Venue and kickoff
Children’s Mercy Park
One Sporting Way, Kansas City, Kansas
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. CT / 8:00 p.m. ET.
Available on Apple TV (MLS Season Pass) and nationally on FS1 / FOX Deportes.
Weather forecast for Kansas City, KS/MO area (evening): Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers/thunderstorms in the morning (around 40% chance), becoming mostly sunny in the afternoon. Highs in the lower-to-mid 80s°F. Evening temperatures in the upper 60s to low 70s°F under partly cloudy skies with light northeast winds. Mild conditions overall; any residual moisture should not heavily disrupt the match.
Injury reports
Sporting Kansas City: Kwaku Agyabeng (suspended, Out), André Luiz (pending visa, Out), Moisés Mosquera (suspended, Out), Or Blorian (back, Questionable). Recent red cards in consecutive games have depleted the squad.
St. Louis CITY SC: Célio Pompeu (knee, Out), Brendan McSorley (ankle, Out), Kyle Hiebert (hip, Out). Relatively manageable absences given recent form.
Current key roster notes
Sporting Kansas City (coach Raphael Wicky): GK Stefan Cleveland or John Pulskamp; defenders Jake Davis, Emir Karić, Lasse Berg Johnsen, Ian James, Zorhan Bassong; midfielders Manu García, others; attackers Dejan Joveljić (~8 goals), Calvin Harris, Capita, Shapi Suleymanov. Joveljić remains the primary scoring threat.
St. Louis CITY SC (coach Yoann Damet): GK Roman Bürki; defenders Lukas MacNaughton, Timo Baumgartl, Tomas Totland, Conrad Wallem, Dante Polvara; midfielders Chris Durkin, Daniel Edelman, Eduard Löwen; attackers Simon Becher (~4 goals, 4 assists), Sang-bin Jeong, others. Strong recent contributions from Edelman, Becher, and the midfield unit; Marcel Hartel has been a key figure earlier (recent transfer notes).
Key player vs. player matchups:
Simon Becher / Eduard Löwen / Sang-bin Jeong (St. Louis attack) vs. Sporting KC defense (Davis/Johnsen/Bassong) and goalkeeper: St. Louis’s balanced attack and midfield creativity against a depleted and leaky Sporting back line that has struggled all season.
Dejan Joveljić / Calvin Harris (Sporting attack) vs. St. Louis defense (Baumgartl/MacNaughton/Totland) and Bürki: Joveljić’s finishing is Sporting’s best hope; St. Louis has been solid defensively during its unbeaten run.
Midfield battle: St. Louis’s Durkin/Edelman/Löwen vs. Sporting’s remaining options (García and others) — the visitors hold a clear edge in structure and form.
Goalkeeping: Bürki’s experience vs. Cleveland/Pulskamp in a rivalry fixture that often produces goals.
Recent team forms:
St. Louis CITY SC: Excellent — extended an unbeaten streak to 10 matches across all competitions with a 3-1 road win at San Jose Earthquakes. Strong Western Conference position and positive momentum.
Sporting Kansas City: Poor — three-game losing skid (scoreless in the last three), sitting last in the conference/league with major defensive issues and recent red cards. Last win was in late July.
Series history
(Show-Me State rivalry / cross-state derby): Competitive and often high-scoring. St. Louis holds a regular-season edge (roughly 4-2-3 in MLS meetings, outscoring Sporting). Most recent meeting (July 16, 2026) was a 3-2 St. Louis home win at Energizer Park. St. Louis seeks its first road win at Children’s Mercy Park; overall H2H is close including playoffs.
Betting trends
Trends favor St. Louis given form, head-to-head, and Sporting’s defensive collapses; overs are live due to rivalry intensity and Sporting’s vulnerability.
St. Louis enters as clear favorites on form, standings, and recent H2H dominance, while Sporting Kansas City desperately needs a result to halt its slide in this heated Missouri rivalry. Expect an energetic midweek derby with playoff implications more relevant for the visitors.
MATCH ODDS
St. Louis City SC – 110
Sporting Kansas City + 235
Draw + 280
Over 3.5 + 125 Under 3.5 – 160
Odds Courtesy of Sports Odds Direct as of Tuesday, August 18, 2026
