Preview: Sporting KC II vs Memphis 901 FC

USL Championship Regular Season- Matchday 22

Sporting Kansas City II vs Memphis 901 FC

Sunday, August 29, 4:00 p.m. CST

Where: Children’s Mercy Park, Kansas City, Kansas

How to Watch: ESPN+

With a total of five points in the last two months, Sporting KC II has had some major struggles. Looking to build from last week’s draw, SKC II will welcome Memphis 901 FC to Children’s Mercy Park for the second time this month on Sunday.

Their most recent point came last week in a 1-1 draw with the Indy Eleven. With a huge slice of luck coming at the death, SKC II escaped with their first point in nearly a month. That came after SKC II took the lead with a great move that allowed Wilson Harris to find his second goal of the season.

SKC II sits in last place of the Central Division with a 3-12-6 overall record and a 1-6-3 record at home. They are winless from their last seven, losing five and drawing two since the second half of July.

One of the big issues has been keeping the score low. Since July, SKC II has conceded four goals in the same game on four occasions. Three of those games came earlier this month. No matter what combination of players they put back there, they leak goals.

Sporting II will be without defender Travian Sousa (hamstring). Forward Ropapa Mensah (groin) is still listed as questionable.

Players to Watch:

• Wilson Harris - Scored his first goal of the season from the run of play in last week’s draw. Could that be the goal that gets him going to help SKC II to finish the season strong?
• Kayden Pierre - Provided a great assist on Harris’ goal last week. A regular fixture on loan at right back, can the Academy product start to provide more quality service to the forwards?
• Enoch Mushagalusa - With six goals, the 21-year-old winger remains SKC II’s leading scorer and most consistent threat in the attack.

In two previous meetings this season, the away team won both. SKC II won in Memphis on June 26 before Memphis won in KC on August 1. The final meeting between these two sides will come on October 6 in Memphis.

Memphis 901 FC

Memphis 901 FC comes into Sunday’s matchup just one spot ahead of SKC II, but with four fewer games played and six points of separation. With an overall record of 5-6-6, Memphis is 3-4-4 on the road under head coach Ben Pirmann, who took on the interim manager role last season before getting the full manager role this year.

Pirmann’s side is coming from a 2-1 defeat away to FC Tulsa on Wednesday. After Memphis’ Kyle Murphy equalized in the 87th minute, the visitors left devastated after conceding in the second minute of stoppage time.

Despite sitting in seventh place, Memphis is still in the playoff race as they currently sit four points out.

Players to Watch:

• Kyle Murphy - With 11 goals, he is in a four-way tie for second-most goals in the USL Championship. He’s especially been good recently, scoring in each of his last six appearances.
• Mark Segbers - Former Swope Park Rangers right back has been a steady leader for Memphis since joining in 2020. Among the team’s best with two assists and 21 chances created.
• Kadeem Dacres - After three years with St. Louis FC, the 30-year-old Jamaican winger has been one of the best players for Memphis as he leads them in assists with three and chances created with 23. He’s also scored twice in 15 appearances but didn’t make the trip in their loss to Tulsa.

Predicted Starting XI

With the first team hosting the Colorado Rapids on Saturday, Sunday’s SKC II match could have a handful of loans.

I think there will be a total of three changes to the starting XI that drew with Indy last week. Kendall McIntosh gets another opportunity in goal as he is predicted to replace John Pulskamp. Danny Barbir is in for Graham Smith and Jahon Rad replaces Jayvin Van Deventer.

Resetar Contract Mutually Terminated

The nearly two-year stint of Croatian forward Dominik Resetar has come to an end. Resetar started four of his eight appearances this season, last playing the final couple minutes in a 4-2 loss against Lou City on July 3. His SKC II career ends with two goals and an assist in 24 appearances.

Final Prediction

This game should not end up with a lopsided scoreline like we have seen in a few games recently. It should be a close contest until the final whistle, but you never know what might happen with this SKC II team.

But I think SKC II still isn’t good defensively and will lose 3-1.