MLS Preview: Wounded Sporting must bounce back

Reigning MLS Cup champions Sporting Kansas City will limp into Thursday’s knockout play-off match away to New York Red Bulls.

Sporting have three players on their long-term injury list, while four others are in doubt for the trip to New York, after the title-holders played three games in eight days last week.

United States international defender Matt Besler (thigh), goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum (calf), midfielder Benny Feilhaber (ankle) and defender Igor Juliao (hamstring) will need to prove their fitness to be involved against the Red Bulls.

Ironically enough, Sporting ended their regular season with a home game against New York on Sunday, suffering their third straight loss in all competitions after a brace from Red Bulls striker Bradley Wright-Phillips, who heads into the play-offs with 27 goals this term – the most in the MLS.

Prior to the loss to the Red Bulls, Sporting went down in Costa Rica to Deportivo Saprissa 2-0 in the CONCACAF Champions League on Thursday to miss out on the knockout rounds in that competition, while they also suffered defeat at Philadelphia Union in the MLS on October 18.

Sunday’s loss saw Kansas City drop from third to fifth in the Eastern Conference with the Red Bulls (fourth) and Columbus Crew (third) winning to leapfrog Sporting in the standings.

That means Sporting missed out on a week off to begin the play-offs but coach Peter Vermes is not focused on that.

“Our mindset has to be on getting recovered,” he said after the loss to New York.

“The difficulty we have at the moment is that we’ve played a boatload of games with a squad that’s already been depleted, and we keep trying to plug holes, and it hasn’t been easy.”

Sporting will hope their English striker Dominic Dwyer, who finished second behind Wright-Phillips in the race for the golden boot with 22 goals, can find some form at Red Bull Arena on Thursday.

Dwyer has not scored in two games but he does have six goals in his past 10 matches in all competitions.

The winner of Red Bulls versus Sporting will face Eastern Conference champions DC United over two legs on November 2 and 8, and Vermes’ men will have to be wary as Kansas City have lost three of the past five meetings with New York.

In the Western Conference, fourth-placed FC Dallas will host Vancouver Whitecaps, who finished fifth.

Dallas have not lost at home to the Whitecaps since the latter joined the MLS in 2011, while Vancouver will be looking to progress past the knockout round of the play-offs for the first time.

The Whitecaps have not lost in five games, however, winning four of them, including Saturday’s game against Colorado Rapids, while Dallas lost their last regular-season fixture 2-0 to Portland Timbers – one of two defeats in five matches.