Sporting Kansas City hits the street this weekend for the workforce’s penultimate away match of the 2025 MLS common season when the workforce visits the LA Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park on Saturday evening. Kickoff is ready for 9:30 p.m. CT and might be accessible to stream on Apple TV+ and MLS Season Pass, whereas the sport may even be broadcast regionally on the radio by way of Sports Radio 810 WHB.
1. ELIMINATED FROM POSTSEASON CONTENTION
Sporting Kansas City noticed the membership’s hopes of reaching the MLS Cup Playoffs formally dashed following final weekend’s 2-0 loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps at Children’s Mercy Park.
Sporting will now play out their ultimate three matches of the season with a watch towards 2026, beginning with Saturday’s match in opposition to backside membership the LA Galaxy – the one different workforce within the West additionally eradicated from postseason rivalry and remarkably the West’s basement workforce after successful MLS Cup final season.
Set to miss the postseason for the third time within the final 4 years, this marks the primary time since 2009 and 2010 that Sporting has missed the MLS Cup Playoffs in consecutive seasons.
Despite an finally disappointing conclusion to the 2025 marketing campaign, Sporting has proven loads of grit and combat all through the season, signified by the workforce gaining 14 factors from shedding positions (three wins and 5 attracts) throughout the common season – tied for fifth most in MLS – and getting 9 objectives from substitutes, tied for third most in MLS.
2. VISITING CELLAR-DWELLING GALAXY
Sporting Kansas City is again on the street for the second-to-last time in 2025 this coming weekend when the workforce visits reigning MLS Cup champions – and in addition cellar-dwellers – the LA Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park on Saturday evening.
Sporting hosted the Galaxy at Children’s Mercy Park again on May 4, 2025, rising as 1-0 winners in a exceptional match. After Maya Yoshida had turned Daniel Salloi’s cross into his personal web to give Sporting the lead early on, the hosts sat again and held on to that scoreline to turn out to be the primary workforce in MLS historical past to win a match with out taking a single shot.
Sporting final visited the Galaxy on June 15, 2024, falling to a 4-2 defeat in opposition to a rampant LA aspect. Sporting fell behind following objectives from present KC striker Dejan Joveljic and Gabriel Pec earlier than Stephen Afrifa diminished the deficit along with his first MLS objective. LA prolonged their lead by way of Joseph Painstil just for Robert Castellanos to reply and make it a one-goal recreation heading into the closing phases the place Miguel Berry buried his workforce’s fourth to seal all three factors.
Sporting narrowly trails the all-time regular-season sequence with the Galaxy 27-28-18, together with a 8-18-9 mark on the street. However, Sporting has misplaced simply two of their final eight away matches relationship again to 2015, going 4-2-3 in that point.
3. JOVELJIC RETURNING TO OLD STOMPING GROUNDS
Sporting Kansas City ahead Dejan Joveljic is ready to return to his outdated stomping grounds this weekend when he leads the workforce into their street match in opposition to the LA Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park on Saturday evening.
Joveljic spent three-and-a-half years with the Galaxy, enduring an up-and-down tenure in Los Angeles earlier than delivering a crowning second in 2024 – scoring a team-high 21 objectives in MLS play and tallying the game-winning objective in opposition to the New York Red Bulls in MLS Cup because the Galaxy lifted their sixth title final December.
The Serbian frontman was dealt to Sporting within the first-ever cash-for-player commerce in MLS historical past and he has gone from power to power. Currently sitting on 17 objectives in MLS play, Joveljic has already topped his earlier regular-season profession excessive and is within the midst of the third finest goalscoring season in Kansas City historical past.
Joveljic’s 38 MLS objectives for the reason that begin of 2024 are the third most in MLS, solely trailing stars Lionel Messi (45) and Denis Bouanga (43).
4. THOMMY MAKES FIRST START IN OVER TWO MONTHS
Sporting Kansas City midfielder Erik Thommy returned to the beginning lineup for the primary time since July 4 this previous weekend when he performed the total 90 minutes within the membership’s 2-0 loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps at Children’s Mercy Park on Saturday evening.
A hip damage sidelined Thommy from July 12 by way of Aug. 24, forcing the German playmaker to miss six matches in complete. Thommy was eased again into motion this month, making substitute appearances in opposition to Austin on Sept. 7 and Real Salt Lake on Sept. 13 earlier than returning to the XI on Saturday.
Thommy has loved one other productive season in Sporting Blue, tallying 4 objectives and 4 assists whereas primarily splitting time between the appropriate and left wing. The 31-year-old’s eight objective contributions this season rank fourth most on the workforce behind Dejan Joveljic (19), Manu Garcia (11) and Daniel Salloi (11).
Coming to the top of his fourth season in Kansas City, Thommy has tallied 20 objectives and 24 assists throughout 118 appearances in all competitions for the membership.
5. JAMES, 17, CONTINUES TO DEVELOP
Sporting Kansas City Academy product Ian James continued his growth this season with one other 90-minute outing within the 2-0 setback in opposition to the Vancouver Whitecaps at Children’s Mercy Park final Saturday evening.
James, a 17-year-old heart again, has now made seven appearances in all competitions this season since signing with the primary workforce final offseason. The Homegrown participant, whose three MLS begins have led to a 1-1-1 file, held his personal on Saturday evening, finishing 84 % of his team-high 68 passes and persistently thwarting Vancouver’s pacy attackers within the ultimate third.
James has recorded the quickest prime velocity (22.1 miles per hour) of any Sporting participant this season and was lately a part of the U.S. U-17 Men’s National Team for a coaching camp within the Netherlands earlier this month.