September 6 marks the second meeting between the New York Red Bulls and Sporting Kansas City with a vital three points at stake. With only nine regular season matches remaining for New York, Saturday’s clash is crucial for the Red Bulls who currently sit a two points out of playoff position.
In their first meeting at Sporting Park in Kansas City, the teams battled to a 1-1 draw which featured a goal from MLS Golden Boot leader Bradley Wright-Phillips.
Kansas City, who currently sit in second place in the Eastern Conference with 42 points, this weekend’s contest will be their second of the week and third match in eight days. On Wednesday, a short-handed Sporting KC fell to the New England Revolution 3-1 at Gillette Stadium. The match was Sporting KC’s third straight loss, extending their winless streak to four games.
Saturday’s game at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ will be played at 7:30 p.m. ET (TV: NBC Sports) and the Eastern Conference foes will meet again at Sporting Park for the MLS regular-season finale on October 26.
As the countdown to match-day begins, here are a few players from Sporting Kansas City to lookout for on Saturday.
Forward – Dom Dwyer
Dom Dwyer is SKC’s leading goal-scorer and currently stands alone in second place in the MLS Golden Boot race. With 17 tallies this year, only Bradley Wright-Phillips stands in front of him with 20.
Dwyer, who missed Wednesday’s game in New England serving a one-game suspension for yellow card accumulation, should be fresh and ready for Saturday’s game. The Red Bull defense will need to keep an eye out for Dwyer until the final whistle, considering he’s delivered 5 game winning goals for his team this year. Dwyer’s only career goal against the Red Bulls came back on August 3, 2013 in a 3-2 loss at Sporting Park.
Midfielder – Graham Zusi
U.S. international Graham Zusi stands out as one of Kansas City’s deadliest midfielders. Although he has never scored against New York, he’s recorded 4 assists in his career against the Red Bulls, the last being a game-winner on April 17, 2013 in a 1-0 victory at Red Bull Arena.
He has started in 17 of the 18 games he’s played in this season, and is closing in on 150 MLS appearances. He possesses the ability to strike fear into defenses with his pace and precision passing, tallying 3 goals and 5 assists this season, respectively. In Brazil at the 2014 FIFA World Cup with the U.S. National Team, he supplied two assists, including the game-winner in the opening match against Ghana.
Defender – Matt Besler
U.S. international and SKC captain Matt Besler serves as the leader of the defense. His back-line has allowed just 32 goals in 27 games this season, the second least amount of goals surrendered by a team in the Eastern Conference.
Despite the impressive numbers on the season, however, Sporting’s defense has struggled mightily as of late, surrendering 3 goals in each of their last three matches. Besler will need to rally his men and defend diligently against the dynamic duo of Thierry Henry and Bradley Wright-Phillips.
