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Sporting KC vs New York Red Bulls: Preview, injuries and predictions

Sporting KC vs New York Red Bulls

When: Saturday, September 7, 2024, 6:30 p.m. CT (kick-off 6:40 p.m.)

Where: Red Bull Arena

How to watch/stream: Apple MLS Season Pass

Sporting Kansas City has been on an upswing lately. Most recently, they beat Indy Eleven (USL Championship) and reached the US Open Cup final, where they will attempt to win their record-tying fifth trophy. They even won their last MLS game against Orlando City, where they fielded a unique lineup (though I assume most of them are unique, as they have rarely repeated a starting XI this year).

Going back to late June, when they beat Austin FC 2-0, they are 7-4-1 in all competitions, a record that, if repeated throughout the season, would be more than good enough to get them into the playoffs.

The problem is that literally all of those wins, except for Orlando, have come against teams below the playoff line (unless you count Indy, which is currently firmly in the USLC playoffs). They're Austin, Dallas twice, San Jose, Chicago, Orlando, and Indianapolis.

Looking back at the entire season, aside from the aforementioned win over Orlando, there are only two other wins against any of the 18 (!!) teams above the playoff line. Those wins come on June 8, when they beat a 10-man Seattle Sounders team, and on March 30, Toronto FC. Both teams are currently ranked 8th in their respective conferences, a position that would not have been a playoff spot as late as 2022.

On Saturday, Sporting KC will be looking for just its third road win of the season in 14 attempts. All of this is to tell you what you already know. It's extremely unlikely that they make the playoffs. SKC would have to win the vast majority of its games or get extremely lucky with better results.

The first obstacle to that goal is the New York Red Bulls. RBNY are the “best of the rest” in the Eastern Conference behind powerhouses Inter Miami, FC Cincinnati and the 4th-ranked Columbus Crew. Sporting KC previously played the Red Bulls regularly when they were in the East. The teams are tied against each other at 22-22-14. Kansas City has even won two of its last three road games there, but that spans so many seasons that it's irrelevant. This KC team is not that KC team.

What’s new with the Red Bulls in 2024?

Something has changed in New York. No, they haven't given up on developing young talent, but they have finally added to their roster and spent money to get the team over the hump.

IN: The headliner is Designated Player Emil Forsberg. He is already familiar with the system from his time at RB Leipzig (Germany) and has made an immediate impact this year. The team also brought in another DP in the form of Felipe Carballo on loan from Gremio (Brazil) in the summer transfer window. They signed defender Noah Eile from Malmö (Sweden), who leads the team in minutes, and U-22 striker Dennis Gjengaar, who has mostly appeared as a substitute.

OUT OF: Failed DP Luquinhas was traded to Fortaleza (Brazil). Homegrown striker Tom Barlow was sold to the Fire. Prolific midfielder Frankie Amaya was traded to Toluca (Mexico). And 18-year-old Bento Estrela was sold to CP Portugal for an undisclosed fee at the end of the transfer window. He was the fourth-youngest player in league history when he was signed at 14, and he never played in MLS but was a contributor in MLS Next Pro. In total, the team has traded or loaned 13 players since the end of last season.

Kansas City's form

  • July 28 against Chicago Fire (Leagues Cup) – 2:1 win
  • 5 August against Toluca (League Cup) – 1:2 defeat
  • August 9 @ Columbus Crew (Leagues Cup) – 0:4 loss
  • August 24 against Orlando City – 3-0 win
  • August 27 against Indy Eleven (US Open) – 2-0 win

RBNY's current form

  • July 20 against FC Cincinnati – 3:1 win
  • July 27 against Toronto FC (Leagues Cup) – 0:0 draw (PK loss)
  • July 30 @ Pachuca (League Cup) – 1:1 draw (PK loss)
  • August 24 @ Charlotte FC – 1:1 draw
  • August 31 against Philadelphia Union – 0:2 defeat

Injury/Availability Report

Official injury reports aren't available until gameday minus one in the late afternoon/early evening, so here's last week's report while we wait for today's news (and two weeks ago for SKC).

Sporting Kansas City:

  • From – Nemanja Radoja (bar), Felipe Hernandez (administrative leave), Stephen Afrifa (international duty – Canada), Joaquin Fernandez (groin), William Agada (red card)
  • QUESTIONABLE – Logan Ndenbe (Thigh)

RBNY:

  • AUS – Emil Forsberg (lower leg), Roald Mitchell (knee), Carlos Coronel (International – Paraguay), Noah Eile (International – Sweden), Lewis Morgan (International – Scotland), Aidan Stokes (International – USA U-17)
  • QUESTIONABLE -Wiki Carmona (thigh), Kyle Duncan (knee)

Suspensions

Sporting KC: William Agada (red card)

  • Suspended Next yellow card: Nemanja Radoja

RBNY: Sandro Schwarz (number of yellow cards from the technical staff)

  • Suspended Next Yellow Card: None

statistics

Sporting Kansas City

Goals: Willy Agada (9), Erik Thommy (5), Alan Pulido, Johnny Russell (4), Stephen Afrifa, Jake Davis, Remi Walter (3), Dany Rosero, Alenis Vargas, Memo Rodriguez, Daniel Salloi (2), Nemanja Radoja , Robert Castellanos, Marinos Tzionis, Tim Leibold (1)

Templates: Rodriguez (6), Russell, Pulido (5), Radoja, Thommy (4), Salloi, Leibold, Davis (3), Agada, Khiry Shelton, Walter (2), Stephen Afrifa, Andreu Fontas, Robert Voloder, Zorhan Bassong, Kayden PierreVargas (1)

RBNY

Goals: Lewis Morgan (12), Emil Forsberg, Elias Manoel (6), Cameron Harper (5), Wikelman Carmona (3), Dante Vanzier (2), seven with one (1)

Templates: Vanzier (9), Manoel, Morgan, Dylan Nealis (4), Frankie Amaya, Carmona, Noah Eile, Forsberg (3), Sean Nealis (2), six with one (1)

Predictions

At this point in the season, Sporting KC's focus is only on winning the US Open Cup. All eyes and efforts should be on September 25 in Los Angeles against LAFC. The team can't give up on the games before that, but everyone's health should come first. Being in shape wouldn't be a bad idea, but with only playoff teams in the way (RBNY, Seattle, Colorado and Minnesota), it won't be possible to top the table.

So take care of the players. Continue to develop some of the young players. Continue to try people out to see who stays, as a big shake-up of the squad has been hinted at in recent weeks.

RBNY has a 7-1-5 record at home. Winning there will be tough. With William Agada unable to play due to suspension, the team will be almost forced to start DP Alan Pulido, who is having a very down year. The team loaned Alenis Vargas to SKC II last week and he played forward in a 4-0 win, but all signs point to Pulido starting. That means the team will likely have to play a possession style that suits him better and won't have the flexibility to give New York the ball (something they definitely don't want) and counter over the top to Agada.

However, anything can happen in the MLS.

PROGNOSIS: 2-1 victory for the Red Bulls

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