MLS Minnesota United FC

Minnesota United FC vs. Sporting Kansas City Preview

April 26, 2024 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Minnesota United FC News Release


GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. -- Minnesota United this weekend returns home to Saint Paul to host Western Conference rival Sporting Kansas City. The Loons last week confidently captured three points and a win against Charlotte FC, and midfielder Robin Lod continued his goal-contribution stride; Lod now has eight goal contributions across the past seven matches, ranking himself towards the top of MLS in goal contributions (goals & assists) with the likes of Cincinnati's Lucho Acosta, Inter Miami's Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi, and Real Salt Lake's Chico Arango.

Sporting Kansas City enters Saturday night's contest having given up a lead at home against their in-state rival, St. Louis CITY SC. The match ended in a thrilling 3-3 draw due to a late-game equalizer by St. Louis. That draw comes off the back of another close result, that time a 3-2 loss against Inter Miami. With two close results in thrilling fashion, the Kansas City side is seeking to rebound and regroup into a better form, hoping to continue their winning ways against the Loons.

Minnesota this weekend is seeking to earn its first home win against regional rival SKC since a 2-1 victory in October of 2021. With the momentum of a strong road week, the Loons hope to give home fans a chance to celebrate a victory, and the stakes continue to be high for early-season standings amidst a rivalry game.

NEW COMPETITION RULES

Continuing for this weekend's match and also in future league games, MLS and PRO has officially implemented three new competition rules and in-game procedures: Off-Field Treatment, Timed Substitution and In-Venue VAR Ruling Announcements. You can read the full descriptions of the two competition rules HERE. Following the conclusion of VAR checks, the referees will announce (via public address inside each stadium) the rulings of their video checks.

HEAD COACH ERIC RAMSAY ON CONTROLLING TEAMS OFFENSIVELY...

"Our strength going forward, I hope, would be that we're a very solid, disciplined, well-organized side that presses well and restricts the opposition. We've done that so far and that will be the basis of all our group performances. I think whilst we've had a load of chances in the home games, it's partly being on the basis that we've pressed well, been well-organized and the opposition haven't had a chance to progress the ball cleanly through the thirds. We've had a really good balance of the game and that's the basis in which you create chances. So, that will be, as it always is, a big part in what we're trying to do this week."

FORWARD TANI OLUWASEYI ON EXPECTATIONS BEFORE FACING SPORTING KANSAS CITY...

"We still have a couple days until the game, I think we're going to work on a lot of new things this week as well. Going into the game, we want to keep that same energy we had in the first half and the second half from this past weekend and bring that into this upcoming game. We've had a couple games where we started a little bit slow, and that's been a point of emphasis to try and start off on the front foot. That's one thing that can definitely be expected from us [to] start the game off really well and continue that for the 90 minutes."

PLAYER STATUS REPORT:

Minnesota United

OUT:

J. Adebayo-Smith - Ankle

H. Bacharach - Knee

R. Reynoso - Not Due to Injury

QUESTIONABLE:

H. Dotson - Leg

MINNESOTA UNITED FC vs. SPORTING KANSAS CITY

Allianz Field | Saint Paul, Minnesota

04.27.2024 | MLS Regular Season | Match 9

7:30 p.m. CT (MLS Season Pass; MNUFC Radio on 1500 ESPN)

2024 MLS Record (W-L-D)

MIN: 4-2-2 (14 pts. | 1-1-2 at home)

SKC: 2-2-5 (11 pts. | 1-0-2 on the road)

Check out the Minnesota United FC Statistics



Major League Soccer Stories from April 26, 2024


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central