Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.
Sporting Kansas City captain Lasse Berg Johnson has urged his team-mates to “make sure we are on the same wavelength” as they prepare to take on the Houston Dynamo.
Sporting KC are currently bottom of the Western Conference, and their misery was compounded last weekend following a 4-3 defeat against the Philadelphia Union.
Despite leading 3-0 after 16 minutes, SKC conceded four goals in nine second-half minutes to fall further away from the play-off places.
Berg Johnsen believes his side must communicate better on the pitch if they are to turn their season around.
“We need to talk to each other and look at each other and agree on if we are going to press them for the next minutes or are we going to keep playing or are we going to go longer and go for the second balls,” said the SKC captain.
“As a team, I don’t think we have managed it well enough in those situations.
“We need to look at it and see how can we solve it better on the pitch, because in those moments, what usually happens is we players can be silent, so we need to talk to each other to make sure we are on the same wavelength.
“If we either go longer or if we try to play or if we press them or if we sit, we have not managed that good enough.”
Focused on the next one pic.twitter.com/bd3xb4BEzo
— Sporting Kansas City (@SportingKC) September 23, 2026
Houston, on the other hand, are second in the West and just five points behind leaders Vancouver Whitecaps.
However, after losing 1-0 to the San Jose Earthquakes, the Dynamo drew 2-2 with FC Cincinnati last time out; Houston have won just once in their last six MLS games (D3 L2).
Guilherme scored his team-leading 14th goal of the season on Saturday, tied for the second-most goals in a single regular season by a Dynamo player, with Erick Torres in 2017.
The only player with more regular-season goals in a season for Houston was Mauro Manotas in 2018 (19).
Sporting Kansas City – Andre Luiz
Andre Luiz recorded his first MLS brace on Saturday and has scored three goals in his first four games with Sporting KC.
Sporting are averaging 2.25 goals per game in MLS matches in which Luiz has played, compared to 0.95 this season without Luiz playing.
MATCH PREDICTION: HOUSTON DYNAMO WIN
Houston extended their home unbeaten streak to nine games (W6 D3) with a draw with Cincinnati. The Dynamo have recorded five home unbeaten streaks of 10 or more games in their history, with the last one coming in 2019 (10 games).
The Dynamo earned a win on the road against SKC in August and are looking to sweep the season series for the first time. Houston have just two wins in their last 11 regular-season matches against Sporting KC and have not won at home since May 2021.
Sporting KC have scored three or more goals in three straight regular-season matches after scoring three goals just once in their first 22 league matches of 2026.
It is their first time scoring three or more goals in three straight league games since August 2022, and the club have never done so in four straight.
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