Pre-match Preview: St. Louis to face Sporting KC in first derby match of 2025

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (Matrix Midwest)—St. Louis CITY SC will head west on I-70 this weekend for its first meeting of 2025 with cross-state rival Sporting Kansas City.

With three wins each, the overall series between these two clubs is up for grabs.

Last Time Out

St. Louis CITY SC suffered its first home loss of the season last weekend, taking a 1-0 loss to Austin FC on Sunday afternoon.

Despite holding possession to begin the match, Austin struck first in the 33rd minute. It was just the second goal of the season conceded by CITY.

St. Louis outshot the Verde and Black 14 to eight and controlled possession for most of the second half. But, even with a higher xG and dominating most of the offensive statistics, Austin’s lone goal proved decisive as CITY was unable to respond for the remaining 60 minutes.

“I think we are trying to continue to find the right combination of people and the right combination of numbers going forward and to continue to generate chances,” forward Simon Becher said to the press after the match. “I don’t think tonight we generated enough.”

With St. Louis now in the midst of a two-match losing streak (both 1-0), they’ll have a perfect opportunity to turn things around this Saturday against the club with the least number of points in the entire league.

Derby Day

The I-70 Derby, Heartland Derby, Darbecue, whatever you decide to call it, is one of the most heated rivalries in all of MLS.

Sporting KC is currently at the bottom of the Western Conference with one point, the fewest of any club in the entire league. Without a win and suffering five losses through the first six weeks of the season, this is easily one of the team’s worst starts in franchise history.

Here are some of Sporting KC’s stat rankings thus far:

• 12 Goals Conceded: Tied with three other clubs for most goals conceded in MLS, including LA Galaxy (the team St. Louis beat 3-0 earlier this year).
• Save Percentage of 50: Last in MLS.
• -6 Goal Differential: Tied for second-to-last in MLS.
• 16 On-Target Scoring Attempts: Second-to-last in MLS.
• Accurate Shooting Percentage of 26.7: Third-to-last in MLS.
• Accurate Long Balls/Long Ball Percentage: 163 and 53.1, respectively - both No. 1 in MLS.

These numbers tell the story of a club that has struggled mightily in its defending and finishing but continues to be effective in the middle third of the pitch. And, like last year, this club has shown an inability to hold leads. After jumping ahead 1-0 against FC Dallas last week, KC conceded twice in just two minutes to fall behind 2-1, which also ended up being the final score.

On Monday, Sporting KC announced it was parting ways with Manager Peter Vermes, MLS’s longest-tenured head coach. This could mean significant changes in tactics ahead of Saturday.

Typically, Sporting KC has been running either a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1; however, Interim Head Coach Kerry Zavagnin may feel a change is necessary.

Following its last loss, CITY is now 2-2-2, sitting in ninth place in the Western Conference. It dropped seven spots in the MLS rankings to No. 17.

St. Louis has scored zero goals and taken zero points in its last two matches. A recent cold spell in its attack has stolen the spotlight as of late, as CITY is tied for the fewest club goals in the conference (4). Although the lack of scoring has been at the forefront of recent conversations, it’s possible it was previously overshadowed by strong defensive work to start the year. But after receiving back-to-back 1-0 losses, it might be time for new faces to emerge in St. Louis’s final third.

“I am a believer in really good players; they can play various positions,” Coach Olof Mellberg said Thursday. “It doesn’t matter if it’s the center backs or strikers. So, it’s always a balance.”

That defensive fortitude cannot go unappreciated, however. CITY SC has still allowed a league-low of two goals, and is top five in clearances (60) and top 10 in shots against (21). Compared to KC, St. Louis averages more shots, shots on goal, aerial duels won, and a higher xG by almost one.

According to Olof Mellberg, the following players are either questionable or out for Saturday’s match:

• Roman Bürki
• Eduard Löwen
• Chris Durkin
• Jannes Horn
• Tomas Totland
• Rasmus Alm
• Michael Wentzel
• Jake Girdwood-Reich
• Jayden Reid

Bottom Line:

St. Louis leads the all-time regular-season series 2-3-1, but is tied 3-3-2 including the MLS Cup Playoffs. This will be the first derby match of 2025, with the last match-up going CITY’s way by a score of 3-1. This club has made it known that it’s still working to find the right combination of players for its starting 11. And with the last-ranked club in MLS as its upcoming opponent, it might be a good time to incorporate some newer ideas regarding those combinations. Sporting KC hasn’t been without Peter Vermes since 2009. But, in some cases, a club becomes far more dangerous after undergoing such drastic changes.

Kick-off is set for 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 5, at Children’s Mercy Park.

For more on St. Louis CITY SC, click here.

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