• Matchday 23: Sporting Kansas City vs New York City FC
• Date and Time: Saturday, July 19, 8:30 pm ET
• Venue: Children's Mercy Park in Kansas City, KS
• Forecast: There's an Extreme Heat Warning in effect and it's still stupid hot even at 7:30 pm, 91F/32C
• Watch: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
• Apple Broadcast Team: Mark Followill and Warren Barton (English), Sergio Ruiz and Walter Roque (Spanish)
• New York City FC Radio: Glenn Crooks and Matty Lawrence (English), Roberto Abramowitz and Ariel Judas (Spanish)
• Officiating Crew: Timothy Ford (referee), Matthew Nelson and Diego Blas (assistant referees), Corbyn May (fourth official), Jorge Gonzalez (VAR), Jeff Muschik (assistant VAR)
• Kits: New York City will wear the black 24/7 Kit; Kansas City will wear their light blue One KC Kit
It's Matchday 23, and New York City FC are in Kansas City to play their third of four consecutive road games.
NYCFC flew here directly from Orlando after a staging a thrilling 2-1 come-from-behind win in the punishing Florida heat that had Alonso Martínez scoring a one-on-one goal in stoppage time to earn the three points. While New York City played in the sauna-like conditions, Sporting Kansas City had a bye on Wednesday night, and presumably the squad watched MLS Season Pass, sipping high-protein smoothies and getting foot massages. Who said life was fair.
NYCFC's win on Wednesday night was just the second earned on the road this season, and the 10th logged all year. It was also the 150th league win in club history out of 351 played: That brings New York City's all-time Major League Soccer record to 150W-88D-113L.
That result means that this four-game roadtrip will not be the worst in club history (that distinction belongs to the 2023 squad, when they earned just one draw in the four games played). Now NYCFC are looking for another win against a SKC that have a poor home record of 3W-3D-5L, taking just 12 points out of a possible 33 at Children's Mercy Park — that's the eighth-worst home record in MLS.
Kansas City's last win at home came on June 25 when they scored two stoppage-time goals to overcome Charlotte FC 2-1: Dejan Joveljić scored the game-winner in the 96th minute.
Hudson River Blue Staff
New York City vs Kansas City H2H
| GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 2 |
New York City and Kansas City have played just six times over the years, with the first five games taking place in NYCFC's first five years of existence.
The two sides last met each other on May 7, 2022, when they drew 0-0 at Citi Field. Kansas City goalkeeper Tim Melia earned the draw that night, making three saves and facing an xGOT of 1.43. Just six players from that NYCFC lineup are still with the team: Tayvon Gray, Keaton Parks, and Thiago Martins started, while Justin Haak, Maxi Moralez, and Kevin O'Toole were on the bench.
New York City FC Scouting Report
• Player Availability: Hannes Wolf (leg) is out, while Keaton Parks (foot) and Malachi Jones (leg) remain out.
• Is Hannes Wolf missing this match for rotation and rest reasons, given the busy schedule? Or is this a new injury that might keep him sidelined beyond the Kansas City trip? Perhaps a clearer answer emerges when Pascal Jansen meets the media after the final whistle.
• Lineup rotation is going to be a popular topic around this match, given the short rest and the extreme heat expected in Kansas. Replacing Wolf becomes a priority, and so is figuring out who else, if anyone, sits from the squad that beat Orlando.
• There are outgoing transfer rumors bouncing around about two New York City players, Mitja Ilenič and Mounsef Bakrar. Ilenič was out of the squad entirely in Orlando with Jansen giving a vague, cryptic answer about his status. Worth wondering what the level of involvement will be for both players against SKC.
• New York City struggled all throughout this season when facing teams, like Kansas City, that sit outside the MLS Cup Playoff positions. They've lost to CF Montréal twice, plus New England Revolution, Atlanta United FC, and Houston Dynamo, while drawing 0-0 with DC United. Can they avoid a similarly disappointing result away to SKC?
Hudson River Blue Staff
Sporting Kansas City Scouting Report
• Player Availability: Center-back Dany Rosero (ankle) and attacking midfielder Erik Thommy (hip) are out with injuries.
• Defender Jake Davis, defender Tim Leibold, and striker Dániel Sallói all are one yellow card away from serving a suspension.
• To learn more about this squad be sure to read Oppo Research: 5 Things about Sporting Kansas City. HRB's Matthew Mangam speaks with Jough Donakowski of KC Soccer Journal to learn more about a squad that has a tough time winning at home, but that can still hurt you with Joveljić in the lineup.
Matthew Mangam
