Sporting Kansas City at Real Salt Lake
Friday, July 24 – 10 p.m. CT
Rio Tinto Stadium | Sandy, Utah
English TV: 38 the Spot
Spanish TV: UniMas
Spanish Radio: La Grande 1340 AM
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Sporting Kansas City will travel to Real Salt Lake this weekend with first place in the MLS standings on the line. Friday's match at Rio Tinto Stadium will kick off at 10 p.m. CT with national TV coverage available on UniMas. The match will also be carried locally on 38 the Spot and La Grande 1340 AM.
Sporting Kansas City is in the midst of a five-game winning streak across all competition. Sporting KC's last loss came at the hands of Real Salt Lake on June 21 at Rio Tinto Stadium. It was the second meeting of the season between these two clubs after playing to a scoreless draw at Sporting Park on April 11. Sebastian Jaime and Olmes Garcia scored for Real Salt Lake in the previous meeting with Javier Morales earning assists on both goals. Morales has seven assists in 2015, three behind Sporting KC midfielder Benny Feilhaber, who is currently second in MLS. Feilhaber assisted on Dom Dwyer’s goal in the 2-1 defeat against Salt Lake in June.
Dwyer (6), Feilhaber (6) and Krisztian Nemeth (7) are Sporting KC’s leading goalscorers this season and Sporting KC is the only team in MLS to have three players with six goals or more in 2015. Sporting KC is coming off a 3-1 victory over the Houston Dynamo in the quarterfinals of the 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Dwyer, Feilhaber and Nemeth each recorded a goal in the victory to help Sporting KC advance to the next round of the tournament. Sporting KC will next face Real Salt Lake in the semifinals on August 12 at Sporting Park.
RSL also played Houston in the team’s last outing earning a 2-0 victory in MLS play at Rio Tinto Stadium with goals from Morales and Joao Plata.
Sporting KC is the only MLS team with a winning road record since the beginning of 2011 (including postseason), compiling a 31-30-20 mark away from home. Friday marks the third match in a span of seven days for Sporting KC with the victory against Houston on Tuesday and a 2-1 result against Montreal last Saturday.
Manager Peter Vermes will be without MLS All-Star winger Graham Zusi who is currently with the U.S. Men’s National Team for the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup. The U.S. MNT will close the tournament on Saturday against Panama in the third-place match. Ike Opara (left Achilles) and Jalil Anibaba (left thigh strain) are also unavailable on Friday due to injuries. Sporting KC defender Amobi Okugo - who was acquired via trade on Monday in exchange for Servando Carrasco - will be available for selection for the match.
Real Salt Lake Manager Jeff Cassar will also be shorthanded on Friday as midfielder Kyle Beckerman and goalkeeper Nick Rimando are with the U.S. MNT. Jamaican defender Demar Phillips is questionable for the match after picking up an injury while with Jamaica for the Gold Cup, while Jamison Olave remains out with a right groin strain that he suffered in the sixth minute of Real Salt Lake’s scoreless draw against the Colorado Rapids on June 7.
In-game updates are available at SportingKC.com/GameOn and via Twitter @SKCGameday.
