Garcia with a team-leading five assists. Among all SKC players with a minimum of three assists, Harris now ranks third in club history with 0.31 assists per game.
