Gameday preview: Minnesota United vs. Sporting Kansas City

Noon at Allianz Field * ESPN and ESPN Deportes, SKOR North (1500-AM)

Preview: Minnesota United slipped under the playoff line and into the Western Conference's eighth place with Wednesday-s 2-1 loss at Vancouver. The Loons must win Sunday to keep up in the West with only next Sunday's Decision Day game at LA Galaxy left after that…Conference-leading Sporting KC is playing for a first-round bye, home-field advantage and a 2022 CONCACAF Champions League spot. It is 8-5-2 on the road and 17-6-7 overall while the Loons are 12-11-9 overall and 9-4-3 at home. … This might not be a real rivalry — particularly if you're Sporting — but these teams sure do face each other a lot. The Loons knocked Sporting out of the playoffs with a second-round victory in Kansas City last season. This will be the teams' third meeting this season. SKC played the final 70 minutes a man short at Allianz Field in August and still escaped with a scoreless draw. Then it thumped the Loons 4-0 at home in September. "It seems like we play them every other week," Loons coach Adrian Heath said. "It'd be nice if we played somebody else. They're a very good team."

Injuries: Sporting Kansas City lists star F Alan Pulido (knee) as out. So are D Jaylin Lindsey (hamstring) and MF Felipe Hernandez. F Daniel Salloi (ankle) is questionable.