Preview: Orlando City vs Sporting Kansas City - prediction, team news, lineups

Sporting Kansas City will travel to central Florida to face Orlando City on Sunday at Inter&Co Stadium in their final cross-conference clash of the regular season.

The hosts head into the contest brimming with confidence, having won each of their last three matches across all competitions by at least a three-goal margin.

Match preview

Orlando currently sit fourth in the MLS Eastern Conference table with 44 points, firmly in the playoff spots.

Oscar Pareja’s men finished fourth last season with 52 points, and with 26 games played so far, they are well on course to surpass that tally.

In their last eight meetings with Sporting Kansas City, Orlando have three wins, two draws, and three defeats, highlighting a fairly balanced recent record between the sides.

The Lions come into this match on the back of a statement 4-1 victory over Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami, with Luis Muriel netting a brace and Marco Pasalic and Martin Ojeda also on the scoresheet.

Yannick Bright grabbed Miami’s only goal, an equaliser in the first half that proved nothing more than a consolation.

Orlando have lost just one of their last six matches in all competitions, that defeat coming via penalties to Club Universidad Nacional in the Leagues Cup after a 1-1 draw.

Goalscoring has been a strength, with the team finding the net in 15 consecutive league games - but defensive vulnerabilities remain a concern.

In contrast, Sporting Kansas City sit 13th in the Western Conference after 25 matches, collecting only 24 points, eight adrift of the playoff places and ahead of only St. Louis City and LA Galaxy.

Kerry Zavagnin’s men have the second-worst defensive record in the conference, conceding 47 goals, with only LA Galaxy faring worse (52).

The Wizards have scored 36 goals but have won just once in their last five matches, most recently suffering a 2-0 home defeat to San Diego courtesy of goals from Hirving Lozano and Anders Dreyer.

Sporting finished second from bottom in the West last season and are now in danger of missing the playoffs in back-to-back years for the first time since 2005 and 2006.

Orlando City Major League Soccer form:

DDLWWW

Orlando City form (all competitions):

WWLWWW

Sporting Kansas City Major League Soccer form:

DWLDLL

Team News

The Lions will be without Wilder Cartagena (Achilles tendon rupture), Duncan McGuire (shoulder injury) and Yutaro Tsukada (cruciate ligament tear).

Even with those absences, Oscar Pareja can still call on a strong core, with Cesar Araujo and Eduard Atuesta anchoring the midfield, while Luis Muriel, Marco Pasalic, and Martin Ojeda are expected to spearhead the attack.

Pedro Gallese should start in goal, protected by Rodrigo Schlegel and Robin Jansson in central defence.

The Wizards remain without Colombian defender Daniel Rosero (ankle injury) and German forward Erik Thommy (hip problem).

Joaquin Fernandez and Jansen Miller are expected to marshal the defence, with Jacob Bartlett and Manu Garcia in midfield.

Orlando City possible starting lineup:

Gallese; Freeman, Schlegel, Jansson, Brekalo; Araujo, Atuesta, Pasalic; Angulo, Muriel, Ojeda

Sporting Kansas City possible starting lineup:

Pulskamp; Brody, Miller, Fernandez, Leibold; Sallai, Bartlett, Bassong, Suleymanov; Joveljic, Munoz

We say: Orlando City 3-0 Sporting Kansas City

Given Orlando’s attacking momentum, home advantage, and Sporting’s defensive vulnerabilities, the Lions should be confident of extending their winning run.

With the visitors struggling to keep clean sheets and facing one of the league’s most consistent home sides, it is difficult to envisage anything other than a routine victory for the hosts.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.