Houston Dynamo vs. Sporting Kansas City - 2017 MLS Knockout Round Preview

Houston Dynamo vs. Sporting Kansas City 2017 MLS Cup Playoffs Match Preview BBVA Compass Stadium  Houston, Texas Thursday, Oct. 26 – 9:30 pm ET WATCH: UniMás in the US | TSN4, TVA Sports in Canada

The Houston Dynamo and Sporting Kansas City will meet for the third time in two weeks on Thursday, but this time, the stakes will be higher than ever.

Houston will host SKC in the Knockout Round of the Audi 2017 MLS Cup Playoffs at BBVA Compass Stadium. The Dynamo clinched the fourth-seed in the West with a 3-0 home win against the Chicago Fire on Decision Day, while SKC slipped to fifth after their 2-1 loss at Real Salt Lake.

Itll be the latest in a long line of playoff matchups between the two clubs. Houston and SKC have had some serious postseason battles in recent years; SKC won the 2013 Eastern Conference Championship over Houston en route to lifting MLS Cup, while Houston got the best of SKC in 2011 and 2012 on their way to consecutive appearances in MLS Cup.

The Dynamo will enter the match as favorites to advance to the Western Conference Semifinals. Houston are in solid form heading into the postseason, posting a 3-0-3 record  including a 0-0 draw at SKC on Oct. 15 and a 2-1 home win vs. SKC on Oct. 11 – in their last six matches. Theyve been nearly unbeatable at home all year, finishing the regular season with a 12-1-4 record in Houston.

Its been a different story for SKC. Peter Vermes’ squad have had a rough second half, recording just four wins since July 1 and going 0-3-2 in their final five matches of the regular season. They’ve had a rough tie on the road, too, posting a 2-8-7 record in 17 regular season matches away from Children’s Mercy Park.

They could also be without Tim Melia, a frontrunner for MLS Goalkeeper of the Year and one of SKCs best players all season. The veteran backstop went down with a hamstring injury on Oct. 7. He didn't make the 18 for Sunday's loss at RSL, and his status for the Knockout Round match is not yet known.

Of course, SKC arent alone in dealing with injuries to significant players. Houston lost a couple of their regulars in Sunday’s win against Chicago, with defender A.J. DeLaGarza and forward Romell Quioto both leaving the match due to injuries. Their status for this week is also not yet known.

Houston Dynamo

Projected Starting Lineup (4-2-3-1, left to right) GK: Tyler Deric  DaMarcus Beasley, Leonardo, Adolfo Machado, Jalil Anibaba – Juan David Cabezas, Ricardo Clark – Tomas Martinez, Alex, Alberth Elis – Mauro Manotas

Sporting Kansas City

Projected Starting Lineup (4-3-3, left to right) GK: Andrew Dykstra  Seth Sinovic, Matt Besler, Ike Opara, Graham Zusi – Jimmy Medranda, Ilie, Roger Espinoza – Latif Blessing, Diego Rubio, Gerso Fernandes

All-Time Series

Houston are unbeaten in their last eight regular season matches against Sporting KC, including a 0-0 draw between the sides at Childrens Mercy Park on Oct. 15 and a 2-1 win for the Dynamo at BBVA Compass Stadium on Oct. 11.

This will be the fourth playoff meeting between Houston and SKC since 2011. The Dynamo won the first two matchups, beating SKC in the Eastern Conference Semifinals in 2011 and in the Eastern Conference Championship in 2012. Kansas City got a bit of revenge in 2013, when they topped the Dynamo in the Eastern Conference Championship series en route to winning MLS Cup.