Sporting the lowest amount of points across the entire MLS,
Sporting Kansas City needs to avoid a negative result in Friday night's game
against San Jose. The Earthquakes are currently sixth in the Western
Conference.
Disregarding a horrendous start, Kansas City has now gone
unbeaten in its last four games and is flying high after a convincing 4-1 away
win over FC Dallas this past weekend.
Not normally known for his scoring prowess, Graham Zusi
played a prominent part in the victory, scoring two goals. One was a remarkable
free kick from approximately 50 yards out.
The Wizards were even a man down for a majority of the
second half, but still outplayed the hosts for large stretches to get the
crucial three points.
Nonetheless, even though Kansas City has been performing
well as of late, so too have the Earthquakes from San Jose.
Also beginning their MLS campaign off on a sour note, the
Earthquakes have now not lost since April 30th, a stretch that has
included six games.
San Jose has won two straight, including an impressive 4-2
triumph over DC United on Saturday. The resounding win away from home was made
possible thanks to a hat-trick from striker Steven Lenhart.
Simon Dawkins was the other goalscorer for the Earthquakes,
a team that really made the most of its opportunities despite getting outshot
by DCU.
Putting their poor starts to the season, both San Jose and
Kansas City have snapped out of it, meaning it should be a great match to watch
on Friday.
Scouring through the various sportsbooks, the soccer odds
for the encounter have yet to be made public. However bookmark this article and check back later as we will have live soccer lines posted below just as soon as the soccer betting opens.
Back at home, look for the Wizards to come through for
backers
Kansas City's Kei Kamara, despite tying for the lead in
goals with three, apparently has not earned the full trust of his coach as he
came off the bench in Sunday's win over Dallas.
It was Kamara's first time as a substitute this season and I
see no reason why he will not line up in the starting team come Friday. Clearly
one of the team's best playmakers (he also has two assists this season), he'll
be called upon to create some magic once more.
While Kansas City waited for its flashy new stadium to be
finished, the results have not been too great during the team's prolonged
road-trip.
A large problem has been the lack of offensive firepower in
recent weeks, but we'll see if the floodgates can open now that the Wizards
put in four against Dallas. Before that win, they had scored only two times in
their previous six matches.
For San Jose, it was expected that the Earthquakes would
have trouble getting the ball in the net with leading scorer, Chris Wondolowski
on international duty for the Gold Cup. Yet the exact opposite has happened.
Having scored 13 goals in their last five matches, goals
have not been hard to come by for Frank Yallop's' squad.
Much of the credit should go to Steven Lenhart, who has
really embraced the added responsibility since Wondolowski left for the USA
team. He's scored all four of his goals in the last two wins.
This Friday's clash in Kansas City should be intriguing
given that both sides are playing their best soccer of the season.
At the final whistle, I believe it'll be the Wizards however
that walk off the field with their heads held high. They have only played one
game at home and I believe this is the perfect opportunity to get that first
win in their new stadium.
FREE Pick: Sporting Kansas City 2 San Jose 1