Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Sporting KC takes on Red Bulls Wednesday

SportingKC.com

Sporting Kansas City meets the New York Red Bulls for a mid-week match-up at Red Bull Arena at 6:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday.

The Eastern Conference showdown will be broadcast live locally on KSMO with additional coverage in Wichita, Topeka and the Columbia/Jefferson City area.

The game will also be aired live on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Gran D 1340 AM.

Sporting Kansas City currently holds an 18-17-11 advantage over the New York Red Bulls and earned four points in the team's two matches at Red Bull Arena last season.

Sporting Kansas City secured a 2-0 road victory in September, notching both goals in the first 30 minutes of play, before returning one month later for a scoreless draw.

Wednesday marks the first of two meetings between the clubs during the 2013 regular season and the lone contest at Red Bull Arena.

Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen is currently in the midst of a 429-minute shutout streak, including clean sheets in the previous four MLS matches.

The streak is second in club history behind only Tony Meola, whose 681-minute benchmark was set in 2000 when the club won the MLS Cup title.

With a shutout on Wednesday, Nielsen would tie Meola for most shutouts in club history at 37 and would do so in 28 fewer games played than Meola.

Sporting Kansas City is coming off a bye week after securing back-to-back home wins in the team's last two matches against the Montreal Impact and D.C. United.

The New York Red Bulls also head into the match following a victory. New York claimed a 2-0 win over D.C. United at RFK Stadium on Saturday with goals from Thierry Henry and Jamison Olave. Together the tandem have scored five of the Red Bulls' nine goals to date this season.

Red Bulls head coach Mike Petke faces Sporting Kansas City for the first time since being named New York's manager during the offseason and holds a 2-3-2 record in his first seven matches in charge of the club.

With a win, Sporting Kansas City will take sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference before continuing their road trip at the LA Galaxy on Saturday for the club's second consecutive away match in a four-day stretch.

Sporting Kansas City supporters can follow the match online via @SKCGameday on Twitter and the SportingKC.com/GameOn page or on mobile devices with the MLS MatchDay app.

Additionally, fans outside the viewing areas can watch live on Direct Kick and MLS LIVE.