Sporting Kansas City has a quick turnaround as the team prepares to host rivals St. Louis at Sporting Park on Wednesday night. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. CT and will be nationally televised on FS1 as well as 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. Tickets are available via SeatGeek.
1. SPORTING KC SIGNS ANDRE LUIZ IN CLUB-RECORD DEAL
Sporting Kansas City has acquired 24-year-old forward Andre Luiz in a club-record transfer from Greek club Olympiacos FC, the club announced on Tuesday. Luiz, who joins Sporting as a Designated Player, has signed a five-year MLS contract through the 2030-2031 season and will occupy an international spot on Sporting’s roster, pending receipt of his P1 visa and International Transfer Certificate.
Luiz, the fifth player that Sporting has signed as a Designated Player since the start of 2018, will arrive in Kansas City following a breakout season in Europe where he took Portugal by storm with Rio Ave FC, tallying seven goals and six assists in the first half of the season, before closing out the 2025-2026 campaign at Greek giants Olympiacos.
Luiz broke out as one of Portugal’s most coveted players during the first half of the 2025-2026 season when he recorded seven goals and six assists for Rio Ave in just 19 appearances - including a stunning late equalizer to secure a point on the road against Jose Mourinho’s Benfica on Sept. 23, 2025.
2. QUICK TURNAROUND FOR RIVALRY MATCHUP
Sporting Kansas City has a quick turnaround this week with the squad dusting themselves off after a frustrating loss to the Colorado Rapids at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on Saturday when the team hosts rivals St. Louis at Sporting Park on Wednesday night.
While Sporting can welcome Lasse Berg Johnsen back into the fold after he served his one-game suspension over the weekend, the team will be without rookie Kwaku Agyabeng and newly-signed defender Moises Mosquera after the duo both received red cards in Saturday’s loss at Colorado.
Sporting remains unbeaten at home against St. Louis, going 3-0-2 in the five matches played at Sporting Park in both the regular season and the playoffs. Sporting, on the other hand, thrashed St. Louis in their own back yard on the way to sweeping the club’s rivals in the 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs.
Sporting has gone 1-4-0 since the World Cup break as the roster continues to be reconfigured during the summer transfer window which remains open until early September.
3. RENEWING STL RIVALRY
Sporting Kansas City returns home this week for a highly-anticipated showdown with cross-state rivals St. Louis at Sporting Park on Wednesday night.
Sporting last hosted St. Louis almost a year and a half ago, picking up a 2-0 victory at Sporting Park on April 5, 2025. The game marked the team’s first match since the departure of longtime Manager Peter Vermes and Dejan Joveljic’s second-half brace ensured an emotional night ended on a positive note with a win over the club’s rivals.
Sporting began the post-World Cup portion of the 2026 campaign with a visit to Energizer Park on July 16, 2026, falling to a controversial 3-2 defeat. After falling behind 2-0 in the first half, Sporting pulled level following goals from Capita Capemba and Dejan Joveljic, setting up a grandstand finale. Instead, St. Louis was awarded a penalty kick in the game’s closing stages - a decision that PRO later admitted was an error - allowing Eduard Lowen to give the hosts all three points.
Sporting trails the all-time regular-season series a 2-4-3, but the club maintains bragging rights in the rivalry after dumping St. Louis out of the MLS Cup Playoffs in 2023 while the team remains unbeaten at Sporting Park in the all-time series.
4. BERG JOHNSEN AVAILABLE AFTER ONE-GAME SUSPENSION
Sporting Kansas City midfielder Lasse Berg Johnsen will return to the fold this week as the team prepares to host rivals St. Louis at Sporting Park on Wednesday night. The Norwegian midfielder served a one-game suspension during Saturday’s match in Colorado after receiving a red card in the club’s 2-0 loss to the Houston Dynamo on Aug. 1 at Sporting Park.
Berg Johnsen was shown a pair of yellow cards in the first half of that match, coming on the only two fouls he committed in the match. With a numerical disadvantage in the second half, Sporting succumbed to a pair of goals from an opportunistic Dynamo side that left Sporting Park with all three points.
Since arriving in Kansas City during the opening weeks of the season, Berg Johnsen appeared in every match until his suspension, starting 15 of 16 games in all competitions from March 14 through Aug. 1 and making his lone substitute appearance in the team’s road match at the Vancouver Whitecaps on April 17.
Berg Johnsen joined Sporting in a transfer from Swedish club Malmo FF having made 258 career appearances - tallying 18 goals and 21 assists - representing clubs across Scandinavia in his native Norway, Denmark and Sweden.
5. AGYABENG & MOSQUERA SUSPENDED
Sporting Kansas City duo Kwaku Agyabeng and Moises Mosquera are both set to miss Wednesday’s rivalry matchup with St. Louis after both players received red cards during the club’s 2-0 loss to the Colorado Rapids at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on Saturday night.
Agyabeng received the first red card of his nascent professional career with a hard challenge on Rafael Navarro in the 38th minute. Agyabeng - selected fourth overall in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft out of Clemson - has made 13 appearances across all competitions in his rookie season, starting matches in both his customary midfield spot while also deputizing at left back.
Mosquera was dismissed in second-half stoppage time for denial of an obvious goalscoring opportunity after bringing down Reggie Cannon who was breaking into the area. The Colombian centerback has impressed in his first three appearances for the club after signing from Liga MX club FC Juarez, with his imposing stature, athleticism and composure on the ball standing out.
