Sporting KC midfielder Paulo Nagamura (R) (Photo : Reuters)
Sporting Kansas City (11-4-7, 40 points) will continue its ascent in the Western Conference standings as it hosts the San Jose Earthquakes (8-10-5, 29 points) at the Sporting Park in Kansas City on Wednesday, August 19.
Sporting KC is currently on a three-game winning streak, with the last one against powerhouse club Vancouver Whitecaps, 4-3. The high-scoring affair was highlighted by a double from Brazilian midfielder Paulo Nagamura, as per ESPN.
The Wizards were down 1-3 when Caps midfielder Pedro Morales scored on a free kick at the 75th-minute. Sporting forward Dominic Dwyer bounced a header off a rebound to get closer before Nagamura's two-goal explosion in the final seven minutes of regulation.
The win put Peter Vermes' men at third place in the West, just two points behind erstwhile leader Vancouver and three points behind new West leader LA Galaxy.
Meanwhile, the Quakes are also coming off a victory with a 1-0 nipping of lowly Colorado Rapids in their match on August 14, Friday, via SB Nation.
Center back Clarence Goodson scored the lone goal of the game coming from an assist by forward Quincy Amarikwa eight minutes after halftime.
San Jose hopes to pull off an upset over SKC to have a shot at qualifying for the playoffs.
The prediction is a 3-0 win for Sporting KC over the Goonies. Dominic Kinnear's boys will be overwhelmed by the furious attack of the Wizards frontline, as the team briefly ties the Galaxy for the top spot in the Western standings.
Sporting KC starting lineup (4-3-3 formation): Melia; Medranda, Besler, Ellis, Abdul-Salaam; Feilhaber, Mustivar, Nagamura; Németh, Dwyer, Hallisey
San Jose Earthquakes starting lineup (4-1-4-1 formation): Bingham; Stewart, Goodson, Bernárdez, Cato; Godoy; Salinas, Pérez García, Wondolowski, Nyassi; Amarikwa
