Sounders open busy month with road match at Sporting Kansas City

May could be viewed as a trap month for the Sounders.

The club has lost only one MLS match to open the season and ranks fourth in the Western Conference. But this month its resolve will be tested.

Three of the Sounders' five contests are against conference foes that currently rank 10th or lower in the Western table, beginning with a road match against Sporting Kansas City on Saturday. SKC is last in the 30-team league and currently on a five-game losing streak in MLS competitions.

The Sounders also will face Supporters' Shield leader San Jose (9-1), Los Angeles FC (6-2-2), the LA Galaxy (3-4-3) and San Diego (3-5-2) this month. The league will then have a monthlong hiatus in June for the start of the FIFA Men's World Cup taking place in Canada, Mexico and the U.S.

Here's a look at the match Saturday:

Sounders (6-1-1) at Kansas City (1-7-1)

Time/place: 11:30 a.m., at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan.

TV: Apple TV and FOX

Radio: 93.3 KJR FM (English) and El Rey 1360 AM (Spanish)

Series history: The Sounders lead the series 18-12-6 since 2008.

Still talented

First-year Sporting coach Raphaël Wicky is feeling pressure due to the team's poor start. There's talent in the attack in striker Dejan Joveljić, but the defense has ceded 25 goals in MLS competitions. The Serbian international, who denied the Sounders a Western Conference playoff title in 2024 while playing for the Galaxy, leads SKC in scoring contributions with four goals and two assists.

Injury updates

Sounders midfielders Cristian Roldan (concussion), Albert Rusnák (hamstring) and Paul Arriola (adductor) are available after missing the home victory last week against Dallas due to injuries. Sounders defenders Kim Kee-hee (calf) and Ryan Sailor (knee) have been upgraded to questionable and if either plays Saturday it would be their season debut.

Sporting is without midfielder Kwaku Agyabeng (groin), defender Diego Borges (groin) and Justin Reynolds (hamstring) while midfielder Zorhan Bassong is questionable due to a hamstring injury.

Quotable

"It feels weird because we've been doing so well and we're close to the top but not that close," Sounders center back Jackson Ragen said of his team being fifth in the Supporters' Shield standings with two games in hand of league-leader San Jose. "It's super competitive and we'll see later in the season about who stays consistent."

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This story was originally published May 1, 2026 at 4:50 PM.