Colorado Rapids vs Sporting KC Preview With Daniel Sperry

Commerce City, Colo.- The Rapids return home to take on Sporting Kansas City.

It’s a team they beat in the reverse fixture 4-1. Colorado comes into the match sitting in 11th place, beating Austin FC at home with a late winner. Sporting KC enters the match winless in two and sitting at the bottom of the west. It’s the first match without Lucas Herrington and a must win as Colorado continues to hunt for playoffs.

To get a better idea of the matchup, Burgundy Wave spoke with Daniel Sperry of the Kansas City Star.

Burgundy Wave: With SKC struggling so far in the season. What will sporting look to do to get a result away from home?

Daniel Sperry: Honestly, not quite sure. This team isn’t really possession-based, and you don’t usually play and win possession-based games as the road team in MLS, much less do so at altitude. I think they’ll do their best to stay compact and keep working on the defensive side of the ball.

Their biggest problem is that conceding early tends to make them open up a lot more. Defensively, Sporting hasn’t been good in any way, especially when they give up fast-break opportunities. They won’t exactly bunker, but they’ll likely be very risk-averse going forward.

BW: What should Rapids fans expect from this sporting side, where will sporting tactically look to hurt Colorado?

DS: They will look to try and get Colorado in behind. We all know Matt Wells likes to press and can play a relatively high line at times. I think with the pace of Capita and Calvin Harris, plus the long-ball capabilities of Manu Garcia, I wouldn’t be surprised if they looked to try and hit Colorado over the top before attempting to play through them.

I will be curious what the midfield looks like. That seems to be the biggest wild card. Lasse Berg Johnsen is suspended after picking up a red card in the last match. Wicky could try a variety of ways to solve the midfield puzzle, and it may give Sporting a different look than they’ve shown all season.

BW: A prediction for the match and one player to watch out for?

DS: I’m going to say Colorado wins 2-0. Sporting has had a hard time scoring since coming back from the break, and I don’t exactly see a road match in Colorado where Sporting all of a sudden figure it out.

I will say of any Sporting player to watch, watch Moises Mosquera. He’s a physically imposing center back, who we really haven’t seen a whole lot of yet since his summer arrival, and he will provide plenty of intrigue, too. He has looked good in his minutes so far, and he might be the key to turning around Sporting’s defensive woes.

Thank you for reading Burgundy Wave. Support us via our Patreon starting at $5/month. You can also make a one-time contribution via Tip Jar. We’re always looking for new talent. Let us know if you’re interested in covering Colorado Soccer.