Coming off a tough loss, the Colorado Rapids will aim to rebound when they visit Sporting Kansas City on Saturday in Kansas City, Kan.
Colorado (10-12-6, 36 points) is in seventh place in the Western Conference, and five points above the playoff line. With the postseason not a given, the Rapids can’t afford a repeat of last Saturday, when they had only a single shot on target in a 3-0 loss to the last-place Los Angeles Galaxy.
The Rapids are also out for revenge following a 2-1 loss to Kansas City (6-15-6, 24 points) on July 4 in the clubs’ first meeting of the season.
Since defeating Colorado, Sporting Kansas City have been outscored 17-6 during a six-match winless drought (0-5-1). SKC have conceded 55 goals this season, tied for the most in MLS.
“We play such on the edge, and part of that is with the idea that we do want to go for it,” interim coach Kerry Zavagnin said after Sunday’s 5-2 loss to the Seattle Sounders. “And we understand that we’re flawed in certain areas of the game and we’ve shown an inability to defend the goal in key moments throughout the course of this entire season … Sometimes when you go for it, you’re penalized for it.”
Dejan Joveljic leads Sporting Kansas City with 14 goals, though the striker has scored just once in his last five matches.
Rafael Navarro leads the Rapids with 11 goals, though, the team’s leader in goal contributions is still Djordje Mihailovic, who was traded to Toronto FC on Aug. 7.
The Mihailovic deal was part of a busy transfer window for the Rapids, who reloaded their roster for the stretch run. Newly acquired Paxten Aaronson and Rafael Santos made their Colorado debuts last Saturday, and defender Rob Holding is likely to make his first appearance against Kansas City.
“Each guy in their own way I think has added a nice little lift to the group, and collectively they’ve given us a little push that maybe was needed,” Rapids head coach Chris Armas said.
Midfielder Connor Ronan (ankle injury) could be available after missing Colorado’s last four matches. Defender Reggie Cannon won’t play Saturday due to a suspension for caution accumulation.
–Field Level Media
