Has Sporting Kansas City stumbled upon a piece of new bulletin board material heading into the 2021 campaign?
Take a look at MLSsoccer.com's season-opening power rankings and decide for yourself.
Manager Peter Vermes' men finished atop the Western Conference regular season standings last year, setting a club record with 1.86 points per game, and returns the core of a team that was on track to host MLS Cup before falling to Minnesota United FC in the conference semifinals.
Despite that, MLSsoccer.com has tabbed Sporting at No. 11 in the first power rankings of the season. The full list is detailed below.
MLSsoccer.com 2021 Preseason Power Rankings
- Columbus Crew SC
- LAFC
- Portland Timbers
- Philadelphia Union
- Minnesota United FC
- New England Revolution
- Orlando City SC
- Seattle Sounders FC
- Toronto FC
- Atlanta United FC
- Sporting Kansas City
- FC Dallas
- New York City FC
- Colorado Rapids
- Nashville SC
- San Jose Earthquakes
- New York Red Bulls
- LA Galaxy
- Chicago Fire FC
- Inter Miami CF
- Austin FC
- Vancouver Whitecaps FC
- D.C. United
- Houston Dynamo FC
- FC Cincinnati
- Real Salt Lake
- CF Montreal
The 2021 regular season will begin in earnest on Friday and carry into Saturday when Sporting visits fellow MLS original New York Red Bulls in a 7 p.m. CT showdown at Red Bull Arena. Three hours of live coverage will begin at 6:30 p.m. CT on Bally Sports Kansas City, Bally Sports Midwest Plus and FOX Sports GO, while Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM will provide local radio broadcasts.
In conjunction with Saturday's match, Sporting fans are invited to attend an outdoor watch party at Children’s Mercy Park when the club hosts its Season Kickoff presented by Michelob Ultra. Supporters can secure their free ticket to the Season Kickoff at SeatGeek.com or the SeatGeek app, with stadium gates opening at 5:30 p.m. CT and select concessions and SportingStyle locations open to guests. The watch party will utilize distanced outdoor seating in the stadium bowl with the match shown on the north and south videoboards. Face coverings will be mandatory for all in attendance.
