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Desperate Sporting Kansas City, with their slim playoff hopes, will host surging Orlando City SC Saturday night in Kansas City, Kan.

Sporting KC (6-14-6, 24 points) are nine points below the playoff line in the Western Conference with eight matches left in the regular season. Orlando City (9-9-7, 34 points) sit in seventh in the Eastern Conference. They’re 4-0-1 in their last five MLS matches, and their 13 points since the start of July are the most in MLS.

Both teams have been idle for the past two weeks after suffering elimination from the Leagues Cup in the round of 32.

Sporting KC coach Peter Vermes knows his team is in for a challenge against Oscar Pareja’s squad.

“His teams are always prepared, always hungry,” Vermes said. “They play with a great level of passion. They play that way because that’s the way Oscar played. I played against him. He had fire in him, and he’s done the same thing as a coach.

“Where they’re difficult is that they can make stuff through combination play, but they can also hurt you on the counter. You’ve got to be very alert with them.”

Orlando City has fared much better away (6-4-3) than at home (3-5-4) this season. In fact, the Lions are the only team currently two or more games below .500 at home and two or more games above .500 on the road.

Playing at Kansas City doesn’t cause Pareja to doubt that his team will continue to play well.

“We’ve definitely had a good two weeks of work,” he said. “We’re trying to evaluate what we have done good and why we need to improve.

“We see a team with very similar structures that they used to have. We know the intensity that Peter has with his teams. We are prepared to go in there and try to get three points.”

Facundo Torres paces Orlando with eight goals this season. William Agada has nine for SKC.

The two sides have not met in more than three years with the last matchup coming on April 23, 2021. Sporting KC’s last two clashes with Orlando have come at Children’s Mercy Park (one loss, one draw).

–Field Level Media