"Five Things" is a season-long series presented by the Children's Mercy Sports Medicine Center that highlights the top storylines and players to watch ahead of each match. To visit the series archive, click here.
A marquee battle for first place in the Western Conference will unfold Sunday night at Children's Mercy Park as Sporting Kansas City (5-3-2, 17 points) and Minnesota United FC (5-3-2, 17 points) put their identical records on the line. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT with live coverage on FOX Sports Kansas City, FOX Sports Midwest, FOX Sports GO and ESPN 94.5 FM.
Sporting and Minnesota are familiar foes to say the least, having met a dozen times in all competitions over the last four seasons. Two of those head-to-head showdowns took place this summer, as the Loons prevailed in the MLS is Back Tournament before Sporting exacted revenge last month at Allianz Field.
Following detailed safety protocols developed in conjunction with the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, Wednesday's match at Children's Mercy Park will be held at a reduced capacity of approximately 14% with extensive safety protocols in place. Tickets for the game will be available exclusively to Sporting Kansas City Season Ticket Members via lottery and no single-game tickets will be sold by the club on SeatGeek.com or at the stadium box office.
With stakes looming large this weekend, we visit five prevailing storylines that surround the top-of-the-table clash.
1. Kick Childhood Cancer
In conjunction with Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, Sporting and The Victory Project will host their annual Kick Childhood Cancer match on Sunday. A variety of Kick Childhood Cancer retail items will be available at the stadium, including limited-time scarves and beanies. For every beanie sold, a beanie will be donated to Children’s Mercy Hospital. Fans can also visit victorykc.org/5050 through the end of September to participate in the Kick Childhood Cancer 50/50 raffle. One winning contestant will receive half of the net proceeds, while the other half will go to The Victory Project.
On the field, the Kick Childhood Cancer campaign will feature a commemorative gold ribbon on the adidas 2020 MLS Nativo XXV Official Match Ball, as well as gold corner flags and goal nets. Kick Childhood Cancer gold captain’s armbands and gold ribbon jersey patches will be worn by the players, while technical staff will don Kick Childhood Cancer pins and PRO referees will sport gold wristbands.
2. Tied at the Top
Level on 17 points through 10 matches, Sporting and Minnesota have the opportunity to reach the Western Conference summit with a win on Sunday. Interestingly enough, both teams have experienced similar journeys within the context of an unprecedented 2020 season thus far. Sporting and Minnesota began 2-0-0 prior to the COVID-19-induced four-month hiatus, delivered strong showings at the MLS is Back Tournament, and have earned mixed results since MLS resumed to home markets in mid-August.
Sporting returned from Walt Disney World and beat the Loons 2-1 on Aug. 21 to improve to 5-1-0, but have taken just two points from their previous four games. The Loons started 3-0-0, suffered a five-game winless skid, then rebounded with a pair of home wins last week over Real Salt Lake and FC Dallas, respectively.
3. Nicest Rivalry in Sports
As mentioned above, Manager Peter Vermes' men have met head coach Adrian Heath's side on 12 occasions since the Loons entered MLS in 2017. Sporting holds a 6-4-2 record in the overall series, including a 5-3-2 mark in the MLS regular season. The fixture has come to be known as the "Nicest Rivalry in Sports," attributed to the hospitable nature that characterizes Kansas City and Minneapolis, but competitiveness on the field has remained palpable.
Sporting will be encouraged by their home results against the Loons, who have lost on all five previous visits to Children's Mercy Park. Vermes' side has outscored Minnesota 14-1 during that five game stretch, posting four shutouts.
4. Know the Foe
The Loons have proven to be one of the more dynamic MLS sides during the first half of 2020. Experienced midfielder Kevin Molino is tied for fifth in MLS with a team-leading five goals, having scored twice in Wednesday's 3-2 home win over FC Dallas, while Robin Lod, Ethan Finlay and Luis Amarilla have all bagged multiple goals this season to go with Jan Gregus' five assists.
The emerging X-factor in Minnesota, however, could be newly acquired Argentine playmaker Emanuel "Bebelo" Reynoso. The 25-year-old midfielder joined the Loons on Sept. 1 from South American powerhouse Boca Juniors and has recorded assists in each of his first two MLS starts—a convincing 4-0 beatdown of RSL and the 3-2 defeat of Dallas.
5. Goals Galore
Sunday's fixture will feature two of the best attacking teams in MLS. Minnesota is tied for second in the league with 2.1 goals per game, while Sporting is fourth at a clip of 2.0 per game. The hosts are also chasing a bit of history, as they have scored in each of their first 10 regular season matches for the first time since 2007. The all-time club record to start a season is 12 straight games with a goal.
Sporting's deep offensive corps includes forward Khiry Shelton (four goals), midfielder Gadi Kinda (four goals, two assists), striker Alan Pulido (three goals, four assists), winger Johnny Russell (two goals) and center forward Erik Hurtado, who has two goals in just 97 minutes of action.
