KC Reporter

Sporting Kansas City will face the Seattle Sounders this Sunday in a nationally-televised Major League Soccer match at Lumen Field in Seattle. The game, which kicks off at 8:25 p.m. CT, marks Matchday 30 and is available to watch on MLS Season Pass or Apple TV+, as well as FS1 and FOX Deportes. Local radio coverage will be provided by Sports Radio 810 WHB.

The two clubs are notable for being the only teams in league history to have won two MLS Cup championships and four U.S. Open Cup titles each. Sporting Kansas City's first MLS Cup victory was in 2000, with current interim head coach Kerry Zavagnin and Seattle assistant coach Preki both starting for the then-named Wizards. The team's first major trophy under its current name came against Seattle in the 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

Their most recent meeting took place last month at Children’s Mercy Park, where Seattle took a 3-0 lead at halftime with goals from Jordan Morris, Alber Rusnak, and Jesus Ferreira. Sporting responded with second-half penalties from Dejan Joveljic and Santi Munoz.

Joveljic has been a key player for Sporting KC this season, leading the team with 14 goals—making him the highest-scoring newcomer since Preki's debut season in 1996. After scoring 15 regular season goals for LA Galaxy last year, Joveljic could become only the third player in MLS history to score at least 15 goals in consecutive seasons with different teams. His next goal would also mark his 100th professional club goal.

Including postseason play, Joveljic has scored 35 goals in MLS matches since early 2024, ranking him second behind Lionel Messi during that span. This tally includes his decisive goal for LA Galaxy against Seattle in last year's Western Conference Final.

Seattle enters Sunday's match under head coach Brian Schmetzer sitting fourth in the Western Conference standings. The fixture comes between Leagues Cup matches for the Sounders; they advanced past Puebla earlier this week and will meet LA Galaxy next Wednesday for a spot in the Concacaf Champions Cup.

The Sounders are expected to reach a milestone of ten million fans attending their regular season games on Sunday—a feat achieved by only one other team in league history (https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/seattle-sounders-set-to-reach-10-million-fans-milestone). However, they are currently dealing with injuries to several top players including Designated Players Jordan Morris (shoulder) and Albert Rusnak (hamstring), along with Paul Arriola (knee), Ryan Kent (hamstring), and Joao Paulo (knee). Veteran goalkeeper Stefan Frei returned last weekend, while forward Danny Musovski leads their attack this season with ten goals and two assists.