Preview | LAFC vs. Sporting Kansas City – 2026 MLS Season

| BMO Stadium – Los Angeles, CA

Seeking its third straight MLS common-season win following the FIFA World Cup break, LAFC welcomes Sporting Kansas City to BMO Stadium for a Saturday night time matchup offered by Toyota.

The third-place Black & Gold handed fourth-place Real Salt Lake a 3-1 defeat at midweek, receiving a purpose apiece for the second straight match from attacking stars Son Heung-Min and Denis Bouanga. Now LAFC (9W-5L-3D) faces fifteenth-place SKC (4W-10L-2D) in each golf equipment’ final match earlier than subsequent week’s MLS All Star Game, and LAFC’s second-to-final match earlier than Phase One of Leagues Cup begins on August 5.

“There are areas that we have to improve,” head coach Marc Dos Santos stated after the RSL win. “The positive that I saw was when I went to the locker room to talk with the guys after the game, we were [critical]. ‘OK, we won, but we could be better.’ I think this is what builds a winning mentality – inside the wins you’re also able to evaluate and you want to improve as a team still.”

Since getting back from the World Cup, LAFC has defeated two groups within the Top 9 of the Western Conference – beating the Galaxy 3-0 on the highway and RSL 3-1 at house. Bouanga and Son had been harmful all through each matches, with Son – LAFC’s solely consultant at subsequent week’s All Star Game in Charlotte – scoring two blistering objectives from the highest of the penalty space that recalled his Puskás-profitable Premier League days in England. They lead all MLS gamers in assists, with 10, however his transition strikes towards the Galaxy and RSL had been his first two objectives in league play in 2026 and earned him MLS Team of the Matchday recognition. Watching their most globally well-known teammate lastly dent the web despatched constructive vibes rippling throughout the staff.

“It’s good for the team because Sonny is very important for us,” Bouanga stated. “When Sonny has an excellent feeling, he’s good for the staff as a result of he helps lots. He has scored now. I feel it is not the identical Sonny [as] earlier than the World Cup. Because now he is contemporary… you noticed this tonight, and I feel it is [just] “the beginning.”

LAFC leads the all-time sequence towards Sporting KC with a daily-season document of 9W-4L-2D and a 30-16 benefit in objectives scored – not counting LAFC’s 3-1 victory within the 2024 US Open Cup Final.

LAFC has gained 4 straight over SKC and is unbeaten in its final 10 outings towards the Kansans in all competitions, outscoring them 23-5 over that span. Sporting’s most up-to-date win within the sequence got here 5 years in the past: a 4-0 end in August 2021, LAFC’s first and solely non-playoff season. SKC’s final win at BMO Stadium got here earlier that very same yr, by a 2-1 rating. SKC has not scored multiple purpose towards LAFC within the ten conferences since, and has been shut out 5 occasions in that span. In their 16 all-time conferences, SKC has scored multiple purpose towards LAFC solely 3 times.

The final time these two met was June 8, 2025, a 3-1 LAFC win at BMO Stadium within the Black & Gold’s ultimate recreation earlier than departing for the FIFA 2025 Club World Cup. Striker Dejan Joveljic, a thorn in LAFC’s aspect throughout his profession with the Galaxy, opened the scoring within the thirty ninth minute. LAFC defender Eddie Segura headed house a nook kick from Bouanga to equalize, then Bouanga added a 59th-minute penalty kick and notched his second help of the night time, feeding striker Olivier Giroud on the 90’+3 mark.

Despite LAFC’s dominance within the sequence, Bouanga – LAFC’s all-time main scorer with 113 objectives throughout all competitions – has solely scored twice towards SKC since becoming a member of the Black & Gold in the summertime of 2022. Bouanga’s most up-to-date purpose within the sequence got here on May 17, 2023, when LAFC and SKC drew 1-1 in Los Angeles.

Sporting acquired off to a tough begin this yr, with a season-opening run of 1W-8L-1D throughout which the membership parted methods with longtime head coach Peter Vermees. More lately, SKC has gained three of its final 5 matches — gathering 9 of the 14 factors that head coach Raphael Wicky’s squad has on the season.

SKC has performed twice for the reason that World Cup break, a tough-fought, 3-2 derby loss on the highway to St. Louis City, and a 2-1 house win over Minnesota United on Wednesday. In the victory over MNUFC, Designated Players Joveljic and Manu Garcia scored in every half to safe the membership’s second house win of the season, regardless of giving Minnesota extra of the ball (58%-42%), and shedding the xG battle (2.0-1.3).

Earlier this yr, Sporting acquired Angolan attacker Capita Capemba from Poland’s prime flight. Lately, Capemba has come alive, scoring towards STL and aiding Jovelic towards MNUFC.

Said Wicky, the brand new supervisor: “We’re rising. We had a really unhealthy interval in April, which was very, very unhealthy and really onerous for numerous causes, however I really feel we got here again from that earlier than the World Cup and we grew. Now we maintain constructing. We maintain integrating new gamers. Like I discussed already a couple of occasions, I’m very pleased that [centerback] Or (Blorian), [left back] Emir (Karic) and [centerback] Moises (Mosquera) at the moment are with us. They will assist this staff massively.”

Joveljic will get free. The Serbian striker (above proper), who turns 27 subsequent month, is a grasp of motion off the ball, of altering his runs and altering speeds mid-gallop to be able to lose his marker. Eddie Segura and Aaron Long confronted Joveljic final yr after his transfer from the Galaxy, however LAFC’s different two central defenders, Nkosi Tafari (three minutes vs. SKC in 2025) and Ryan Porteous (zero minutes), aren’t as acquainted.

With eight objectives and two assists thus far this season, Joveljic has recorded 10 purpose contributions in every of the final 5 seasons; solely two different MLS gamers are in that membership (Cristian Espinoza, Hany Mukhtar).

Its makeshift midfield continues to shine. With defensive midfielders Igor Jesus (knee) and Stephen Eustáquio (expired mortgage) unavailable, and with attacking midfielder Timmy Tillman briefly sidelined (leg), LAFC has performed its final two video games with Mark Delgado, Mathieu Choinière, and interim quantity-six Eddie Segura on the pitch for 510 of a potential 540 minutes towards the Galaxy and Real Salt Lake. The outcomes have been spectacular, with Delgado and Choinière offering assists and Segura stepping in to anchor the midfield’s again finish. “It doesn’t look perfect,” Dos Santos stated of his present midfield shuffle, “however our job is to seek out methods to win video games, as a result of it is onerous on this league to win video games.

“Timmy. [Tillman] “It is very, very close and hopefully he could get minutes against Kansas City,” Dos Santos added.