Sporting Kansas City at Real Salt Lake
2025 MLS Regular Season | Match 30
Saturday, Sept. 13 | 8:30 p.m. CT (8:40 kickoff)
America First Field | Sandy, Utah
After back-to-back residence matches, Sporting Kansas City returns to the highway this weekend to go to Real Salt Lake at 8:30 p.m. CT on Saturday at America First Field in Sandy, Utah.
Saturday’s showdown will probably be out there to look at in English (Nate Bukaty and Devon Kerr) and Spanish (Raul Guzman and Ashley Gonzalez) by way of MLS Season Pass on Apple TV whereas native radio protection will air on Sports Radio 810 WHB (Blake Aerni and Jon Kempin).
Pub companions within the Sporting Pub Network may even present the entire motion, together with a RSLvSKC watch celebration at No Other Pub within the Kansas City Power & Light District that includes $4 home drafts, $5 wells and 50% off nachos for followers in SKC gear beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday.
While Real Salt Lake final performed three weeks in the past – falling to a 3rd straight loss in a 3-1 defeat towards Minnesota — Sporting Kansas City suffered a 2-1 setback by the hands of Austin FC final weekend. Dejan Joveljic transformed a penalty kick for his seventeenth aim of the season, third most in MLS and third most in a single season in membership historical past. The Serbian striker has scored 38 MLS targets (together with playoffs) because the begin of 2024, second most within the league behind Lionel Messi (39 targets).
On the alternative facet, Real Salt Lake’s offense is led by MLS All-Star Diego Luna — who leads the staff in targets (eight) and assists (5) — together with Designated Player Diogo Goncalves who’s tied for second in each classes with three targets and three assists. Real Salt Lake’s attacking choices additionally characteristic two former SKC forwards in Johnny Russell (two targets in 10 video games this 12 months) and Willy Agada (two targets in 22 video games this 12 months).
Russell performed seven seasons in Kansas City from 2018-2024 during which the Scottish winger captained SKC the final 4 years and amassed 67 targets — second most in membership historical past — along with 52 assists in 232 appearances. Agada, who contributed 24 targets and 6 assists in 77 appearances for SKC from 2022-2025, was acquired by RSL by way of a commerce in April.
Real Salt Lake’s attacking corps additionally contains 18-year-old academy product Zavier Gozo (three targets in 21 video games this 12 months). Gozo and Sporting KC midfielder Jacob Bartlett — the youngest participant, at age 19, to seem in 25 MLS matches this season — have been every not too long ago named to an inventory of the highest 200 youngsters within the sport globally by the CIES Football Observatory.
The Western Conference match-up renews a longstanding rivalry between Sporting Kansas City and Real Salt Lake highlighted by three conferences within the MLS Cup Playoffs. Sporting notably defeated RSL within the 2013 MLS Cup at Children’s Mercy Park, prevailing 7-6 on penalties after a 1-1 draw. Sporting additionally eradicated RSL within the 2018 Western Conference Semifinals by a 5-3 scoreline on combination, whereas RSL earned a 2-1 comeback win over SKC within the Western Conference Semifinals in 2021.
The two sides final met on June 28 in a 1-1 draw at Children’s Mercy Park as membership captain Erik Thommy scored a second-half equalizer. The German playmaker not too long ago recovered from a hip damage that sidelined him for six matches this summer season as he returned to the sphere final weekend as a second-half substitute,
The earlier match-up with Real Salt Lake 11 weeks in the past was the final time Sporting performed an opponent under the playoff line, nevertheless RSL’s roster seems decidedly completely different after an energetic secondary switch window. The hosts parted methods with 5 gamers and purchased forwards Rwan Cruz (mortgage from Botafogo) and Victor Olatunji (switch from Sparta Prague) along with World Cup veteran DeAndre Yedlin (commerce with FC Cincinnati).
Yedlin will miss Saturday’s match whereas serving a one-game suspension for warning accumulation and RSL may even be with out 4 gamers as a result of damage: Matthew Bell (hamstring), Zac MacMath (again), Javain Brown (knee) and Mason Stajduhar (hand). In addition, Kobi Henry (concussion) and Pablo Ruiz (quad pressure) are each questionable for RSLvSKC.
Sporting Kansas City may even be shorthanded as Zorhan Bassong serves his one-game suspension for warning accumulation after getting back from worldwide responsibility whereas defenders Andrew Brody (quad) and Ian James (head) are each dominated out on the staff’s participant availability report.