Houston Dynamo vs. Sporting Kansas City | MLS Match Preview

#HOUvSKC: Old East rivals meet at BBVA | 8:30 pm, MLS LIVE

Houston Dynamo vs. Sporting Kansas City, April 25, 2015

HOUSTON DYNAMO vs SPORTING KANSAS CITY
BBVA COMPASS STADIUM, Houston, Texas
April 25, 2015 (WEEK 8, MLS Game #70)
8:30 p.m. ET (MLS LIVE)


Still conference rivals despite a shift from East to West, the Houston Dynamo and Sporting Kansas City meet for the first time this season when the clubs face off Saturday evening at BBVA Compass Stadium. The Dynamo return home off the heels of a 1-1 draw at D.C. United last weekend, while Sporting saw their four-game undefeated run come to an end in a late 2-1 loss at the LA Galaxy. It’s a rivalry born from three consecutive meetings between the clubs in the MLS Cup Playoffs from 2011-13 – when both clubs were in the Eastern Conference.


  • Ricardo Clark has scored goals in consecutive games for the fourth time in his MLS career after netting the Dynamo’s goal in their 1-1 draw at D.C. United over the weekend. Each of Clark’s last six goals have come in three pairs of back-to-back games.
  • Sporting saw their four-game undefeated run put to an end in a 2-1 loss at the LA Galaxy on Saturday evening at StubHub Center. Krisztian Nemeth has scored the last two goals for SKC; Benny Feilhaber collected an assist, his fifth of the season to lead MLS.
  • Each team won at the other’s home ground in the two meetings a season ago. Sporting won 2-0 at BBVA Compass Stadium on June 6, then the Dynamo returned the favor with a 3-1 victory Aug. 29 at Sporting Park.
  • The teams met three consecutive seasons in the MLS Cup Playoffs from 2011-13, the Dynamo advancing in the first two meetings before SKC triumphed in the last. The 2011 and 2013 meetings were for the Eastern Conference Championship; both clubs find themselves in the Western Conference beginning this season.


REFEREE: Kevin Stott. AR1 (bench): Chris Strickland; AR2 (opposite): Apolinar Mariscal; 4th: Armando Villarreal
MLS Career: 263 games; FC/gm: 25.5; Y/gm: 3.3; R: 64; pens: 66


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SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: none
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: HOU: Kofi Sarkodie, Ricardo Clark
DISABLED LIST: none
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: KC: Erik Palmer-Brown (U.S. U-20)


HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (20 meetings): Dynamo 7 wins, 25 goals … Sporting 5 wins, 22 goals … Ties 8
AT HOUSTON (10 meetings): Dynamo 3 wins, 12 goals … Sporting 3 wins, 10 goals … Ties 4
RETURN MATCHES: 8/1: Sporting Kansas City vs. Houston Dynamo, 7:30 p.m. CT; 9/23: Houston Dynamo vs. Sporting Kansas City, 7:30 p.m. CT


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Sporting Kansas City midfielder Benny Feilhaber sounds off on dislike for Real Salt Lake
Alexander Lopez earns rave reviews in first chance to impress new Houston Dynamo head coach Owen Coyle
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