Sporting Kansas City vs. San Jose Earthquakes | 2018 MLS Match Preview

Dylan Butler

Sporting Kansas City vs. San Jose Earthquakes
2018 MLS Regular Season – Week 3
Children’s Mercy Park - Kansas City
8:30 pm ET – March 17, 2018
WATCH: MLS LIVE

Sporting Kansas City brushed themselves off following a 2-0 season-opening loss to New York City FC to defeat the Chicago Fire, 4-3, in a wild Week 2 clash, while a rested San Jose Earthquakes are hoping to keep their mojo going after opening the season with a 3-2 win over Minnesota United FC.

Sporting KC

The bad news: SKC have conceded five goals in their first two games. A year ago, it took Peter Vermes’ side 10 games to reach that amount. The good news: They scored four goals for the first time since beating Vancouver Whitecaps FC by the same scoreline Aug. 15, 2015.

Felipe Gutierrez bagged a brace, including the winner four minutes from full time, to earn a spot on the MLS Team of the Week presented by Audi and Johnny Russell also opened his account for SKC in the rare offensive explosion.

Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: None
Injury Report: QUESTIONABLE: F - Jo Inge Berget (quad)

Projected Starting XI
(4-3-3, right to left)
GK: Tim Melia — Graham Zusi, Ike Opara, Matt Besler, Seth Sinovic — Roger Espinoza, Ilie Sanchez, Felipe Gutierrez — Johnny Russell, Khiry Shelton, Daniel Salloi

Notes: Sporting have conceded multiple goals in back-to-back games for the first time since May 7-13, 2017. They have not done so in three consecutive games since Aug. 27-Sept. 18, 2016. … Sporting are winless in their last three home games (2L-1D) after going unbeaten in their previous 24 home games (17W-7D).

San Jose Earthquakes

Can the Quakes be the third team this season to put multiple goals into the usually-well-defended SKC net? The week off helped San Jose get healthy with Uruguayan defender Yeferson Quintana, who left the season-opening 3-2 win over the Loons with a twisted ankle, now fully fit.

In the opener, Danny Hoesen and Valeri “Vako” Qazaishvili impressed, with Hoesen scoring a pair of goals to earn the first Alcatel MLS Player of the Week award of the year, as voted on by the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR). Vako, who was called up by the Georgian national team for friendlies against Lithuania and Estonia later this month, added a goal and two assists.

Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: None
Injury Report: None

Projected Starting XI
(4-4-2, right to left)
GK: Andrew Tarbell — Shea Salinas, Harold Cummings, Yefferson Quintana, Nick Lima — Valeri Qazaishvili, Florian Jungwirth, Anibal Godoy, Magnus Eriksson — Chris Wondolowski, Danny Hoesen

Notes: Wondolowski needs one goal to move into second place all-time in league history (currently has 134, tied with Jeff Cunningham). He has eight goals in 15 career games against Sporting Kansas City (inc. playoffs). … San Jose conceded 30 goals on the road from the beginning of June to the end of last season, the third-most in the league. They conceded just nine goals on the road from the start of the season until the end of May, tied for the fifth-fewest in MLS.

All-Time Series

Overall: Sporting KC 24 wins (4 shootout), 65 goals … Earthquakes 24 wins (3 shootout), 67 goals … Ties 8
At Kansas City.: Sporting Kansas City 19 wins (2 shootouts), 44 goals … Earthquakes 8 wins (2 shootout), 29 goals … Ties 1
Last meeting at Kansas City: Sporting Kansas City 2, San Jose Earthquakes 1 (March 18, 2017)