When Sporting Kansas City hosts Los Angeles FC on Saturday, they can extend their Major League Soccer winning streak at Children's Mercy Park to five games.
After defeating Austin FC 4-1 at home, SKC currently holds the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. LA has lost its last six games overall, including a 1-0 loss to the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday.
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Peter Vermes has adjusted and found a way to get his Kansas City team back on track, now on a four-match unbeaten run, despite experiencing another challenging start to an MLS season.
Their offensive prowess has recently been on display at Children's Mercy Park, where SKC scored a combined 13 goals in its last four games after scoring just one in its first four MLS games there this year.
The players on this team are contributing and stepping up after a disappointing start to the season, which has allowed them to win at least a point in seven of their previous eight home games against opponents from the Western Conference, including a 1-1 draw at LAFC last month.
The Black and Gold have recently put on some underwhelming performances, possibly still smarting from a CONCACAF Champions League loss.
The defending MLS Cup champions have gone four games without scoring in all competitions, which is their longest goalless streak as a team since Steve Cherundolo took over before the 2022 season.
Before this season, this team had only failed to score in consecutive regular-season games once, but if they fail to score on Saturday, it will be the first time they have done so in three straight games in this competition.
In six of their last seven away games, LAFC has failed to win after 90 minutes. They recently lost 4-0 to Houston Dynamo on the road in an MLS match, which was the club's worst domestic loss since losing 5-1 to Minnesota United and 5-0 to Atlanta United in their inaugural season in 2018.
Here GOAL brings you everything you need to know about how to watch, including TV channel, streaming details and more.
Sporting Kansas City vs LAFC kick-off time
| Date: | Jun 17, 2023 |
| Kick-off time: | 8:30 pm ET / 5:30 pm PT |
| Venue: | Children's Mercy Park |
Sporting Kansas City and LAFC face off on Jun 17 at Children's Mercy Park. Kickoff is set for 8:30 pm Eastern Time (ET), or 5:30 pm Pacific Time (PT).
How to watch Sporting Kansas City vs LAFC online - TV channels & live streams
 | Apple TV | Watch here |
The game will not be broadcast live on TV but will be available to stream live online through Apple TV MLS Season Pass.
Team news & squads
Sporting KC team news
Logan Ndenbe, Tim Melia, Kortne Ford and Gadi Kinda are out with injuries for the LAFC, but Alan Pulido returned from injury last week and is expected to start the game.
Sporting Kansas City possible XI: Pulskamp; Davis, Castellanos, Voloder, Ndenbe; Radoja, Walter, Thommy; Russell, Pulido, Salloi.
| Position | Players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Pulskamp, McIntosh |
| Defenders | Fontas, Liebold, Zusi, Pierre, Valencia, Voloder, Sweat, Castellanos, Rindov |
| Midfielders | Tzonis, Rodoja, Espinoza, Thommy, Walter, Hernandez, Duke, Cisneros, Davis, Flores |
| Forwards | Salloi, Pulido |
Los Angeles team news
LAFC still has Maxime Crepeau unavailable and will only expect him back towards the second half of the season. LAFC will once again rely on Denis Bouanga for goals, as he is their and MLS' joint top scorer with 10 strikes to his name, level with Nashville's Hany Mukhtar and Dallas' Jesus Ferreira.
LAFC possible XI: McCarthy; Hollingshead, Murillo, Chiellini, Palacios; Sanchez; Tillman, Acosta, Cifuentes; Vela, Bouanga.
| Position | Players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | McCarthy, Jakupovic |
| Defenders | Chiellini, Palacios, Palencia, Murillo, Leone, Long, Maldonado, Hollingshead |
| Midfielders | Bluk, Bogusz, Cifuentes, Acosta, Tillman, Sanchez, Duenas |
| Forwards | Vela, Bouanga, Opoku, Torres |
Head-to-Head Record
Over their last five games, LAFC has won thrice while SKC has managed only one win. The last game between these two took place exactly a month ago and saw a 1-1 stalemate.