Acción del partido entre St. Louis City SC y Sporting KC jugado el 20 de Mayo del 2023. Crédito: Will Bramlett.
The Clásico de la Capital is back in St. Louis, and St. Louis City SC is ready to define the series of the year, which is currently tied. Apart from the honor of winning this young classic series, the teams have different expectations going into the match on Saturday, September 30. City is already qualified for the playoffs, aiming to continue accumulating points to secure a spot among the top four and ultimately vie for first place. On the other hand, Kansas City is currently in the tenth position in the conference, two points behind the ninth position, and they arrive at the CITYPARK needing a result to keep their chances of qualification alive.
Sporting KC has 38 points and one more game played than FC Dallas, who is currently the last team in the postseason. A defeat for Sporting KC and victories for FC Dallas and San Jose would leave Sporting KC on the brink of elimination. They haven't been great away from home, with a record of 2 wins, 7 losses, and 6 draws, although they did win their last away game 1-0 against Minnesota United FC. Since the resumption of matches after the Leagues Cup break, Sporting KC has won 4 games and lost 2. In their last match, despite playing 51 minutes with a man down due to Johnny Russell's expulsion, they defeated Houston Dynamo 2-1. Their top scorer, Alan Pulido, who has 13 goals this season, missed the Dynamo match due to injury and may also miss the Clásico if he doesn't recover in time. Nigerian William Agada replaced Pulido against Dynamo and scored one of the goals. Other key players to watch out for in the Clásico are Daniel Sallói, who has scored 7 goals and provided 6 assists this season, and Erik Thommy, who has scored 4 goals and provided 10 assists.
St. Louis City SC enters this match after a come-from-behind victory against Minnesota, winning 2-1. This win marked their return to winning ways as an away team and also equaled the record for most wins by an expansion team. They have the opportunity to set a new record if they win one more game. In terms of injuries, Rasmus Alm is doubtful due to a groin injury, while Miguel Perez (ankle) and Lucas Bartlett (shoulder) will not be available for the match. Tim Parker, Eduard Löwen, Sam Adeniran, and Josh Yaro, who missed some training sessions during the week, are not reported as injured.
This match brings together two teams who are familiar with each other, having faced off just four weeks ago, with the neighbors securing a 2-1 victory thanks to a brace from Alan Pulido. It is a decisive match for Kansas City, who will have to push for a result, potentially creating spaces for the city's red team to apply pressure and execute swift transitions.
Kick-off will be at 7:00pm CT, and KXOK 102.9 FM will cover all the excitement of the match in Spanish, starting with the pre-match analysis at 6:30pm.
