D.C. United face their first Western Conference opponent since April 9 when they travel to Sporting Kansas City on Friday.
United were unlucky to come away without a point in Philadelphia, succumbing at the death to a stoppage-time Richie Marquez goal after a hard-fought match. Nevertheless, there were plenty of positives for Ben Olsen’s team to take away from the match. Travis Worra continued his impressive form with a series of strong saves, including an MLS Save of the Week-nominated double stop that kept the match at 0-0. The Black-and-Red also generated a number of chances on the other end, most notably Álvaro Saborío’s stunning bicycle kick on the on the 63rd minute which was saved by Union ‘keeper Andre Blake.
D.C. will be without Saborío and defender Steve Birnbaum on Friday, as both players are with their national teams in preparation for the Copa America Centenario, which begins next week. However, United are regaining more options in attack as Fabian Espíndola looks close to full fitness following a minor hamstring injury and Alhaji Kamara edges closer every day to regaining in-season fitness. At the other end, goalkeeper Bill Hamid also appears to be nearing full health after a lengthy spell on the sidelines. The U.S. international has been out of action since undergoing knee surgery in January.
Kansas City currently sit 7th in the Western Conference, and are winless in eight of their last nine games. Dom Dwyer, however, have been a bright spot for the club, leading the team with six goals, including KC’s lone tally in their most recent match (a 3-1 loss to Real Salt Lake last Saturday). They’ll be missing some key players to international duty as well, as defender Matt Besler and winger Graham Zusi will also be with Jurgen Klinsmann’s squad for Copa America preparations.
United will likely try to utilize their dynamic flank play against Kansas City--with Zusi gone, attacking-minded outside backs Taylor Kemp and Sean Franklin should have more freedom to venture forward, where they can combine and send dangerous services into the box. Additionally, with both sides missing starting central defenders, fans can expect an open game, with each team trying to test the other’s altered backline.
United are undefeated in their last four matches against Sporting Kansas City, and have held Friday’s hosts to just one goal in that period (which came in the teams’ 1-1 draw last May.)
New kickoff is set for 9:30PM ET from Children’s Mercy Park. The match will now be broadcast live on Univision Deportes, not UniMás.
