Sporting Kansas City at Real Salt Lake
2025 MLS Regular Season | Match 30
Saturday, Sept. 13 | 8:30 p.m. CT (8:40 kickoff)
America First Field | Sandy, Utah
Watch: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV | Pub Partners
Listen: 810 AM or 103.7 FM | SKC App
More: 5 Things | By the Numbers | Game Notes
After back-to-back home matches, Sporting Kansas City returns to the road this weekend to visit Real Salt Lake at 8:30 p.m. CT on Saturday at America First Field in Sandy, Utah.
Saturday's showdown will be available to watch in English (Nate Bukaty and Devon Kerr) and Spanish (Raul Guzman and Ashley Gonzalez) via MLS Season Pass on Apple TV while local radio coverage will air on Sports Radio 810 WHB (Blake Aerni and Jon Kempin).
Pub partners in the Sporting Pub Network will also show all of the action, including a RSLvSKC watch party at No Other Pub in the Kansas City Power & Light District featuring $4 domestic drafts, $5 wells and 50% off nachos for fans in SKC gear starting at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday.
While Real Salt Lake last played three weeks ago - falling to a third straight loss in a 3-1 defeat against Minnesota -- Sporting Kansas City suffered a 2-1 setback at the hands of Austin FC last weekend. Dejan Joveljic converted a penalty kick for his 17th goal of the season, third most in MLS and third most in a single season in club history. The Serbian striker has scored 38 MLS goals (including playoffs) since the start of 2024, second most in the league behind Lionel Messi (39 goals).
On the opposite side, Real Salt Lake's offense is led by MLS All-Star Diego Luna -- who leads the team in goals (eight) and assists (five) -- along with Designated Player Diogo Goncalves who is tied for second in both categories with three goals and three assists. Real Salt Lake's attacking options also feature two former SKC forwards in Johnny Russell (two goals in 10 games this year) and Willy Agada (two goals in 22 games this year).
Russell played seven seasons in Kansas City from 2018-2024 in which the Scottish winger captained SKC the last four years and amassed 67 goals -- second most in club history -- in addition to 52 assists in 232 appearances. Agada, who contributed 24 goals and six assists in 77 appearances for SKC from 2022-2025, was acquired by RSL via a trade in April.
Real Salt Lake's attacking corps also includes 18-year-old academy product Zavier Gozo (three goals in 21 games this year). Gozo and Sporting KC midfielder Jacob Bartlett -- the youngest player, at age 19, to appear in 25 MLS matches this season -- were each recently named to a list of the top 200 teenagers in the sport globally by the CIES Football Observatory.
The Western Conference match-up renews a longstanding rivalry between Sporting Kansas City and Real Salt Lake highlighted by three meetings in the MLS Cup Playoffs. Sporting notably defeated RSL in the 2013 MLS Cup at Children’s Mercy Park, prevailing 7-6 on penalties after a 1-1 draw. Sporting also eliminated RSL in the 2018 Western Conference Semifinals by a 5-3 scoreline on aggregate, while RSL earned a 2-1 comeback win over SKC in the Western Conference Semifinals in 2021.
The two sides last met on June 28 in a 1-1 draw at Children's Mercy Park as club captain Erik Thommy scored a second-half equalizer. The German playmaker recently recovered from a hip injury that sidelined him for six matches this summer as he returned to the field last weekend as a second-half substitute,
The previous match-up with Real Salt Lake 11 weeks ago was the last time Sporting played an opponent below the playoff line, however RSL's roster looks decidedly different after an active secondary transfer window. The hosts parted ways with five players and acquired forwards Rwan Cruz (loan from Botafogo) and Victor Olatunji (transfer from Sparta Prague) in addition to World Cup veteran DeAndre Yedlin (trade with FC Cincinnati).
Yedlin will miss Saturday's match while serving a one-game suspension for caution accumulation and RSL will also be without four players due to injury: Matthew Bell (hamstring), Zac MacMath (back), Javain Brown (knee) and Mason Stajduhar (hand). In addition, Kobi Henry (concussion) and Pablo Ruiz (quad strain) are both questionable for RSLvSKC.
Sporting Kansas City will also be shorthanded as Zorhan Bassong serves his one-game suspension for caution accumulation after returning from international duty while defenders Andrew Brody (quad) and Ian James (head) are both ruled out on the team's player availability report.
