Sporting Kansas City

THE BASICS:

• Sporting Kansas City (SKC)
• Western Conference
• Home: Children's Mercy Park

HONORS:

• MLS CUP: 2000, 2013
• Supporters' Shield: 2000
• U.S. Open Cup: 2004, 2012, 2015

SPORTINGKC.COM:

• Tickets
• Schedule
• Jerseys/Gear

2016 Storylines

When Sporting Kansas City sold forward Krisztian Nemeth to Qatari side Al-Gharafa, they also took a big chunk out of their 2015 scoring column.

Nemeth racked up 16 goals across all competitions last year, including the MLS Goal of the Year, as Sporting won the U.S. Open Cup title and reached the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs for the fifth season in a row. That seems a lot of slack to take up this season, but manager Peter Vermes doesn't sound too concerned.

"I think we have more than enough attacking players," Vermes told reporters in a conference call. "We'll add one more, but I feel good about the players that we have."

Benny Feilhaber

One big reason for Vermes' confidence is that center forward Dom Dwyer is still around, although he has been nursing what Vermes called a minor ankle knock in recent weeks.

Dwyer has 41 goals across all competitions in the last two seasons, leading Sporting last year with 12 goals in league play and 17 overall – and he won't lack for service:

Midfielder Benny Feilhaber is coming off a career-best 12-goal, 20-assist season across all competitions, winger Graham Zusi is healthy again after struggling with foot problems last year – and Sporting traded for winger Brad Davis, the league's active assists leader, this offseason.

Still, forward depth is a concern after Nemeth's departure. Sporting are bringing in a foreign acquisition, although Vermes will not say who until the deal is announced, and the club has also given a trial to veteran Kenny Cooper.

Cooper, who has 75 league goals in nine MLS seasons, played the first half in a February 24th Desert Diamond Cup match against the Colorado Rapids but did not score in Sporting's 4-1 victory.

"He's not incredibly fit," Vermes said, "but he was decent. It was a decent 45 minutes for him."

Armchair Analyst's Take

Sporting have more good players at more spots than they did at this point last year. There is a very easy to draw, very straight line between that truth and expected improvement. Davis and Mapp give them something they didn’t have; Lawrence Olum’s return gives them something they didn’t have; a more experienced Amadou Dia and Saad Abdul-Salaam gives them something they didn’t have; and a full year of Tim Melia, Soni Mustivar and Quintanilla gives them something they didn’t have. They should be good.

But moreso than any other team in the Western playoff picture, they have a glaring, obvious hole: Selling Nemeth was absolutely the right move (business is business), but that’s left Vermes & Co. without an obvious goal-scoring threat to play on the wing, and teams that play a 4-3-3 need goal-scoring from the wing.

How well and how early they address that need will likely have a large say in how good 2016 turns out to be for the reigning U.S. Open Cup champs. Sporting Club CEO Robb Heineman has suggested a signing is imminent, so do keep an eye on his Twitter feed.

Key Offseason Transactions

Player to Watch: Justin Mapp

The first free-agent signee in MLS history, Mapp's 65 assists are third-most of any active player – check out this 1-on-1 magic to set up former strike partner Jack McInerney for a Goal of the Week:

Projected Lineup:

Melia; Abdul-Salaam - Opara - Besler - Dia; Mustivar - Espinoza - Feilhaber; Zusi - Dwyer - Davis

Fantasy Soccer

One look at the Sporting Kansas City midfield should make every fantasy manager’s jaw drop due to all of the options. Not only have they added Brad Davis ($8.0m) to bolster their left flank, but a health Graham Zusi ($10.0m), and versatile Benny Feilhaber ($11.0m) create quite an offensive triangle.

SLEEPER PICKS:

• Nuno Andre Coelho
• Lawrence Olum
• Justin Mapp