Sporting KC will kick off a stretch of two games in four days when they host Toronto FC Friday night at Sporting Park. The match will kick off at 7:30 p.m. and can be seen locally on KMCI-TV and across the Midwest on SKCTV as well as nationally on Univision Deportes. Tonight's match can also be heard locally 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 Sunday's match at Toyota Park.
1. National team selections
Let's talk about this of the bat. Matt Besler and Graham Zusi are missing their second consecutive game after being named to U.S. Soccer's preliminary World Cup roster. Last night, Besler and Zusi, along with Toronto FC midfielder Michael Bradley were named to the 23-man roster for the World Cup. So none of those players will be in Kansas City tonight or will be available until the beginning of July, at the earliest.
In addition, Sporting KC defender Lawrence Olum is with Kenya for African Cup of Nations qualifiers and Toronto FC goalkeeper Julio Cesar is with Brazil for their World Cup training camp. With Sporting KC and Toronto FC expected to miss key players for the next month-and-a-half, both Sporting KC Manager Peter Vermes and Toronto FC head coach Ryan Nelson will need to find ways to pick up points and not fall behind in an improved Eastern Conference.
VIDEO: #SKCvTOR Preview
2. Center backs, center backs, center backs
The other elephant in the room is Sporting KC's lack of available center backs. Besler and Olum are with their respective national teams, Ike Opara is out for the season, Aurelien Collin is questionable for Friday night and Erik Palmer-Brown is suspended after picking up a red card in last week's MLS debut.
Last week, Vermes moved to 3-5-2 with Palmer-Brown as the lone center back. Will Sporting KC stick with a similar formation this week or will the defending MLS Cup champs resort back to their preferred 4-3-3?
3. Englishman vs. Englishman
Whether or not you feel Jermain Defoe should be with the England national team for the World Cup, it is undeniable that he is one of the elite strikers in Major League Soccer. In five games with Toronto FC, Defoe has four goals, including a beautiful strike last week in a 2-0 win over the New York Red Bulls
On the flip side is Dom Dwyer, a brash Brit who is looking to make his mark in MLS. In his third season with Sporting Kansas City, Dwyer has tallied eight times through 11 games and has scored in three straight. If he scores again Friday night, he'll become just the third player in Kansas City history to score in four straight matches.
Which Brit will come out on top Friday night? Tune in to 38 the Spot at 7:30 p.m. CT to find out.
VIDEO: Vermes talks #SKCvTOR
4. Ending the losing streak
In 2013, Sporting KC lost back-to-back games on three separate occasions. But you have to go back to August 2012 for the last time Peter Vermes' squad lost three in a row.
The last three two-game losing streaks have ended in triumphant fashion with Sporting KC outscoring their opponents 9-1 in three home matches. Will lightning strike for a fourth time at Sporting Park?
5. The need for points
As MLS did in 2010, the League will take a two-week break during the group stage of the World Cup. It's good for teams on the downside who get a few weeks off and bad for teams on a winning streak who lose any momentum they had gained.
So where do Sporting KC and Toronto FC stand among those groups? Well we already said Sporting KC had lost two in a row, and with a home game against New York looming on Tuesday, Vermes' squad can ill-afford to drop additional points.Toronto is currently on the outskirts of the final playoff spot, but games in hand on everyone else in the Eastern Conference - including three on Sporting KC and FIVE on Houston - head coach Ryan Nelson will use every opportunity to grab points and prove that the $100 million spent in the offseason on Bradley and Defoe was money well-spent.
For full coverage of the match, visit SportingKC.com/Gameon.
