Five Things is a weekly series on SportingKC.com that highlights the top storylines, players to watch and matchday programming ahead of each game throughout the season.
A marquee matchup beckons Wednesday when the top two teams in the Supporters' Shield standings square off at the extravagant Mercedes-Benz Stadium in downtown Atlanta. Sporting Kansas City (6-2-2, 20 points) and Atlanta United FC (7-1-1, 22 points) are on a collision course after racing out to strong starts in 2018, and the storylines surrounding the interconference clash are both numerous and compelling.
We examine five of those narratives in the space below, with kickoff set for 6:30 p.m. CT Wednesday on FOX Sports Kansas City Plus, FOX Sports Midwest Plus, FOX Sports GO, Sports Radio 810 WHB (English) and ESPN Deportes KC 1480 AM (Spanish).
1. Cream of the Crop
Don't take our word for it. MLSsoccer.com is dubbing Wednesday's matchup between division leaders as a potential MLS Cup preview. Sporting KC has a four-point lead in the West thanks to an improved attack — the club ranks second in MLS with 21 goals — and a defense that has returned to its stingy ways over the last month with clean sheets in four of the last six games.
Atlanta took MLS by storm during its inaugural 2017 season and hasn't skipped a beat in the early stages of a rampant sophomore campaign under manager Gerardo "Tata" Martino. The Five Stripes are considered by many to be the class of the league, and it would be hard to argue otherwise given their 7-0-1 record since Week 2.
At first glance, Wednesday's clash features a contrast of styles. Since the start of 2017, no team has scored more regular season goals than Atlanta's 93. The Five Stripes are one of two teams alongside Toronto FC to average more than two goals per game during that time period. Contrarily, Sporting KC's 41 goals allowed over the last two seasons are the fewest in the league (0.93 per game). Yet both teams have shown competency on both sides of the ball. Atlanta's 15 clean sheets since 2017 are tied with Sporting KC for most in MLS, while Sporting KC has scored 21 times in 10 matches this season.
It's fair to say that Atlanta enjoys playing in the cavernous confines of Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where raucous crowds surpassing 70,000 have gathered to watch the high-scoring side on three separate occasions. Since hosting their first match at the $1.6 billion stadium on Sept. 10, 2017, Atlanta has posted a 9-1-3 regular season home record with a remarkable 44 goals scored in those 13 games. That's a gaudy clip of 3.4 goals per match. Arguably more absurd is the fact that Atlanta has scored at least twice in every regular season home game at the venue.
As mentioned above, Sporting KC boasts the best defensive record in MLS over the last two seasons. Wednesday's battle will put that very record to the test.
3. Dynamic Duo
Two of the biggest contributors to Atlanta's devastating attack are a pair of gifted 24-year-olds who steamrolled to MLS Best XI honors last season. Venezuelan striker Josef Martinez, who leads MLS with seven goals this season, has scored 26 times in 29 career regular season appearances. That includes 15 goals in 12 games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Sitting behind Martinez in the attacking midfield area is Paraguayan Miguel Almiron. The dynamic playmaker is tied for second in MLS with six goals and leads the league with 49 shots. He has amassed 15 goals and 19 assists in 39 regular season appearances dating back to last year, also ranking among the league's most prolific chance creators.
Needless to say, part of Sporting KC's recipe for success on Wednesday will be limiting the impact of both Martinez and Almiron.
Martino wields perhaps the best resume among MLS coaches. The 55-year-old Argentine notably coached Spanish powerhouse FC Barcelona in 2013-14, then led the Argentina Men's National Team from 2014-16. His pedigree has translated into plenty of success during his first two seasons in Major League Soccer, as Atlanta has wasted no time becoming a trophy contender with an attack-minded and often irresistible playing style.
On the opposite sideline is Peter Vermes, one of the most successful coaches in the history of MLS. The 51-year-old, who extended his contract with Sporting KC through 2023 on Monday, has won four major trophies since taking the helm in 2009 — the second most among active MLS coaches behind Sigi Schmid. Vermes has his team clicking two months into the 2018 campaign, and an eighth straight trip to the MLS Cup Playoffs is looking like a good bet.
5. Turf Travels
In an interesting schedule quirk, Sporting KC will play its second of four straight road games on artificial turf. Vermes' men visited the New England Revolution on April 28 and will soon travel to meet Minnesota United FC (May 20) and the Portland Timbers (June 9). The match against New England, a 1-0 defeat decided by a controversial Teal Bunbury goal, was largely disjointed and saw Sporting KC post a season-low in passing accuracy. The club trained on Pinnacle's turf fields Monday and Tuesday, giving the players more reps on the surface they'll see Wednesday night.
