Sporting Kansas City are aiming to keep up their much-improved form this weekend when they play hosts to a struggling Austin side in Missouri where the home outfit are sitting off the bottom of the table now.
Kansas were bottom of the overall table for a while in MLS and went the first nine games without even registering a win. Then, out of nowhere, the club managed to defeat the then-league leaders in the Western Conference, Seattle Sounders, away from home.
After going on to defeat Minnesota 3-0 and then beating Portland Timbers and Dallas, it now means four wins from 17 games for the side from Missouri. Peter Vermes' men have now also managed to draw with Vancouver Whitecaps in their previous outing and now sit on a three-game unbeaten run for the first time this season.
Better yet, after also drawing with the defending MLS Cup champions, LAFC, over in California, it means Kansas' only defeat in the league in the past five games came in a 4-0 battering from St. Louis City.
Kansas have still lost eight times in the Western Conference and only LA Galaxy have lost more. They also head intot his one with just 16 goals let in and 24 conceded but with a healthy gap of five points on last-placed LA Galaxy. Vermes also sees his side just two points behind Austin in eighth and his men could rocket themselves into the top eight if other results go their way.
As for Austin, it's been a dramatically different season to the impressive 2022 campaign so far. The Texas outfit have won just one of their past four games and head into this one having lost to Real Salt Lake at home. It keeps the club in eighth with a gap of three points on the top seven.
They've also seen just 17 goals go in from 16 games and have won the same amount of games as Kansas, despite sitting four places above them.
