COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — The Colorado Rapids will look to extend a 17-game unbeaten run at home in the regular season as they host Sporting Kansas City on Saturday night at DICK’s Sporting Goods Park. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. MT and the match will be broadcast live on Altitude Sports.
“They’re a team that over the last ten years has been really, really consistent,” said Rapids head coach Robin Fraser ahead of the match. “Peter [Vermes] does a really good job with them. They know their roles. They’re a team that is well-choreographed and rehearsed in everything that they do. And they occupy great spots that create uncertainty for the opposition, and like I said, for about ten years now, they’ve been able to take that uncertainty and turn it into a lot of wins.”
Colorado will welcome fellow MLS original Kansas City after a convincing 3-0 win over Atlanta United in the club’s home opener last Saturday. Diego Rubio scored and provided an assist in a Man-of-the-Match performance as the Rapids stormed to their first franchise win against the Five Stripes. The win extended Colorado’s unbeaten run at home in the regular season to 17 games, currently two short of the club’s record of 19 set between March 2016 to March 2017; Fraser is now 16-2-9 at home with a plus 31 goal differential since taking over as head coach in August 2019.
On the other end of the pitch, Kansas City enters the match following a bounce-back win of their own, defeating Houston Dynamo FC 1-0 in their home opener last Saturday. Remi Walter scored the match’s lone goal as Sporting recovered from a 3-1 defeat at Atlanta United FC in their season opener. The midwestern side will be without Alan Pulido (knee), as well as midfielders Gadi Kinda (knee) and Uri Rosell (hamstring) on Saturday.
Since Colorado and Kansas City first met in 1996, Sporting have only bested the Rapids in Colorado on five occasions (5-18-12) and are currently winless at DICK’s Sporting Goods park since March 29, 2014.
Beyond their history as MLS charter clubs, the two sides also share recent history. Rapids forward Diego Rubio plied his trade with Sporting from 2016 to 2018, making 51 regular season appearances and scoring 15 goals for the club before being traded to Colorado. SKC defender Kortne Ford began his professional career as a Rapids Homegrown Player and made 35 appearances for the club from 2017 to 2021 before signing as a free agent with Sporting this past offseason.
