Sporting Kansas City is back on the road this weekend when the team visits Atlanta United at Mercedes-Benz Stadium for Sunday Night Soccer. Kickoff is set for 6 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. LOOKING TO BUILD POSITIVE MOMENTUM
Sporting Kansas City will look to build on the positive performance shown on Wednesday night when the team played to a 1-1 draw with St. Louis at Sporting Park, ensuring the team’s biggest rivals have still never won a road game in Kansas City in the all-time series.
Sporting will now face off against Atlanta United at Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the first time in four-and-a-half years, having last visited the venue during the season opener on Feb. 27, 2022, falling to a 3-1 defeat. Sporting produced the team’s highest expected goals total of the season on Wednesday against St. Louis at 2.4, narrowly surpassing the 2.3 generated in the 3-1 win over the LA Galaxy on May 13, 2026.
Rookie Kwaku Agyabeng and newly-signed defender Moises Mosquera are both eligible to return on Sunday after the duo both served their one-game suspensions on Wednesday, having received red cards in last Saturday’s loss at Colorado.
Sporting has gone 1-4-1 since the World Cup break as the roster continues to be reconfigured with incomings and outgoings during the summer transfer window which remains open until early September.
2. FIRST MEETING WITH ATLANTA IN OVER FOUR YEARS
Sporting Kansas City hits the road this weekend to face off against Eastern Conference side Atlanta United in Major League Soccer’s marquee Sunday Night Soccer matchup at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Sporting and Atlanta have not met since the opening weekend of the 2022 season, four-and-a-half years ago. That night, Sporting visited Mercedes-Benz Stadium and fell to a 3-1 defeat. Luiz Araujo and Dom Dwyer put Atlanta into a 2-0 lead before Daniel Salloi gave Sporting hope late on only for Caleb Wiley to score in the closing moments of the match to seal the points.
Prior to that, the two sides had not played one another since the 2019 season when Atlanta earned a 3-0 victory at Sporting Park on May 5, 2019. Sporting, coming off a bruising Concacaf Champions Cup campaign, were second best on the night as Josef Martinez scored twice to go along with a goal from Ezequiel Barco.
Sporting trails the all-time regular-season series 1-2-1, having claimed victory at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2018 during Atlanta’s MLS Cup championship season when Salloi and Gerso Fernandes scored in the second half of a 2-0 victory.
3. HARRIS SHINES vs. STL, RECEIVES LEAGUE HONORS
Sporting Kansas City forward Calvin Harris produced an excellent performance midweek during the team’s 1-1 draw with rivals St. Louis at Sporting Park on Wednesday night. Harris scored the equalizing goal in the second half of the match, leading to a spot on the bench of the MLS Team of the Matchday.
In the 55th minute, Harris was slipped through on goal by Taylor Calheira and the Englishman showed great composure to slam a finish off the near post and into the back of the net for Sporting’s 1,000th home goal in all competitions. The goal was initially disallowed for offside, but after intervention from the Video Assistant Referee, the goal was awarded.
Harris now ranks second on the team with eight goal contributions, having tallied three goals and a team-leading five assists in his maiden season in Kansas City.
Harris joined SKC this past offseason after tallying 22 goals and 11 assists in his professional career, including 11 goals and 10 assists in 101 MLS regular-season appearances with FC Cincinnati (2021-2022) and the Colorado Rapids (2023-2025).
4. CALHEIRA IMPRESSES ON RETURN TO LINEUP
Sporting Kansas City forward Taylor Calheira made his return to the starting lineup on Wednesday during the team’s 1-1 draw with St. Louis at Sporting Park. Calheira recovered from an ankle injury sustained during the World Cup break to make a substitute appearance in Colorado last weekend before being restored to the lineup on Wednesday.
Calheira was a constant thorn in St. Louis’ side throughout the match with his energy, press and ability to drive the team forward. Calheira capped his time-managed 64 minutes on the field with the first primary assist of his MLS career when his pin-point through ball picked out Calvin Harris to equalize in the 55th minute.
Calheira joined Sporting in a transfer from FC Tulsa in the USL Championship back in February having enjoyed a prolific start to his professional career, tallying 38 goals and 10 assists in 69 matches while representing Tulsa in 2025 and NYCFC II in MLS NEXT Pro in 2024. Sporting is now 2-1-1 in Calheira’s four starts, with the club recording its four highest expected goals totals of the season in those matches.
5. 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.
