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The Colorado Rapids and Sporting Kansas City get together for the second time in 2016 and for the Rapids they will look to continue their smart run of form whereas Sporting is on a terrible run and will want to change that. The two longtime rivals have always had very competitive matches and this one looks to be no different.
The Records
The Rapids are 6-2-2 (20 points) and sit atop both the Western Conference and the Supporters Shield standings. Sporting Kansas City is 4-5-2 (14 points) and is tied for sixth in the Western Conference and is in eight in the Shield standings.
The Formations
The Rapids have found how to make their 4-2-3-1 work and there is zero reason to change what is working. Sporting has been running out a 4-3-3 in an attempt to score goals and I imagine that stays the same in this one.
Recent Results
13 April 2016: 2-1 win at Sporting Kansas City
12 October 2015: 2-0 win at Sporting Kansas City
29 August 2015: 2-1 win at Dick's Sporting Goods Park
27 June 2015: 0-2 loss at Sporting Kansas City
29 March 2014: 2-3 loss at Dick's Sporting Goods Park
The Basic Statistics
| Games Played | Win | Loss | Draw | Points | Goals For | Goals Against | Shots | Shots on Target | |
| Colorado Rapids | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 20 | 13 | 8 | 140 | 58 |
| Sporting Kansas City | 11 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 140 | 40 |
Super Early Initial Thoughts
Think back, will you. On April 12--one day before the Rapids and Sporting were going to play--the teams carried these records:
The Rapids were 2-2-1 (7 points) and averaging 1.4 points per game
Sporting were 4-1-0 (12 points) and averaging 2.4 points per game
--since that point--
The Rapids are 4-0-1 (13 points) and averaging 2.6 points per game
Sporting are 0-5-1 (1 point) and averaging 0.16 points per game
Those records are so bizarre that it's almost unbelievable. I mean, there is no way that the records are correct? And yet, we know them to be true.
Now do I think that the Rapids are that much better than Sporting right now? No. I don't. I think Sporting Kansas City is in a terrible rut but they are still a playoff team in the West. So what happens tomorrow at Dick's? I think we see a lot of shots (the Rapids and SKC are both in the top half in the league in shots) but it should be a relatively low scoring affair as the Rapids are still not a scoring juggernaut.
However, Sporting is going to come out hungry as they need a win and the Rapids will be looking to protect their perfect home record. This...should be a good one.