Pre-match Preview: CITY SC to face Sporting KC for the last time in 2024

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - After sharing points in both of their previous meetings, St. Louis CITY SC and Sporting KC will face off for the final time this season.

One could say a lot about St. Louis CITY SC’s 2024 campaign. Whatever adjectives come to mind, at the end of the day, only one thing matters; beating KC.

Last Time Out

St. Louis earned its first road win of the year last weekend, defeating the San Jose Earthquakes 2-1 at PayPal Park.

The first half saw all three goals of the match, starting within the first five minutes. Cedric Teuchert scored his fourth goal of the season to put CITY up early. This was followed by a penalty by Marcel Hartel to increase the advantage.

In the 40th minute, however, San Jose’s Jeremy Ebobisse found the back of the net to narrow the gap. The second half was controlled mostly by San Jose. But, thanks to some gritty defending and phenomenal saves by Roman Bürki, St. Louis was able to walk away with its first three points on the road in 2024.

Teuchert’s goal was his third in four matches. The German attacker has now scored within five minutes of play for the second match in a row. The goal was set up by Jannes Horn, who recorded his first career MLS assist.

Hartel’s penalty conversion marked his second goal of the year. Along with an assist to Teuchert, he now has seven goal contributions through his first five MLS matches.

St. Louis now holds a record of 4-0-0 against the San Jose Earthquakes.

Rivalry Week

St. Louis will wrap up September by hosting its rivals Sporting Kansas City for the third meeting between the two sides this season.

The last time these two faced off was at the end of July when they played to a a 3-3 draw in late April. The last time either of these teams beat the other was on November 5, 2023, when KC bounced St. Louis out of the MLS Playoffs, ending its inaugural season for good.

Both clubs have had a sub-par 2024, spending most of their time in the bottom five of the MLS Western Conference. Now, the two Missouri sides have an opportunity to “claim bragging rights” over 2024, given that neither of their former meetings resulted in wins.

CITY SC still holds the No. 13 spot with 31 points, following its last win at home. João Klauss still leads the club in scoring with five goals, trailed by Eduard Löwen, Cedric Teuchert, and Nökkvi Thórisson, each tallying four.

As for health, CITY SC is working to manage injuries to Chris Durkin, Henry Kessler, and Joakim Nilsson.

In addition, Löwen, Teuchert, Jannes Horn, and Marcel Hartel were dealing with some physical limitations at training on Tuesday. But, all have mostly positive outlooks ahead of Saturday.

As it stands, Sporting KC sits in the No. 12 spot with 31 points, right in front of St. Louis. They’re coming off a 3-1 loss to LAFC in the U.S. Open Cup Final, which could be advantageous for St. Louis as they’ve had a full week between action.

KC is led by several dangerous attackers. The names that come to mind are William Agada, Alan Pulido, and Erik Thommy. All three have sured the five-goal mark. Pulido is among four players on this roster to have at least five assists. Agada was the lone goalscorer for KC in the 1-1 draw against St. Louis in July. In the April meeting, both Pulido and Thommy made their contributions to a thrilling 3-3 draw that saw St. Louis equalize in post-90 minutes.

Despite its weakened state, this is a club that knows how to approach its rival.

“We know that it was a difficult season, we know that we can do better,” Goalkeeper Roman Bürki said in a press conference. “And now we just need to finish the season up with good performances, with the most amount of wins that are possible to get.”

Bottom Line: There isn’t much to say. It’s likely that both these clubs’ seasons have been decided already. If this was anywhere else in the country, one might throw in the towel. But, this is Missouri. Soccer runs deep within this part of the nation. As the two MLS clubs representing the U.S. state with arguably the most overall history in the sport, this matchup will always carry significant meaning. The goal of back-to-back playoff appearances may now be out of reach. But, beating KC isn’t.

“This is a personal thing,” said Bürki. “We have to win.”

Kick-off is set for 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28 at CITYPARK.

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