KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Sporting Kansas City II and Indy Eleven square off on Sunday evening at Children’s Mercy Park with Indy in need of a bounce-back performance after a midweek defeat that put another dent in the club’s postseason chances. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET.

@SportingKCII (3-12-5, 14pts) is looking for a turnaround in form after suffering five consecutive defeats following a 4-1 loss to Atlanta United 2 last Saturday evening at Children’s Mercy Park. Danny Barbir scored a late goal for the hosts, but it proved academic after Atlanta had pulled away to make the game safe with three goals in the second half. The game marked a milestone for SKC II midfielder Christian Duke, who became the sixth player in the Championship’s history to pass 15,000 minutes of action in the regular season. Sporting has conceded 42 goals in 20 games so far this season, however, which has left the side struggling to earn results as it sits 1-6-2 at home so far this season. SKC II is now eight points out of the playoff places in the Central Division, meaning victory against Indy is almost essential with 12 games to go in the regular season if the side is to vie for a playoff place.

@IndyEleven (6-8-4, 22pts) also suffered a 4-1 defeat in its most recent outing as it fell on Wednesday night against Loudoun United FC at Segra Field, continuing the club’s recent run of alternating wins and losses in its last five games. Indy was outshot 22-9 as Loudoun twice scored back-to-back goals in quick succession late in the first half and then inside the final 20 minutes before Karl Ouimette found the net with 12 minutes to go for Indy to keep the side from being shut out. Indy is level on points with FC Tulsa and OKC Energy FC going into Sunday’s action, but has found success on the road more consistently than at home in 2021 including a 2-1 victory that saw Nicky Law and Gordon Wild find the net when it last visited SKC II on June 20. The Boys in Blue have won both prior meetings with SKC II this season, also taking a 2-0 win on May 22 that saw Jordan Hamilton and Manuel Arteaga find the net, and will be hoping for a similar result as it continues its pursuit of a return to the postseason.

FiveThirtyEight.com Match Predictor: Sporting Kansas City II 32%, Indy Eleven 42%, Draw 26%

Most Recent Lineups

Sporting Kansas City II (4-3-3): Kendall McIntosh; Jake Davis, Graham Smith, Danny Barbir, Isaiah LeFlore; Osvaldo Cisneros, Petar Cuic, Christian Duke; Rojay Smith, Enoch Mushagalusa, Jamil Roberts

Indy Eleven (3-4-1-2): Jordan Farr; Karl Ouimette, AJ Cochran, Neveal Hackshaw; Rece Buckmaster, Aboubacar Sissoko, Jeremiah Gutjahr, Ayoze; Gordon Wild; Manuel Arteaga, Nicky Law

Discipline

Sporting Kansas City II – None

Indy Eleven – None