Match Day 28: Friday Night Lights

Sporting KC get the Friday night match up this week on national television on Unimas. They'll welcome FC Dallas to Sporting Park for the third time this season and based on Dallas' first two trips to KC this might be just the opponent KC's needs to get out of their five game winless run. KC has won the two priors trips by Dallas this year by a combined 10-2 scoreline. But unlike last time when KC's has been in form heading into these games, they're trying to pull themselves out of their funk.

Dallas comes into tomorrow's game with a three game winning streak that has seen them jump back into the Supporters' Shield race and the race for the top seed in the West. They sit just one point behind Vancouver with a game in hand on the Whitecaps. Questions remain for Dallas regarding injuries to midfield Mauro Diaz and goalkeeper Dan Kennedy. Replacing Kennedy has been going quite well for Dallas though as 20 year old home grown goalkeeper, Jesse Gonzalez has started Dallas' last four games, allowing just two goals. Dallas has also been able to compensate for the absence of Diaz as well, scoring seven goals in their current stretch, all without the playmaker on the field.

Kansas City really needs to find a way to end their winless run, they've fallen to the verge of being outside of the playoffs looking in as the likes of San Jose have really started to pick up their play. KC is running out of excuses to use, yes the team is without Roger Espinoza, but one player can't be the excuse. And while Chance Myers is recovering, neither Jalil Anibaba nor Saad Abdul-Salaam have done poorly replacing him. The team was without Tim Melia on Sunday in Orlando, but Melia practiced this week and I would think he'd be available to go tomorrow. KC will also have the team's leading scorer in all competitions, Dom Dwyer in the line up after his red card was overturned, which will be a boost to KC's attack, which has only scored four times in the five game winless run.

Nemeth - Dwyer - Zusi

Feilhaber - Nagamura

Mustivar

Sinovic - Besler - Ellis - Abdul-Salaam

Melia

Number to Remember - 13 - That's the number of goals that KC has allowed in the last five games. That's the same number of goals that KC has allowed in the previous 14 league games since Tim Melia took over in goal for Luis Marin.

Key Match Up - Saad Abdul-Salaam vs Fabian Castillo - Castillo ran over KC in their first match up in Dallas earlier this year. In KC's two wins against Dallas this year Castillo did not play at all. He'll be in the lineup tomorrow though and his speed could once again cause KC plenty of fits for their back line.

PREDICTION - This may be a must win for KC at this point of the season if they want to make the playoffs. Taking all three points in your home games is crucial at this point in the season. But with the way that KC has played recently I'm not sure how they're going to beat a Dallas team that is riding a good three game win streak. Then again this is MLS, where a San Jose team that was basically dead and buried came into KC and put 5 past KC a few weeks ago.That said I don't see KC ending the winless streak tomorrow.

SKC - 1 (Dwyer)
FCD - 1 (Castillo)