Sept. 22, 2020 — Sporting Kansas City announced today the remainder of the club’s 2020 MLS regular season schedule, featuring nine matches in a 37-day span from Oct. 3 to Nov. 8.
After hosting Orlando City SC on Wednesday and visiting the Colorado Rapids on Sunday, Sporting will enter the final phase of Major League Soccer’s 23-game regular season campaign in a dramatic push through MLS Decision Day 2020 presented by AT&T on Nov. 8. World-class Children’s Mercy Park will host four matches during the decisive stretch as Chicago Fire FC, Nashville SC, Colorado Rapids and Minnesota United FC each travel to Kansas City.
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Date
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Opponent
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Time (CT)
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TV & Streaming
|
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Wednesday, Sept. 23
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ORLANDO CITY SC
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6:30 p.m.
|
FS1, FOX Deportes;
FOX Sports app |
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Sunday, Sept. 27
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at Colorado Rapids
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8 p.m.
|
FOX Sports KC;
FOX Sports GO |
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Saturday, Oct. 3
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at Houston Dynamo
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7 p.m.
|
FOX Sports KC;
FOX Sports GO |
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Wednesday, Oct. 7
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CHICAGO FIRE FC
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7:30 p.m.
|
FOX Sports KC;
FOX Sports GO |
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Sunday, Oct. 11
|
NASHVILLE SC
|
6:30 p.m.
|
FOX Sports KC;
FOX Sports GO |
|
Wednesday, Oct. 14
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at FC Dallas
|
7:30 p.m.
|
FOX Sports KC;
FOX Sports GO |
|
Saturday, Oct. 17
|
at Chicago Fire FC
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2:30 p.m.
|
FOX Sports KC, Univision, TUDN; FOX Sports GO, @TUDNUSA
|
|
Saturday, Oct. 24
|
COLORADO RAPIDS
|
7:30 p.m.
|
FOX Sports KC;
FOX Sports GO |
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Wednesday, Oct. 28
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at FC Cincinnati
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6:30 p.m.
|
FOX Sports KC;
FOX Sports GO |
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Sunday, Nov. 1
|
MINNESOTA UNITED FC
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6:30 p.m.
|
FOX Sports KC;
FOX Sports GO |
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Sunday, Nov. 8
|
at Real Salt Lake
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5:30 p.m.
|
FOX Sports KC;
FOX Sports GO |
As announced earlier this month, an expanded field of 18 teams — eight from the Western Conference and 10 from the Eastern Conference — will advance to the Audi 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs following the conclusion of the regular season. For the second straight year, the postseason will consist of single-elimination matches hosted by the higher-seeded team and follow a straight bracket format through MLS Cup on Dec.12. The postseason schedule will be released at a later date.
Each of Sporting’s last nine regular season matches will be shown live on FOX Sports Kansas City, FOX Sports GO and either FOX Sports Midwest or FOX Sports Midwest Plus. Additionally, every game will air locally in English on Sports Radio 810 WHB or one of its sister stations and in Spanish on La Grande 1340 AM. Sporting’s away match at Chicago on Oct. 17 will also be televised live nationally in Spanish on Univision and TUDN while streaming in English via Twitter at @TUDNUSA.
Sporting Kansas City home matches will be held at 18% capacity until further notice and continue to follow detailed health and safety protocols, including the following:
- Mandatory face covering for fans in attendance
- A socially distanced stadium seating plan
- A tailored ingress timing plan that promotes physical distancing
- Temperature checks for fans upon arrival
- Touchless ticket scanning and cashless payments at all transaction points
- Walkway instructions along the stadium concourse and social distancing markers throughout the venue
- One-way lines and pre-packaged meals and concessions
- Thorough sanitation practices by stadium staff before, during and after each match
Schedule Notes
Sporting will open the final phase of the regular season on Oct. 3, traveling to face rivals Houston Dynamo in the fourth head-to-head matchup of 2020. Manager Peter Vermes’ men won the first meeting by a 4-0 scoreline on March 7 before Houston emerged victorious on Aug. 25 and Sept. 5.
The first full week of October will see Sporting host a pair of Eastern Conference clubs for the first time this season, with Chicago venturing to Children’s Mercy Park on Oct. 7 and expansion side Nashville SC making their inaugural trip to the stadium four days later. Sporting will return to Chicago on Oct. 24 for the club’s first road match at Soldier Field since 2005.
On Oct. 14, Sporting will travel to meet FC Dallas for a rematch of Saturday’s 3-2 thriller at Children’s Mercy Park in which the visitors prevailed by the slimmest of margins. Dallas has won three straight games to move within a point of second-place Sporting in the ultra-competitive Western Conference, which sees first-place Seattle Sounders FC and 11th-place Real Salt Lake separated by just seven points.
Sporting’s final two home matches feature opponents they will have faced three times previously this season — Oct. 24 against Colorado and Nov. 1 against Minnesota. The Rapids are Sporting’s most frequent foe in club history, as the teams have squared off 80 times since MLS’s maiden 1996 campaign. After topping the Rapids 3-2 in the MLS is Back Tournament and claiming a 1-1 road draw on Aug. 29, Sporting will pay a second visit to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park this Sunday at 8 p.m. CT.
Sporting’s home finale will come against a Minnesota side that is 0-6-0 at Children’s Mercy Park in all competitions with one goal scored and 15 conceded. The Loons won the first meeting of 2020 by a 2-1 scoreline in the MLS is Back Tournament, but Vermes’ side exacted revenge with a 2-1 away triumph on Aug. 21 and a 1-0 home result on Sept. 13.
Eleven days after visiting Eastern Conference outfit FC Cincinnati on Oct. 28, Sporting will conclude the regular season with a Decision Day showdown at rivals Real Salt Lake. All 26 clubs will be in action on Nov. 8 as the playoff picture solidifies, with seven Eastern Conference games beginning simultaneously at 2:30 p.m. CT and six Western Conference matchups kicking off concurrently at 5:30 p.m. CT.