In a matchup between the bottom two teams in the Western Conference of Major League Soccer, Sporting Kansas City welcome the Los Angeles Galaxy to Children’s Mercy Park on Sunday.
Kansas City are second from the bottom following a 2-1 defeat at FC Cincinnati, while the reigning MLS Cup champions are still without a win this season, losing 4-2 versus the Portland Timbers.
Match preview
© Imago
One month into the Kerry Zavagnin era as KC head coach and this group have produced some mixed results, winning two of their four MLS affairs in April.
Under their interim manager, Kansas City have notably improved in the attacking third, scoring 10 goals in his four matches at the helm.
At the same time, they have not created many quality opportunities in the attacking third this year, sitting 23rd in MLS for big chances, according to FotMob.
They have dropped six points in league play this year after scoring the opening goal but have won their last two games when doing so.
SKC have not claimed maximum points in this competition against a California-based club since defeating the San Jose Earthquakes 2-1 in March 2024.
Sporting KC have not beaten the Galaxy at Children’s Mercy Park since August 2022 when they came away with a 4-2 triumph.
© Imago
Things can change quickly from one MLS season to the next, and the LA Galaxy are experiencing that change for the worse in 2025.
Greg Vanney guided this team to an MLS Cup last year, but after 10 matchdays in 2025, they are at the bottom of the overall league table with a mere three points.
They are off to their worst-ever 10-game start to a league campaign, with the second-lowest expected goals rate in the Western Conference, according to Fbref (9.7).
Among their biggest problems this year is their play in the latter stages of a match, with LA being outscored by a combined margin of 8-2 in league play this season beyond the 75th minute.
Four of their seven domestic defeats in 2025 have been by multiple goals, with the Galaxy scoring the fewest times among Western Conference sides thus far (eight).
LA have points in five consecutive matches played versus Sporting KC, claiming a 3-2 triumph in their previous visit to Children’s Mercy Park a season ago.
Team News
© Imago
A quad issue kept Dany Rosero on the Kansas City sidelines last week while Joaquin Fernandez and Jake Davis were both dealing with hamstring strains.
Zorhan Bassong had the only SKC strike in a losing effort at Cincinnati, the first of his professional career, while former Galaxy striker Dejan Joveljic leads them with five goals in the regular season, all at Children’s Mercy Park.
The Galaxy played yet another encounter without Riqui Puig, with the former Barcelona midfielder still recovering from a torn ACL sustained in the 2024 playoffs.
Christian Ramirez and Marco Reus scored two minutes apart against the Timbers last Sunday, while Gabriel Pec is third in the league this season regarding shot attempts (37).
Sporting Kansas City possible starting lineup:
Pulskamp; Brody, Miller, Voloder, Ndenbe; Garcia, Bartlett, Radoja; Afrifa, Joveljic, Salloi
Los Angeles Galaxy possible starting lineup:
McCarthy; Yamane, Garces, Yoshida, Nelson; Sanabria, Cerrillo; Pec, Reus, Paintsil; Ramirez
We say: Sporting Kansas City 3-2 Los Angeles Galaxy
It is hard to pinpoint how the Galaxy have been this poor even without Puig, but that leaky backline could be in for another tough match against an improved attacking side in Kansas City and a highly motivated Dejan Joveljic.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
