Sporting Kansas City vs. Minnesota United FC
Sunday, June 3, 2018 | 7:30 p.m. CT
Children's Mercy Park | Kansas City, Kansas
2018 MLS Regular Season | Game 14 of 34
Broadcast Schedule:
English TV | FS1
Spanish TV | FOX Deportes
English Radio | ESPN 94.5 FM
Spanish Radio | ESPN Deportes KC 1480 AM
Mobile | FOX Sports GO, Sporting KC Uphoria
Uphoria App | By The Numbers | Five Things to Know
Game Notes | Media Guide | MatchCenter | Videos
Sporting Kansas City kicks off the month of June on Sunday with a nationally televised showdown on FS1 against Minnesota United FC at 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets for the match at world-class Children’s Mercy Park are available via SeatGeek.com or by calling 888-4KC-GOAL to purchase the Coca-Cola Sunday Family Four Pack, consisting of four tickets, four Coke products, four hot dogs and four bags of chips.
Local radio broadcasts of Sunday’s Western Conference clash will air on ESPN 94.5 FM (English) and ESPN Deportes KC 1480 AM (Spanish), while the Sporting KC Uphoria app will provide live updates and an exclusive offer for a free box of Oreo Cookies courtesy of match sponsor Price Chopper. The game will also stream live on FOX Sports GO.
Entering the weekend with a two-point lead atop the Western Conference table, Sporting KC (7-2-4, 25 points) will put a four-game unbeaten run on the line when the club faces Minnesota (5-7-1, 16 points) for the second time in three weeks. The regional rivals previously met on May 20 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, settling for a 1-1 draw after Sporting KC striker Khiry Shelton and Loons forward Darwin Quintero traded first-half goals.
A scoreless home draw last Sunday against Columbus Crew SC gave Sporting KC their sixth clean sheet in nine games dating back to March 31. Since then, Manager Peter Vermes’ men have conceded a league-low four goals over 810 minutes of action while keeping their perch at the Western Conference summit. Second-place FC Dallas (23 points) notably hosts third-place Los Angeles Football Club (21 points) on Saturday, meaning Sporting KC could be supplanted for top spot in the West by the time Sunday’s contest kicks off.
Minnesota approaches the fixture with a degree of confidence, having disposed the Montreal Impact by a 2-0 scoreline last Saturday on home turf. Forward Christian Ramirez bagged his team-leading third goal of the campaign in the 52nd minute before playmaking midfielder Miguel Ibarra doubled the hosts’ lead six minutes later. The result came after the Loons were outplayed by Sporting KC in the most recent meeting, as Vermes’ side enjoyed a 24-6 edge in shots, 61 percent of possession and forced Minnesota goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth to make a career-high nine saves.
Sporting KC will hope Sunday’s rematch translates into three points, having smashed the Loons on both of their visits to Children's Mercy Park last season. Minnesota's first regular season trip to Kansas City coincidentally occurred on June 3, 2017, a one-sided affair that resulted in a 3-0 win for the hosts with Ike Opara and Jimmy Medranda among the goal scorers. Eleven days later, Sporting KC defeated the Loons 4-0 in the U.S. Open Cup Fourth Round — with Daniel Salloi and Gerso Fernandes joining Opara on the scoresheet — en route to lifting the tournament title last September.
As Sporting KC turns the page to June, the team’s captain continues to rewrite history books. Kansas City native Matt Besler is one shy of his 240th career regular season appearance for the club, which would tie the team record currently held by Davy Arnaud. A regular staple of Sporting KC's backline since joining out of the 2009 MLS SuperDraft, Besler is already the club's leader in regular season starts (233) and minutes played (21,001).
Vermes could be without multiple players on Sunday, as midfielder Felipe Gutierrez (sports hernia) and defender Jimmy Medranda (knee) are certain absentees. Joining them on the current injury report are a trio of players listed as questionable: Shelton (thigh), midfielder Brad Evans (thigh) and forward Diego Rubio (back).
On the opposite sideline, Minnesota head coach Adrian Heath will field a squad without a host of its normal starters. Influential midfielders Ethan Finlay and Kevin Molino will miss the rest of 2018 with ACL injuries, while veterans Marc Burch (knee), Sam Cronin (head) and Jerome Thiesson (leg) are also ruled out. That’s not to mention the absence of center back and captain Francisco Calvo, who has joined Costa Rica for 2018 FIFA World Cup preparations.
