Let's face it, this game tomorrow between Sporting KC and Manchester City is not a game that I'm the primary target for. This game is set up for the fans of City and those neutrals who are interested in seeing the BPL champions play. I was much more interested in Saturday's league game against the Galaxy than I am in the game tomorrow against City. The addition of the "Champions Shield" trophy does nothing for me.
The Manchester City squad that will be available tomorrow is not their full squad or close to it. Four of City's World Cup veterans are joining the club after tomorrow's friendly. The roster that will be available does have experience in the Premiership, including last season's BPL winning squad. Ten of the now 22 man roster for the game (Alvaro Negredo is out injured now) played for City last year in the Premier League. Eight of those ten ended up picking up winner's medals for playing 10 games for the club during the Premier League Season.
As for Kansas City they're right in the middle of a busy stretch of the season. They're just coming off a stretch of three games in eight days and travel to Toronto this coming weekend for a league game. It would appear that Peter Vermes has an eye on that as well heading into tomorrow's game. According to quotes today, he looks set to use two groups for the game tomorrow, which is probably the smartest move as it'll give many KC fans what they want, a chance to see the likes of Matt Besler, Graham Zusi and Aurelien Collin go against some BPL players.
PREDICTION - It's going to take a lot for this game to be the worst friendly Sporting KC has played the last few years, that honor goes to the Newcastle game. It's also going to have to be a heck of a game to top the excitement of the then Wizards 2-1 win over City's city rivals, Manchester United back in 2010. With City's lack of stars for this game and ticket prices, the game has not yet sold out Sporting Park for tomorrow night. That fact alone has to sting a little bit for Sporting ownership, especially coming off a game against the Galaxy that drew over 21,000. I'll be there for the game tomorrow, but the thing I'll be rooting for is zero injuries for Sporting heading further into the second half of the season.
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