Sporting Kansas City hosts the Montreal Impact Saturday night at Sporting Park. The match kicks off at 7:30 p.m. CT and can be seen on KMCI-TV (38 the Spot) and SKCTV across the Midwest and heard on Sports Radio 810-WHB and La Gran D 1340. Limited tickets are available and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com or by calling 888-4KC-GOAL.
Here are five things you should know ahead of Saturday's match at Sporting Park:
1. Replacing Rosell
Whether you agree with the red card or not, what is 100% certain is that Sporting KC will be playing Saturday's match without their starting defensive midfielder. So who will replace Uri Rosell in the lineup on Saturday?
Kenyan midfielder Lawrence Olum has seen his fair share of time at defensive midfielder - including 112 minutes in place of an injured Rosell in last year's MLS Cup Final. Tenacious Brazilian Paulo Nagamura is another experienced midfielder who could slip seamlessly into the roll. Whoever does step into the roll on Saturday, that player will have big shoes to fill as the 21-year-old Rosell has proven to be one of the rising stars in MLS in only his second full season in the league.
And if you're looking for Rosell on Saturday, the Spanish midfielder will be bringing 'La Pausa' to the broadcast booth as he makes his debut as a guest commentator for La Gran D 1340 during the Sporting KC / Montreal Impact broadcast.
VIDEO: Peter Vermes Press Conference
2. Overcoming injuries
There is never a good time to get struck with the injury bug and Peter Vermes has been forced to mix and match players more than usual during the season's first month. Through the first five games, 22 different Sporting KC players have seen the field in MLS action.
Ahead of Saturday's match, C.J. Sapong (neck strain), Ike Opara (right lower leg contusion) and Peterson Joseph (illness) are all out for Sporting KC. Sapong has not seen the field since a 15-minute appearance off the bench against the San Jose Earthquakes on March 22 while both Opara and Joseph are not expected to return in 2014.
3. Sporting KC fully rested
After a hectic first month to start the season, Sporting KC had a bye last weekend. The extra week allowed Peter Vermes more time to plan for the absence of Rosell as well as more time to get Chance Myers, who made his season debut against Real Salt Lake on April 5, and Soony Saad, who missed the first month of the year with a groin strain, back to full fitness.
Since Vermes took over as Manager, Sporting KC has had 13 different instances where the squad has had 13 or more days between MLS games. In those instances, Vermes' side has a 6-4-3 record in the second game after the break, with the team's last loss after a 12 or more day rest coming on May 5, 2012 ... to the Montreal Impact.
VIDEO: Frank Klopas talks #SKCvMTL
4. Impact going for first win
While Sporting KC carries a four-game unbeaten streak into Saturday's match, things have not gone well for the Montreal Impact and new head coach Frank Klopas. Montreal is winless in six games with a -4 goal differential. On the plus side, the Impact have tied their last three games after losing their first three.
Last year, Montreal went 1-2-0 against Sporting KC including a 2-1 win at Sporting Park on June 1. Can Klopas lead his current club to its first win of the year against his former club?
5. New-look attack for Montreal
It's not often you see blockbuster trades in Major League Soccer. But that's exactly what happened two weeks ago when the Montreal Impact traded 2012 No. 1 overall draft pick Andrew Wenger to the Philadelphia Union for 2010 first round draft pick Jack McInerney. In 4+ seasons with Philadelphia, McInerey scored 26 goals including a career-best 12 in 2013. McInerney's partnership with Italian forward Marco Di Vaio will go a long way to determining whether or not Montreal returns to the MLS Cup Playoffs for the second consecutive year.
