Sporting KC will play their final match before MLS breaks for the 2014 FIFA Wrold Cup on Friday when they take on the Houston Dynamo at BBVA Compass Stadium. The match will kick off at 7:30 p.m. CT on 38 the Spot and across the Midwest on SKCTV. Saturday's match can also be heard locally on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Gran D 1340. Sporting KC's official watch party for the match will be at Johnny's Tavern in Power and Light and Prairie Village.
Here are five things you should know ahead of Friday's match vs. Houston.
1. Familiar foes
These two teams play each other A LOT. Since 2011, they have met eight times during the regular sesaon, another five times in the playoffs and once during Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup qualification. They say that familiarity breeds contempt and that has never been more evident than between Sporting Kansas City and the Houston Dynamo, two teams that have formed a bitter rivalry over the past three years.
Houston knocked Kansas City out of the playoffs in 2011 and 2012. Kansas City returned the favor in 2013 and also snapped Houston's 36-game home unbeaten streak.
Over the past three years, Sporting KC has a 5-4-5 record vs. Houston in all competitions and has not lost in Houston since November 2012.
VIDEO: #HOUvSKC Scouting Report
2. Finish on a high note
May did not go the way Sporting Kansas City had planned. In seven games played, Kansas City won only two and has not won in their previous five.
Friday's match is the last one before a three-week break before the World Cup. Kansas City would love nothing more than to end on a high note and carry momentum into the short break.
3. A struggling side
Sporting KC is not the only team that needs a win. Houston has lost three straight games by a combined score of 8-0. Although they current sit in fourth place, only two points behind Kansas City in the standings, the Dynamo have conceded a League-high 27 goals and have twice allowed four or more goals at home in 2014.
You can't win a championship in June, but Houston does not want to play catch-up the rest of 2014 and would love to use Friday's match as a springboard for the rest of the season.
4. National team absences
Both Sporting KC and the Houston Dynamo have been hit hard by the World Cup. Kansas City is without Matt Besler and Graham Zusi, while Houston is without Brad Davis and Boniek Garcia. Davis leads Houston with five assists in 2014 and the Davis-Garcia midfield tandem has proven to be one of the League's best over the past two years.
Only six goals have been scored between the two sides over the past five meetings, so with three of the League's top attacking talent missing for Friday's match, we could be in for another defensive battle at BBVA Compass Stadium.
5. Johnny's Tavern Watch Party
Fans are encouraged to join the club’s official watch party tonight at Johnny’s Tavern in Power and Light District and in Prarie Village. Select Boulevard draft specials will be available, as well as the “Blue Believer” signature cocktail.
For full coverage of the match, visit SportingKC.com/Gameon.
