Game Day Hub: NYCFC host Sporting Kansas City in Queens

It’s Matchday Nine: New York City FC will welcome Sporting Kansas City to Citi Field at 7 pm ET.

NYCFC are coming off a solid 3-0 win over San Jose Earthquakes at Yankee Stadium — the Pigeons have scored 14 goals in their last three games, and are climbing the table after a slow start to the season. For their part, Sporting earned a 2-2 draw at home against 10-player FC Dallas last week.

More germane: NYCFC are 4-0-1 at home with 18 goals, while Sporting are 0-0-5 on the road with just three goals.

The two teams have met six times. NYCFC are 4-0-2, with eight goals scored and five goals allowed. New York City last lost to Kansas City in 2016.

Match: NYCFC host Sporting Kansas City

Date and Time: Saturday, May 7, 7 pm ET

Venue: Citi Field

Forecast: Light rain, breezy, 45˚F/7˚C

Watch: ESPN+

Stream: YES app

Listen: The game will be broadcast in both English and Spanish on NYCFC Radio

• Injury report: Maxime Chanot will be available to play for the first time since sustaining an injury in March, but he will have to wear a face mask. Héber is available after sitting out last week. Malte Amundsen is out after suffering a muscle injury in last week’s game against San Jose, and Defender Anton Tinnerholm is out with the Achilles injury he suffered last October. Taty Castellanos is questionable after suffering a minor lower body injury.

• NYCFC wore the Bowie Kit the only other time they played at Citi Field this—it was the first time they won in orange this year, breaking the curse. Will the Bowie Kit become NYCFC’s Citi uni?

• Opinion: The food at Citi Field is actually pretty good.

• NYCFC are white-hot. Here’s the visual that proves it:

• Kansas City will be without striker Alan Pulido, midfielder Gadi Kinda, center-back Nicolas Isimat-Mirin, and defender Graham Zusi.

• Sporting will likely take the field with a young, inexperienced backline. According to Chad Smith at the Blue Testament, regular starters Isimat-Mirin and Zusi are likely to be replaced by 20-year-old Robi Voloder and 21-year-old Cam Duke. The NYCFC attack will like that.

• NYCFC alum Khiry Shelton will likely lead Kansas City’s attack – yo, Khiry! – but he has yet to score in eight appearances this year. (Not to put too fine a point on it, Sporting has logged only eight goals total in ten games, while NYCFC scored eight goals in their last two games.) There’s a possibility that Dániel Sallói will take over the striker role. The 25-year-old Hungarian international has two goals this season, enough tie him for the team lead.

• The oddsmakers overwhelmingly pick NYCFC to win. As of the publication of this article, Taty Castellanos is tapped as the most likely to score, followed by Héber, Thiago, Santiago Rodríguez, and Talles Magno.

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UPDATE: The starting lineup was announced at 6:11 pm ET