Opposition Scouting Report: Sporting KC

Sporting KC got off to a horrible start so bad — one point in six games — that Peter Vermes finally lost his job. Since then, they’ve been pretty good! Kerry Zavagnin has KC playing at a 1.47 clip and climbing back into the playoff race. We asked Jimmy Mack of No Other Pod to share his insights:

Notable injuries

CB Robert Voloder has missed time with a broken clavicle, but he's been cleared to return against Seattle. He had been starting alongside rookie Jansen Miller before the injury, but I expect him to be available off the bench as opposed to sliding back into the starting XI. Winger/midfielder Erik Thommy missed some practice this week but does not appear to be in line to miss time. He may come off the bench this week, though, as he has been rotating on the left wing throughout the season with Daniel Salloi.

Recent form

Sporting KC has been hovering around the 1.5 ppg mark since interim manager Kerry Zavagnin took over for Peter Vermes on March 31. Considering the team only had one point through six games under Vermes to start the season, 1.5 ppg is quite an improvement, even if it's unremarkable in a vacuum. Sporting most recently weathered a 24 shot and 4.07 xG performance by Colorado on the Fourth of July to come away with a 2-1 road victory, putting them in the midst of a three-game unbeaten streak. Sporting KC's biggest challenges this year have been stopping set pieces and finishing chances, though the attack more recently seems to have started to figure out how to be a bit more direct.

Key players

DP attacking midfielder Manu Garcia and TAM winger Shapi Suleymanov both joined this offseason from Aris in Greece, and both have brought a much needed creative spark to the attack. Garcia has wonderful on-the-ball skills and has been the tactician in the midfield SKC has desperately needed. Suleymanov has a wicked left foot that is dangerous from the RW spot, but he very much does not like to use his right foot, which defenders can exploit. Finally, rookie CB Jansen Miller has been the surprise of the season for SKC. He took over a starting CB role out of necessity due to injury, and though he's had his "rookie moments," he seems to have established himself as a potential CB of the future for SKC.

One thing to know

While this team won't challenge for a trophy in 2025, they have found a new competitive spark under interim manager Kerry Zavagnin. The team on the whole is relatively young, and 2025 is really more about learning what pieces the team has for the future. Sporting Director Mike Burns is out of contract after this year, so he and Zavagnin are both working to prove that ownership should hand them the keys to take the team forward in the post-Vermes era. With so many players out of contract after this season (particularly on the defensive line) the rest of this year is mostly about setting the stage for years to come.

Projected lineup

4-3-3: John Pulskamp; Logan Ndenbe, Joaquin Fernandez, Jansen Miller, Khiry Shelton; Nemanja Radoja, Jake Davis, Manu Garcia; Daniel Salloi, Dejan Joveljic, Shapi Suleymanov