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

Returning from the FIFA World Cup break with momentum firmly behind them, St. Louis City SC will look to pick up where they left off when bottom-of-the-table Sporting Kansas City visit Energizer Park on Friday in the resumption of the MLS regular season.

St. Louis head into the fixture on a five-match unbeaten run, while Sporting Kansas City return as the Western Conference’s most out-of-form side and will be desperate to arrest a troubling run of results before the gap to the teams above them grows any wider.

Match preview

St. Louis City SC head into Friday’s match in 12th place in the Western Conference with 16 points from four wins, four draws and six defeats across their 14 games, but the trajectory of their form heading into the World Cup break was significantly more encouraging than that overall record suggests.

Yoann Damet’s side won three of their last four league matches before the break, building genuine momentum at exactly the right moment, and that unbeaten run has now extended to five matches across all competitions - three wins and two draws - giving the hosts a platform of confidence to return to.

Their most recent outing before the break produced a resounding 3-0 home victory over Austin FC, and they return to build on that.

At home, St. Louis have posted three wins, one draw and two defeats at Energizer Park this season, making it a difficult venue for visiting sides on their best days, and Friday’s crowd should provide the kind of atmosphere that can sharpen a side returning from a lengthy competitive break.

Attacking output has been a concern, however - just 16 goals scored across 14 matches represents the second-lowest total in the Western Conference, and Damet will know that converting pressure into goals more consistently remains the key challenge for his side.

Sporting Kansas City arrive at Energizer Park rooted to the bottom of the Western Conference with 11 points from three wins, two draws and nine defeats in 14 matches, and their statistics across the campaign make for uncomfortable reading for their supporters.

The visitors have conceded 36 goals - the highest total in the table - while their return of just 14 goals scored is the lowest in the division, a combination that has placed enormous pressure on Raphael Wicky to find solutions before the gap between Sporting and the teams above them becomes insurmountable.

Wicky’s side won two of their last five matches before the break, but their most recent outing ended in a 2-1 home defeat to the New York Red Bulls.

Sporting’s early exit from the US Open Cup - eliminated in the round of 32 by Colorado Springs Switchbacks means the MLS regular season is their sole remaining focus, and with 29th place in the combined MLS standings reflecting a similarly difficult campaign to last season’s 29th-place finish, the pressure on Wicky to deliver improvement is significant.

Friday’s match represents an opportunity for Sporting to use the break as a reset and build some much-needed momentum, but facing a St. Louis side unbeaten in five and playing at home makes that task considerably harder than it might appear on the surface.

St Louis City Major League Soccer form:

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St Louis City form (all competitions):

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Sporting Kansas City Major League Soccer form:

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Team News

Conrad Wallem returns to the St. Louis lineup having served his one-match suspension against Austin FC, and the midfielder is expected to slot straight back into Damet’s starting setup.

Defender Jaziel Orozco remains sidelined with the hamstring injury he sustained in May, with no confirmed return date yet available.

Simon Becher is expected to lead the St. Louis attack, with Marcel Hartel - who has contributed three goals this season providing support alongside him in the forward line.

Eduard Lowen, Chris Durkin and Daniel Edelman are set to feature in midfield alongside the returning Wallem, giving Damet a balanced and experienced engine room for Friday’s contest.

For Sporting Kansas City, captain and leading scorer Dejan Joveljic which six goals, is expected to start up front alongside Taylor Calheira, with the pair carrying the primary goalscoring responsibility for Wicky’s side.

Zorhan Bassong and Lasse Berg Johnsen are set to feature in midfield, with Capita and Calvin Harris providing width from the wing as Sporting look to find some attacking fluency after a difficult first half of the season.

The back four of Jayden Reid, Wyatt Meyer, Ian James and Jacob Davis is expected to provide the defensive structure for a side that will be acutely aware of their league-high conceding record heading into Friday’s away trip.

St Louis City possible starting lineup:

Lundt; Polvara, Baumgartl, Fall; Wallem, Durkin, Edelman, Totland; Lowen, Becher, Hartel

Sporting Kansas City possible starting lineup:

Cleveland; Reid, Meyer, James, Davis; Harris, Bassong, Johnsen, Capita; Joveljic, Calheira

We say: St Louis City 2-0 Sporting Kansas City

St. Louis return from the World Cup break as the form side of this fixture, unbeaten in five and playing at home against the division’s bottom side - a combination that makes it difficult to look beyond a comfortable home victory on Friday evening.

With St. Louis having kept a clean sheet in their last competitive outing against Austin FC, the visitors look ill-equipped to cope with a home side that will be full of confidence and backed by a partisan Energizer Park crowd.

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