Sporting Kansas City vs. Austin FC 6/12/21 - MLS Picks & Predictions

On Saturday,  Sporting Kansas City hosts Austin FC in a matchday 8 MLS fixture following two weeks of no matches in the MLS because of international play. Sporting Kansas City is second in the Western Conference table at 5-1-2 on 16 points with a goal difference of +5. Sporting KC defeated the Houston Dynamo at home before the break 3-2 and KC has won each of its last three matches in the MLS. Sporting KC is within two points of first place Seattle.

Sporting KC has four wins and one loss over its last five matches in the MLS and during that span has scored 11 goals and allowed five. The leading goal scorer for Sporting KC is Alan Pulido with five, while Gadi Kinda and Daniel Salloi have each scored three. Khiry Shelton and Salloi have two assists each to lead Sporting KC.

In its inaugural season in the MLS, Austin FC is currently 11th in the Western Conference table at 2-1-4 on seven points with a goal difference of -3. Before the break for international play, Austin battled the first place Seattle Sounders to a 0-0 draw on the road and prior to that were defeated by Nashville 1-0 on the road. Austin has not yet played a home match as the club awaits its new stadium to be completed.

Over the last five matches played in the MLS, Austin has one win, one draw and three losses. During that span, Austin has scored two goals and allowed  five. Austin has two clean sheets in its last five matches, while the Austin offense has been held scoreless in each of the last three matches played. Cecilio Dominguez and Diego Fagundez have each scored two goals for Austin, while Jared Stroud is the leader in assists with two.