A marquee Western Conference showdown is in the cards this coming Saturday as third place Sporting Kansas City hosts leaders Seattle Sounders FC at Sporting Park. Both teams will put their respective unbeaten streaks on the line in this contest so expect a mouth-watering showdown between the two sides.
Read on below for a preview of this MLS matchup and while you’re at it, you can check out our preview of the Champions League final between Barcelona and Juventus.
[sc:Soccer ]Sporting Kansas City vs. Seattle Sounders Betting Preview
Where: Sporting Park, Kansas City, Kansas
When: Saturday, June 6, 8:30 PM ET
Line: Seattle Sounders +197 at Sporting Kansas City +118, tie +217; total: 2.5 – view all MLS lines
Betting on Sporting Kansas City
Sporting Kansas City stretched their unbeaten run to six games with a resounding 4-0 win against FC Dallas on Friday. Sporting KC have now scored 12 points out of a possible 18 in their last six matches as they moved into a tie for third place in the Western Conference standings.
[sc:Soccer240banner ]Leading the way for Sporting in their win against FC Dallas was Krisztian Nemeth. He scored a goal and dished out an assist in that four-goal romp. Nemeth now has five goals and two assists over Sporting’s last seven games.
Key to Sporting’s rise this season has been their excellent attack. They lead the entire league not only in goals (21) but also in assists (26) as well. To illustrate Sporting’s offensive prowess, they have three of the 10 four-goal games in the MLS this season. No other team in the league has scored four goals more than once this season.
They are the only team in the MLS this season to have three players with four or more goals. Krisztian Nemeth leads the team with six goals followed by Dom Dwyer and Benny Feilhaber who have four goals apiece.
Their world-class attack will be tested, though, by a solid Seattle Sounders side this coming Saturday. In their first meeting this season, Sporting was held by Seattle to a scoreless draw. For Sporting to grab the victory this time around, they will need to find ways to beat Seattle’s star goalkeeper Stefan Frei. Frei boasts a league-best 0.77 goals-against-average among keepers with 500 minutes played. He also leads the league in saves (52) and save percentage (83.9) this season.
Sporting KC are 3-0-3 in their last six matches.
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Betting on the Seattle Sounders
The Seattle Sounders extended their unbeaten run to four matches with a nerve-wracking 2-1 win against the New York Red Bulls on Sunday. Chad Barrett scored a dramatic late winner for the Sounders who moved three points clear at the top of the Western Conference standings.
They will look to stretch that advantage even further with a win against Sporting this coming weekend. They will fancy their chances of doing just that as they have fared extremely well against Sporting in the past. Seattle is 7-1-2 all-time against Sporting in the regular season. Sporting KC’s nine-game regular season winless run against Seattle is the longest versus any team in their club history.
Expected to lead the Sounders’ attack this coming Saturday is star striker Clint Dempsey. He is third in the MLS not only in goals (7) but also in assists (6) as well. With Dempsey in prime form, Seattle has managed to climb the scoring charts, ranking second in the league with 20 goals scored this season.
Seattle’s vaunted attack will have their work cut out for them, however, against Sporting goalkeeper Tim Melia. He has an unbeaten 3-0-2 record through his first five starts, including three clean sheets and a stunning 0.60 goals against average.
Seattle is 4-1-1 in its last six matches.
Writer’s Prediction
Sporting KC (+118) beats Seattle, 2-1.
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