Sporting KC captain calls for clearer decisions

Sporting Kansas City captain Lasse Berg Johnsen has urged his teammates to communicate more effectively as the club tries to halt a damaging slide and keep its MLS playoff hopes alive.

Sporting KC sit bottom of the Western Conference before their trip to Houston Dynamo. Their position worsened last weekend when they surrendered a 3-0 lead to lose 4-3 against Philadelphia Union, conceding four times in a nine-minute second-half collapse.

Berg Johnsen believes the team needs to make quicker, collective decisions during difficult stretches of matches. “We need to talk to each other and look at each other and agree on if we are going to press them for the next minutes or are we going to keep playing or are we going to go longer and go for the second balls,” he said.

The captain added that Sporting KC had not handled those situations well enough, particularly when players become silent on the pitch. “We need to talk to each other to make sure we are on the same wavelength,” Berg Johnsen said.

Houston arrive as strong favourites

Houston Dynamo are second in the Western Conference, five points behind leaders Vancouver Whitecaps, although their recent form has been uneven. After a 1-0 loss to San Jose Earthquakes, Houston drew 2-2 with FC Cincinnati and have won only once in their last six MLS games.

The Dynamo have nevertheless extended their home unbeaten run to nine matches, with six wins and three draws. They also beat Sporting KC away in August and are seeking to complete a regular-season sweep of the series for the first time.

Key attacking threats

Houston forward Guilherme has scored a team-leading 14 goals this season, matching Erick Torres for the second-highest single-season regular-season total in Dynamo history. Only Mauro Manotas, with 19 goals in 2018, has scored more for the club in a regular season.

Sporting KC will look to Andre Luiz after his first MLS brace. Luiz has scored three times in his first four matches for the club, and Sporting are averaging 2.25 goals per game in MLS matches in which he has played, compared with 0.95 when he has been absent.

Opta gives Houston a 63.5 per cent chance of victory, with the draw rated at 19.4 per cent and a Sporting KC win at 17.1 per cent. Sporting have scored at least three goals in three consecutive regular-season games, but must improve their defensive communication if that attacking form is to translate into points.