KC Reporter

Sporting Kansas City will face LA Galaxy on Saturday at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. The match is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. CT and will be available to watch on Apple TV+ or the MLS Season Pass. Local radio coverage will be provided by 810 AM and 103.7 FM, and fans can attend a watch party at No Other Pub in Kansas City.

The two teams, both founding members of Major League Soccer, have several connections among players and coaches. Sporting KC interim head coach Kerry Zavagnin and LA Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney were teammates on the U.S. Men's National Team from 2000 to 2005. Zavagnin made his international debut against Mexico in October 2000, shortly after facing Vanney in the MLS Cup Playoffs conference finals.

On Saturday, Vanney will serve a one-game suspension along with midfielder Isaiah Parente. Sporting striker Dejan Joveljic is set to play against his former club for the first time since transferring from Los Angeles to Kansas City earlier this year in what was described as the first cash-for-player trade in MLS history. Joveljic scored 45 goals and had 18 assists during four seasons with LA Galaxy, including the winning goal in last year’s MLS Cup final. This season he has scored 17 goals for Sporting KC, becoming only the second player in league history to record back-to-back seasons with at least 16 goals for different clubs.

Sporting goalkeeper John Pulskamp previously developed with the Galaxy Academy and has an unbeaten record against LA in five regular season matches, recording three shutouts. Midfielder Memo Rodriguez also spent part of last season with LA Galaxy.

LA Galaxy midfielder Tucker Lepley came through Sporting KC’s academy system and played for SKC II before joining Los Angeles. Defender Chris Rindov was drafted by Sporting KC before moving to LA.

Both teams are out of playoff contention this year despite their strong postseason histories—LA has made 21 playoff appearances while Kansas City has reached the postseason 20 times, leading all Western Conference teams. Both sides have struggled defensively; they have conceded more goals than any other team in MLS this season. The Galaxy have lost eight home games this year—the most ever by a defending champion—while SKC has allowed multiple goals in eight consecutive matches for the first time.

LA Galaxy recently qualified for the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup after finishing third in this summer’s Leagues Cup and will play Deportivo Toluca FC next week in Campeones Cup.

Galaxy Designated Players Joseph Paintsil, Gabriel Pec, and Riqui Puig headline the roster; however, Puig remains sidelined due to injury along with several other key players. Paintsil leads the team with six goals this season and has contributed either a goal or assist in four straight games; Pec is second on the team for both goals (five) and assists (six).

This is the second meeting between these teams this season; Sporting won their previous encounter on May 4 by a score of 1-0 at Children’s Mercy Park thanks to an own goal by Maya Yoshida—the first time an MLS team won without registering a shot.