This will be a quick game preview.

Sporting KC is coming off its first poor offensive performance of the season. The team is still without designated player and striker Omar Bravo. He’ll be out another 2-4 weeks recovering from a sports hernia. Sporting Kansas City will also be without defender Julio Cesar after he received a red card against Columbus last week.

The news isn’t all bad for Sporting KC though. They will likely have the use of newly signed defender Aurelien Collin and it’s possible we could see the return of Ryan Smith, who was one of KC’s most effective scorers last season.

New England currently sits two spots ahead of Kansas City in the Eastern Conference standings. They are up on KC by two points, but have also played two more games. The Revs have struggled offensively but have been decently solid defensively, allowing seven goals in six games.

This game, which marks the halfway point in Sporting KC’s road trip, has a similar feel to last week’s contest against Columbus. Sporting will have to find ways to get striker Teal Bunbury more involved and will have to focus on getting their shots on target. It would be smart for KC to come out and attack the home team from the first whistle before the New England defense has the chance to settle down.

Prediction: There are plenty of changes and adjustments that will have to be made by Sporting KC in this game, both in personnel and tactics. Those adjustments will likely slow the pace and flow of the game, at least for a half. There will be goals in this game, but they’ll cancel each other out. I’m guessing this one ends in a 1-1 tie.