The hosts will be desperate for a win at Children’s Mercy Park to set up a Round One derby against local rivals St. Louis City SC.
William GittinsWillGittUpdate: Oct 25th, 2023 12:34 EDT
Denny MedleyUSA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
The second of the newly-introduced MLS Wild Card fixtures sees Sporting Kansas City take on San Jose Earthquakes at Children’s Mercy Park.
The two teams finished level on points in the Western Conference and there is little to choose between the two sides across the season. Their two regular season matches finished with a 3-0 victory for the home side, suggesting that Sporting KC will are the favourites to progress to in front of a raucous home crowd.
The winner in this single-legged Wild Card game will take on St. Louis City SC in the next round, setting up the tantalising prospect of a ‘soccer city’ derby if Sporting make it through.
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Season of two halves for both sides
Sporting KC looked destined to miss out on the post-season after a shocking start to the 2023 campaign, which saw them go their first ten MLS matches without a single victory. However the return of Designated Player striker Alan Pulido from a long-term knee injury sparked a upturn in their fortunes and the Mexican has hit 14 goals in his comeback season.
It has been a different story for San Jose, who looked to be cruising to the playoffs until suffering a poor run of form in the final two months of the season. They have won just one of their last 11 MLS fixtures and forfeited their Wild Card home advantage after a drab 1-1 home draw against already-eliminated Austin FC on the final day of the regular season.
With thanks to our friends at Sofascore, here’s how the two sides compare in MLS this season…
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Sofascore Sporting Kansas City vs San Jose Earthquakes
In addition to Pulido, Sporting KC has been boosted by the recent performances of team captain Johnny Russell. The 33-year-old has missed parts of the season due to injury but recorded eight goal contributions in the final ten games to push his team to the playoffs.
For San Jose the attacking burden has often fallen on the shoulders of Christian Espinoza. The 28-year-old winger has contributed 13 goals and eight assists in MLS this season.
This was no accident. It's time show 'em what we're made of.🔜 T-Minus 24 hours🕣 8:30 PM CT kickoff 🖥️ Watch on #MLSSeasonPass on @AppleTV 👉 https://t.co/2zDMFMNrUKBetter yet: be there, side-by-side with us tomorrow 🎟️ https://t.co/tUtQ3gzD6X#PaintTheWall | #SportingKC pic.twitter.com/nlvxLQUiZL
— Sporting Kansas City (@SportingKC) October 25, 2023
Sporting Kansas City vs San Jose Earthquakes team news
Neither team picked up any suspensions or sustained any long-term injuries in their final games of the regular season, but there are a few fitness issues for the hosts to consider.
Sporting manager Peter Vermes withdrew Johnny Russell towards the end of last Saturday’s win over Minnesota United. The Sporting captain had been an injury doubt ahead of the game but was able to play and proved decisive, but his fitness could become an issue if Sporting go deep in the playoffs.
