The Impact returns to Stade Saputo this Saturday at 7:30pm EDT for its only showdown of the regular season against Sporting Kansas City (TVA Sports, 98,5fm & TSN Radio 690 - TICKETS). Here are 10 things to know about the day’s opponent.
Context
Sporting Kansas City kicked off its season with a bang: three wins in three games. Since then, the team has won as many games in 14 attempts. Fourth in the Western Conference, Sporting KC has played more games than any of its nearest rivals and is just regaining form. A 2-0 win against Dallas last Sunday felt good, but the result could have been much different had the Texans finished their first-half opportunities – and if the officiating crew had been able to validate an obvious goal on a back-pass that goalkeeper Tim Melia misjudged.
Current form (MLS)
L-W-L-L-D-W
Head coach
Peter Vermes (96-77-56 all-time as Sporting Kansas City head coach) became Sporting KC head coach on August 4, 2009, first on an interim basis, then permanently ahead of the 2010 season. His early playing days as a defender saw him move to Hungary, the Netherlands and Spain before he returned to MLS for the inaugural 1996 season. He then joined the Kansas City Wizards in 2000, winning MLS Cup and the Defender of the Year award in his first season there. Vermes retired in 2002 and joined the Wiz’s technical staff in 2006. The winningest head coach in club history, Vermes won the U.S. Open Cup in 2012 and 2015 and MLS Cup again in 2013 – he remains the only person to have won MLS Cup as a player and coach for the same club. Vermes was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2013.
Current top scorer
Dom Dwyer (6)
Players to watch
1. Roger Espinoza (#27) – He’s not the biggest guy out there, but he’s afraid of nothing. Espinoza’s a physical presence in midfield, and he provides the odd assist.
2. Saad Abdul-Salaam (#17) – The 12th pick of the 2015 MLS SuperDraft can dive head first into a duel and tries to own his flank.
3. Benny Feilhaber (#10) – The lead creator down the middle, Feilhaber can play the killer pass or make that late run into the box to finish.
Team profile
In recent years, Sporting Kansas City’s play was reflective of a distinct identity revolving around a 4-3-3 formation, high pressing, ball possession and collective work, among other things. 4-3-3’s still there, but certain parameters have changed. Sporting KC is no longer married to that high press and may wait for opponents to cross the centre line before chasing them. This being said, the team remains comfortable on the ball, wants to play in the opponent’s half and shoots a lot – but too often fails to put those shots on target, let alone score (SKC scores fewer than a goal a game on average). Generally organized in a medium block, SKC counts on full backs who push forward and get in the opponent’s face. Abdul-Salaam’s pace on the right can be difficult to counter, while one-twos in offensive transition on either side are efficient. With Dom Dwyer playing alone up top, support from his wingers and midfielders in the box is crucial. One winger can cut inside and support him if his colleague on the other flank sticks to the sideline, and a Feilhaber can wreak havoc with a late, well-timed run down the middle. A hard-working winger like Jacob Peterson can open space for such a run, darting at the far post to drag a centre back out of position. Feilhaber is also dangerous when finding space between the lines, either with a killer pass or with a ball wide to isolate a winger one-on-one against a full back. When the midfield runs out of solutions, a centre back such as Ike Opara can contribute; Opara can feed his teammates with vertical, line-breaking passes on the floor. Should he miss, however, defensive transitions can pose problems, especially if Opara gets stuck forward trying to tackle. Generally speaking, quick attacks can hurt Kansas City, as well as set plays – corner kicks in particular. Opponents don’t put a lot of shots on target against Peter Vermes’ men, who have only conceded more than five once in the last 11 games. In spite of this, the team has been shipping goals at a rate of one every three shots on target.
Tactical formation
Peter Vermes sticks by his 4-3-3. Lineup v. Dallas (June 19): Melia; Abdul-Salaam, Opara, Olum, Medranda; Mustivar, Feilhaber, Espinoza; Peterson, Dwyer, Hallisey.
Against the Impact last season
Sporting Kansas City won the only game between the two sides last season, on July 18 in Kansas. Benny Feilhaber pulled the home team ahead four minutes in before delivering an assist to Dom Dwyer a half-hour later. Nacho Piatti, on a beautiful Calum Mallace long pass, cut the lead to one in the 59th minute, but the Impact still lost, 2-1.
Injuries, absences and call-ups (as of June 23)
D Nuno Coelho (hamstring)
D Matt Besler (United States national team)
M Soni Mustivar (quad contusion)
M Graham Zusi (United States national team)
Next games
Houston Dynamo v. Sporting Kansas City (U.S. Open Cup, June 29)
Sporting Kansas City v. Columbus Crew SC (MLS, July 3)
Sporting Kansas City v. New York City FC (MLS, July 10)
