Our prediction for this MLS match:
Sporting Kansas City will be aiming to make amends for back-to-back defeats to Real Salt Lake and Los Angeles FC when they face Austin on Sunday. The Wizards are stuck at the bottom with only 20 points in their pocket, but this match could be the turning point for the home side. All Kortne Thompson-Ford, Nikola Vujnovic, Ozzie Cisneros, Gadi Kinda, and Alan Pulido are out of contention with injuries, but there are no suspended players in the home team.
Austin, on the other hand, are one of the most unpredictable MLS teams. Los Verdes are sitting in second place in Western Conference, but they experienced all sorts of problems at the back in a 4-3 loss to New York Red Bulls. Since Sporting want this win more than Austin, we predict that the visitors are going to return home empty-handed. The likes of Jimenez, Valencia, and Kleemann should miss out with injuries for the away side.
Highlighted Player (Johnny Russell):
After spending the greatest part of his career at Derby County, Johnny Russell joined Sporting Kansas City in 2018. Russell was born in Glasgow, the capital of Scotland, on April 8, 1990 and he started his youth career at Dundee United.
The 178-cm tall attacker was producing fine performances for the Scottish side from 2007 to 2013 when he moved to Derby County. The Rams booked their place in the Championship on several occassions, but they eventually failed to secure promotion to the Premier League. As a result, Johnny Russell decided to move to MLS, signing a three-year deal with Sporting Kansas city on January 31, 2018.
The Scotland international made his debut for the Wizards in the opening match of the 2019 season against New York City. Speaking of his debut for the national team, he played his first game for Scotland in November 2014 in a 3-1 loss to England. His main position is left winger, but he is capable of playing as both centre-forward and right winger as well.