Raphael Durand
Dailysports's expert
One of the upcoming MLS fixtures will take place at Children’s Mercy Park, where home side Sporting Kansas City will host FC Dallas. I’m backing a bet on goals in this match with a solid value.
Match preview
Sporting Kansas City are enduring a tough season: just 4 wins in 17 games and sitting in the lower half of the standings. Defensive lapses are a recurring issue — 31 goals conceded tells the story. Despite this, Kerry Zavagnin’s side are intent on playing proactive football, focusing on ball control and aggressive attacking play, but consistency in executing this approach has been lacking so far.
Their latest outing — a 1-3 defeat to Los Angeles FC — highlighted their defensive weaknesses. At home, Sporting have delivered only moderate results: two wins, two draws, and three defeats. This upcoming fixture is crucial for Kansas as they look to rebuild confidence, especially with the need to collect points ahead of the summer stretch of the campaign.
Dallas are also far from their best, despite sitting slightly higher in the table — 11th in the West with 18 points. The team has now gone five games without a win, underlining deep issues in attack — just 18 goals scored all season. The lack of cutting edge up front remains a major headache, with creativity evaporating in the final third.
A goalless draw against Philadelphia in their last match is yet another sign of a toothless attack. That said, Dallas have looked a bit more assured on the road: three wins and four draws in nine away matches. Coach Eric Quill is relying on a compact defense and quick transitions, but the inability to convert chances is preventing his side from turning effort into points.
Probable lineups
- Sporting: Pulskamp - Afrifa, Bartlett, Jurcic, Salloi - Voloder, Joveljic, Leibold, Miller - Radoja, Rodriguez
- FC Dallas: Maarten Paes, Lalas Abubakar, Osaze Urhoghide, Sebastian Ibeagha, Marco Farfan, Shaw, Pedro Delgado, Logan Farrington, Ramiro, Pedrinho, Anderson Julio
Match facts and head-to-head
- The last meeting ended with a 2-1 win for Dallas
- In the last five head-to-heads, each team has claimed two victories
- The "Both teams to score" bet has landed in the last 10 meetings between these sides
Prediction
Given both teams’ current form and their head-to-head history, Sporting Kansas City look like the favorites on paper. Despite their defensive struggles, they tend to play with more confidence at home, and their previous H2H successes give them a psychological edge. However, our recommended bet is "Both teams to score" at odds of 1.65.
