Sporting Kansas City at Minnesota United FC
2022 MLS Regular Season | Match 21
Wednesday, July 13 | 7 p.m. CT (7:08 kickoff)
Allianz Field | St. Paul, Minnesota
English TV | ESPN
Spanish TV | ESPN Deportes
Streaming | ESPN.com, ESPN App
English Radio | Sports Radio 810 WHB
Spanish Radio | La Grande 1340 AM
By The Numbers | 5 Things | How to Watch | Sports Medicine Report | Sporting KC App | MatchCenter | @SKCMatchday
Sporting Kansas City (5-11-4, 19 points) will continue the club's three-game road trip on Wednesday against Minnesota United FC (8-8-3, 27 points) in a nationally-televised MLS HeinekenĀ® Rivalry Week match-up on ESPN and ESPN Deportes. Kick off is set for 7 p.m. CT at Allianz Field, the venue for the 2022 MLS All-Star Game presented by Target next month.
Sporting KC pub partners across the Midwest will be showing the match-up with Minnesota and local radio broadcasts will also air on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM.
Sporting Kansas City are a perfect 4-0-0 this season in mid-week matches and will enter Wednesday's Western Conference clash on the heels of a 2-1 road win at CF Montreal on Saturday. After falling behind in the first 15 minutes, Roger Espinoza scored on a sensational shot from 45 yards out to spark the rally and Remi Walter struck in the second half to complete the comeback.
Espinoza, who is currently aĀ candidate for AT&T MLS Goal of the WeekĀ . will serve a one-match suspension on Wednesday for caution accumulation as Peter Vermes manages a shorthanded squad amidst a stretch of the schedule featuring three away matches in three different time zones in a nine-day span. Designated Players Alan Pulido and Gadi Kinda remain sidelined, while Graham Zusi has missed the team's last two matches due to injury.
One constant for Sporting KC this season has been the presence of Walter in the midfield. The only field player to start all 20 of the club's MLS matches, Walter leads MLS in distance covered with 134.7 miles of movement and ranks third among MLS players with 157 recoveries.
Minnesota United are also coming off an impressive comeback win on the road as the Loons scored three goals in the final 20 minutes of a 3-1 victory in Vancouver last Friday. Minnesota are now riding a three-match winning streak in which the club scored three goals in each game - a feat that Sporting, the lowest scoring team in MLS this season, has yet to achieve in 2022.
Minnesota's dynamic attack is led by South American Designated Players Emanuel Reynoso, a two-time MLS All-Star who has contributed a career-high seven goals and five assists this year, and Luis Amarilla, who has a goal or an assist in each of his last four matches and leads MLS with four game-winning goals. Finnish international Robin Lod also remains a key playmaker with six goals and two assists, while goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair was named an MLS All-Star on Tuesday and is part of the Canada Men's National Team that has qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Sporting Kansas City has faced Minnesota more than any other opponent since the Loons joined MLS in 2017 with an 8-6-3 record in the 17 meetings across all competitions. The two sides split the three-game series in 2021 which began with a scoreless draw before Minnesota earned a 2-1 home win on Halloween to avenge a 4-0 loss in Kansas City.
Sporting Kansas City forward Khiry Shelton, who provided the game-winning assist on Saturday, has four goals in seven all-time regular season games against Minnesota, including goals in each of the previous two match-ups. Club captain Johnny Russell has also found success in the series with two goals and eight assists in 10 regular season appearances against the Loons. Only Colorado Rapids winger Michael Barrios -- with three goals and eight assists -- has more goal contributions all-time against Minnesota than Russell.
Following Wednesday's match, The Final Whistle postgame show will air on Sports Radio 810 WHB with hosts Chad Reynolds and Dave Borchardt. Listeners can tune in via the Sporting KC mobile app or online at 810WHB.com.
