You can bet on New England to get the better of a struggling Kansas lineup when these two old rivals meet on Sunday.
Who do Bettors Favor?
Looking at the markets (check out our full online sportsbook reviews), we can see that sportsbooks are favoring New England here, though not by much. The Revs are rated as +140 favorites to win this one, with the home side priced at around +200. And, if you think the game will end in a draw, you can bet on that outcome at +250.
| Sporting Kansas v New England |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sporting Kansas | +200 | +200 | +195 |
| Draw | +230 | +250 | +250 |
| New England | +135 | +140 | +135 |
The Season So Far
Both teams were expected to be in playoff contention in 2022, but things haven’t gone to plan. Going into this game, Sporting KC are bottom of the Western Conference, while New England, winners of last year’s Supporters’ Shield, are down in tenth in the East.
Kansas have played 15 games and managed only three wins so far, losing eight and drawing four. Their defensive record is also the second-worst in the Western Conference: a remarkable decline from a team that finished third in the West during the 2021 regular season.
New England’s decline is even more spectacular. Thirteen games into the 2022 season, they have just four wins to their name. Goals have not been a problem, in fact, only three teams in the Eastern Conference have been more prolific, but they also have the third-worst defensive record in the East.
But although their overall record this season is poor, they have been showing signs of improvement in recent games. Going into the international break, they had put together a run of five games undefeated and have cut their goals conceded rate to 1.4 per game, compared to 2.0 over their first eight.
Kansas v New England Head to Head
As two of the founding members of MLS, Kansas and New England are regular opponents and have met 47 times since 1996. Yet, due to the quirks of the schedule, this will be the first time that they will meet on the soccer field since April 2019, a game that provided an entertaining 4-4 goal-fest.
The overall head-to-head record is evenly matched, although New England have had the better of things in recent years, winning six of their last ten. This fixture is also notable for the number of goals it has produced. The last seven meetings between these two teams have produced 32 goals at 4.57 per game.
MLS Team News
Kansas continue to be badly affected by injury and other absences. Alan Pulido and Gadi Kinda are recovering from knee surgery, while Ozzie Cisneros is out with a hamstring injury and both Daniel Salloi and Marinos Tzionis are away on international duty. There are also concerns about the fitness of Johnny Russell, Khiry Shelton, Nikola Vujnovic, and Logan Ndenbe.
New England head coach Bruce Arena has fewer problems to deal with, although Henry Kessler is likely to be missing due to a leg injury, while Matt Turner is on international duty. The Revs roster is weaker, however, due to the sale of striker Adam Buksa for $10 million to RC Lens, which leaves Arena with little cover in forward positions, given the poor form of Gustavo Bou and Jozy Altidore.
Kansas v New England Betting Picks
There is a sense that both of these teams have stagnated, with Kansas likely to be heading into a major rebuilding phase and New England yet to really shake off the disappointment of failing to turn their record-breaking regular season of 2022 into an MLS Cup win.
But while both teams have their problems, New England appear to be in better overall shape and have shown clear signs of a revival. There is much work to be done if they are to secure a playoff place, and the departure of Buksa will require some reshuffling of the roster, but they do at least appear to be moving in the right direction.
The same cannot be said for Kansas. With just one win in their last ten, they go into this game missing several key players and low on confidence, and I think they will struggle against improving opponents.
Go Low in Goals
As mentioned earlier, this fixture has produced plenty of goals in recent years, but there is reason to suspect that this may not be the case this time. Neither team will want to lose this game, and both have been showing defensive improvement. Kansas have only conceded three in their last three MLS fixtures, and with a weakened roster to pick from, they may opt for safety first here, suggesting that it could be a good opportunity to bet the Under in the Total Goals market.
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