KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Birmingham Legion FC will try to build on an important victory last time out as it heads to face Sporting Kansas City II on Wednesday night at Children’s Mercy Park with the hosts coming off back-to-back draws on home turf. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.

@SportingKCII (3-12-7, 16pts) ended scoreless on Sunday evening against Memphis 901 FC as despite recording a 16-7 advantage in shots at Children’s Mercy Park the hosts were unable to test 901 FC goalkeeper Cody Cropper, ending with no official shots on goal. The result left Sporting still six points adrift at the bottom of the Central Division with a 10-point gap to the playoff positions with 10 games remaining and still in search of its first win since July 10, since when the side has gone 0-5-3 in an eight-game winless streak. Among those results was a 4-2 defeat to Legion FC on August 11 when the sides last met on August 11 as goals by Petar Cuic to open the scoring and Jamil Roberts to level with 16 minutes to go went for naught as the hosts struck twice in the final 10 minutes to take victory.

Junior Flemmings was central to that result for @BHMLegion (11-6-3, 36pts) as he notched the game-winning goal as well as an assist. The performance was part of a stellar month of August for Flemmings with four goals and two assists overall, but the winger is set to be absent on Wednesday night after being selected by Jamaica for its 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifying contests over the next week. Legion FC is coming off another big victory this past Saturday, however, as JJ Williams’ second-half goal earned a 2-1 win against Louisville City FC at BBVA Field to move second-placed Birmingham within four points of the Central Division leaders. Wednesday’s game – the start of a three-game road trip for the side – gives Legion FC a chance to move within a point of Louisville and set up a potentially exciting race to the end of the regular season.

FiveThirtyEight.com Match Predictor: Sporting Kansas City II 27%, Birmingham Legion FC 47%, Draw 26%

Most Recent Lineups

Sporting Kansas City II (4-3-3): John Pulskamp; Kayden Pierre, Kaveh Rad, Danny Barbir, Amadou Dia; Jake Davis, Petar Cuic, Ozzie Cisneros; Grayson Barber, Wilson Harris, Enoch Mushagalusa

Birmingham Legion FC (4-3-3): Matt VanOekel; Jonathan Dean, Alex Crognale, Phanuel Kavita, Ryan James; Thomas Vancaeyezeele, Anderson Asiedu, Mikey Lopez; Prosper Kasim, Neco Brett, Junior Flemmings

Discipline

Sporting Kansas City II – None

Birmingham Legion FC – None