Sporting KC head to Atlanta seeking first win in six

Sporting Kansas City head coach Raphael Wicky is "absolutely 100% convinced" his team can get back to winning ways as they prepare to travel to Atlanta United in MLS.

Sporting KC have won just one of their six games since returning from the World Cup break, a 2-1 home win over Minnesota United, and have drawn one and lost four in that period. They were on a three-game losing streak without scoring before coming from behind to earn a 1-1 draw against St. Louis City SC last time out.

The result leaves Sporting KC rooted to the foot of the Western Conference table, but Wicky believes the performance against St. Louis can serve as a confidence boost.

Wicky on the St. Louis draw

"I don't think we have changed anything," Wicky said after the St. Louis draw. "I felt they played free with the concept we wanted."

"We told them where the spaces are, and they found them, and they did really well."

"I wish that we could have this every single weekend, because if you play more games like we did, I believe that we can win games. I'm absolutely 100% convinced."

Atlanta United in form

Atlanta, meanwhile, have won their last two matches 2-1 against the New York Red Bulls and Minnesota United after a seven-game winless streak beforehand.

The Five Stripes are also bottom of the East with 18 points, but they are just six points behind the playoffs heading into this weekend's action.

"It means a lot," Tristan Muyumba said after beating Minnesota. "It means we care about the situation we are in."

"And I think no one wants to stay in this position. And we just want to improve. We want to show we are better than that."

"We showed a lot of character because it's never easy to get three points."

Players to watch

Atlanta United – Aleksey Miranchuk
With his assist on the winning goal Wednesday, Aleksey Miranchuk has recorded an assist in four straight matches, equalling the club record set by Hector Villalba in 2018. The only players to record an assist in five straight matches in MLS this season are Lionel Messi (May) and Evander (May-August).

Sporting Kansas City – Calvin Harris
Calvin Harris scored the equalising goal in Kansas City's 1-1 draw against St. Louis City SC, his eighth goal contribution of the season. Sporting have lost only two of the matches in which Harris has contributed to a goal (W2 D2 L2) compared to 11 losses in the 14 matches in which he was not involved in one (W2 D1).

Match prediction and context

Atlanta won each of their last two meetings with Sporting, scoring three goals in each game (3-0 away in 2019, 3-1 at home in 2022). The only opponent Atlanta have scored three or more goals against in three straight regular-season meetings is the San Jose Earthquakes from 2017 to 2019.

Atlanta have recorded back-to-back wins for the second time this regular season with a 2-1 victory over Minnesota United, and are looking to win three straight matches within a single regular season for the first time in nearly five years, since a three-game run in September 2021.

Sporting KC have lost 14 of their last 16 regular-season away matches (W2) dating back to July 2025, having been outscored 51-12.

OPTA win probability: Atlanta United 50.6%, Draw 25%, Sporting Kansas City 24.4%.