Colorado Rapids vs. Sporting Kansas City | MLS Match Preview

Colorado Rapids vs. Sporting Kansas City - Match Preview Image

COLORADO RAPIDS vs. SPORTING KANSAS CITY
DICK'S SPORTING GOODS PARK, Commerce City, Colorado
MAY 11, 2016 (WEEK 11, MLS GAME #98)
9 pm ET (MLS LIVE, Altitude, KMCI-38)

A crucial meeting in the Western Conference is ahead at midweek as the Colorado Rapids play host to Sporting Kansas City on Wednesday evening at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. The Rapids have flown to the top of the division and the MLS overall table, their undefeated run now at five games following a 1-0 home win against Real Salt Lake last weekend. Sporting are in the throes of a six-game winless run, now sitting six points off the pace in the West following their 2-0 loss at the Houston Dynamo last Saturday evening.


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  • The Rapids won their fifth consecutive game at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park – matching the club’s longest home winning run since winning six in a row in the 2005 season – and also extended their overall undefeated streak to six games with a 1-0 win against Real Salt Lake on Saturday evening.
  • Sporting saw their winless run extended to six games – the club’s longest since a club-record 10-game run without a victory in 2011 – in their 2-0 loss at the Houston Dynamo on Saturday evening.
  • The teams are meeting for the second time this season. Dom Dwyer scored a late equalizer to pull Sporting level, but Shkelzen Gashi netted just five minutes later in the 82nd minute to give the Rapids a 2-1 victory April 13 at Children’s Mercy Park.
  • The Rapids have won the last three meetings between the teams – ending long winless streaks in the process. The Rapids ended a nine-game winless streak against Sporting with their 2-1 win last Aug. 29 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. After the previous Colorado victory, March 28, 2009 in Commerce City, KC was 4-0-5 vs. Colorado.
  • Colorado’s 2-0 victory last Oct. 21 in the final meeting at Sporting Park was their first win in Kansas City since 2002, a 2-1 win at Arrowhead Stadium. After that, Kansas City went 9-0-4 at home vs. Colorado before the win in the last meeting.


REFEREE: Jose Carlos Rivero. AR1 (bench): Sean Hurd; AR2 (opposite): Logan Brown; 4th: Nima Saghafi
Rivero MLS Career: 59 games; FC/gm: 26.5; Y/gm: 3.8; R: 16; pens: 28


SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: none
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: COL: Marc Burch
DISABLED LIST: none
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none


HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (56 meetings):
Rapids 20 wins (3 shootout), 76 goals … Sporting 23 wins (1 shootout), 94 goals … Ties 13
AT COLORADO (28 meetings): Rapids 15 wins (2 shootout), 47 goals …Sporting 5 wins (1 shootout), 38 goals …Ties 8
FUTURE MATCH: 7/16: Colorado Rapids vs. Sporting Kansas City, 7 p.m. MT


COACHES' RECORD:
Peter Vermes vs. COL: P13 W4 L3 D6 
Pablo Mastroeni vs. KC: P6 W3 L2 D1


MLS Injury Report
MLS Disciplinary Summary