Sporting KC hosts hobbled Whitecaps (Apr 18, 2018)
Sitting atop the Western Conference table, Sporting Kansas City (4-1-2) will host the Vancouver Whitecaps on Friday night with a chance to stretch the lead in Kansas City, Kan.
Vancouver (3-3-1) is tied with the LA Galaxy for second place, four points behind SKC.
Sporting has a six-match unbeaten streak after falling to New York City FC in the season-opening match.
Sporting is coming off a lackluster 2-2 draw against the Seattle Sounders on Sunday, a game in which Seattle scored its first two goals and earned its first point of the season. A goal by Graham Zusi in the 78th minute kept SKC from total disaster.
Just as he has done following victories early on this season, Sporting manager Peter Vermes has turned his attention quickly to the next opponent.
"I don't think we were on our game, but I think you always have to credit the other team," Vermes said of Sunday's draw. "I think we're playing well on a whole, but I still think we have a lot of stuff to work on.
"(Vancouver is) really quick on the counter. They are a very aggressive team going forward. If you're not good with the ball, that's where you can be exposed big-time."
Vermes said that leading scorer Felipe Gutierrez, who scored five goals in the first five games before missing the last two, is progressing. But he is still listed as day-to-day.
Sporting is averaging two goals per game, and the 14 goals lead the Western Conference. Their unusually porous defense -- they led MLS in goals allowed in 2017 -- has given them just a plus-3 goal differential.
Vancouver, which will be without star forward Kei Kamara, also has allowed 11 goals in 2018, but the Whitecaps have scored just eight goals. They are the only side in either conference with a negative goal differential to be above the red line.
Kamara, a former SKC player, is tied for the team lead in goals (3, with Brek Shea) and assists (2, with Alphonso Davies). But he went down in training last week with a groin injury. He is likely to miss at least two more games after sitting out Friday's 2-0 loss to LAFC.
"I'm doing good, but obviously not good enough to be playing, Kamara said Monday. "When I went down it was kind of shock. I feel a lot better today than when I first went down, like I had been hit by a sniper."
"You have to stay positive. They haven't told me (an exact time) because they don't want me to be pushing too hard. But three matches, I'll take that more than six or seven. I feel a lot better than when I went down."
Sporting KC is 6-3-3 all-time against Vancouver, including a 4-1-1 mark at Children's Mercy Park. Vancouver had lost three straight regular-season games in Kansas City before prevailing 1-0 last September, snapping Sporting KC's club-record 24-game home unbeaten run in the regular season. Vancouver swept the 2017 series, winning 2-0 at home in May, and has won the last four matches in all competitions.
