Only three regular season home games remain for Sporting Kansas City and none are more important (as of now) than this one. Sporting KC will host the New England Revolution tonight in the final match of this year's three-game regular season series. The match will be televised nationally on NBC Sports Network with pregame coverage starting at 7 p.m. CT. Friday's match can also be heard locally on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Gran D 1340.
Here are five things you should know ahead of tonight's match vs. New England.
1. Fight in the East
The top two teams in Major League Soccer might reside in the Western Conference, but the Eastern Conference is where the ultimate playoff race is taking place. Eight points separate the top five teams. Sporting KC is in second place, three points behind D.C. United. New England is in third place, three points behind Sporting KC. So how big is tonight's match at Sporting Park? You do the math.
Tonight is also the first of two major nationally-televised Eastern Conference showdowns this weekend, as D.C. United hosts the Philadelphia Union Saturday afternoon on NBCSN.
2. MVP candidates on display
There is always a debate when it comes to the MVP award. Does it go to the best player on the best team? Or does it go to the most indispensible player across the League? If you are picking the latter, then two names who need to be toward the top of your list are Sporting KC forward Dom Dwyer and Revolution midfielder Lee Nguyen.
Sporting KC has scored 43 goals in 2014. 19 of those have come from Dwyer, who broke the club's single season scoring record two weeks ago at Chivas USA. Although the scoring is a bit more balanced in New England, Nguyen does lead his team with 13 goals and four assists. You also can't forget his league-leading seven game-winning goals. Nguyen has also proved a nuisance for Sporting KC this year with three goals in the team's previous two meetings.
3. Teal's return
After spending the first four years of his MLS career in Kansas City, Teal Bunbury was traded to the New England Revolution this past February. Bunbury has adapted quickly to his new surroundings with four goals and four assists in 2014. And similar to Nguyen, Bunbury has gotten it done against his former team, with a goal in each of the team's prior two matches. Can he make it three for three on Friday?
4. International stars take center stage
Friday night's match could feature four players who played at the 2014 FIFA World Cup (Sporting KC's Matt Besler, Graham Zusi and Jorge Claros and New England's Jermaine Jones) and another who represented the United States in South Africa four years ago (Sporting KC's Benny Feilhaber). There is no shortage of talent that will take the field Friday night, and with two teams who like to go on the attack, tonight's match is a must-watch for any MLS fan.
5. Matchday essentials
We've already told you why you need to be at Sporting Park tonight, but here's how you do it. If you don't already have tickets to the match (HEADS UP: Tonight's match WILL sell out) you can call 888-4KC-GOAL, visit the Sporting Park Box Office or click here. And if you can't make it to the match, you can watch it on NBCSN starting at 7 p.m. CT with local radio coverage on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Gran D 1340.
For full coverage of the match, visit SportingKC.com/Gameon.
Lastly, are you concerned about missing the Kansas City Royals opportunity to clinch a playoff spot for the first time since 1985? Don't be.
