Austin FC head coach Nico Estevez claimed that his side are striving to be "a team everyone can talk about" ahead of their trip to Sporting Kansas City on Sunday.

The Verde and Black, who sit seventh in the Western Conference, are looking to secure their spot in the MLS playoffs, having lost just two of their last 11 games across all competitions.

Having never won a major trophy in their seven-year history, the expansion side still remain in the hunt for two pieces of silverware this term, having also reached the semifinals of the US Open Cup.

The Texans have scored in each of their last six MLS matches after not scoring in more than three straight league games previously this season, and will be eager to extend this run at Children's Mercy Park.

"Sometimes you look at the final result, and you can feel the team had a lack of the mentality, but I think against Houston [Dynamo] we had the mentality from the beginning to the end. It's just we didn’t do a couple of things good, and the opponent punished us," said Estevez.

"We cannot give one half to the opponent, we have to play 90 minutes at the best level that we can.

"We are building this mentality, we want to be there, we want to be a team that everyone can talk about."

Meanwhile, Sporting KC have had a mixed season, sitting third from bottom of the West, nine points behind ninth-place San Jose Earthquakes, and have won just three of their last 10 games.

With matches running out to turn their season around, the hosts will be looking to build on last week's 4-2 win over the Colorado Rapids and finish the campaign strongly by clinching a postseason spot in the playoffs.

"We are getting close to playoff time, so I think the game will be a little more cagey and more tactical in nature. Recent weeks, they have done a very good job in not just being pragmatic, but being efficient," said interim head coach Kerry Zavagnin.

"And they don't give a lot away defensively, and those are usually how the games are played out when we come to the end of the season, when points become so important.

"Everyone in the locker room wants to achieve. We want to do a good job, we want to play a good game, and we want to win."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Sporting Kansas City – Dejan Joveljic

Dejan Joveljic, who sits joint-third for goals in MLS this term, scored twice against Colorado, marking his 15th game this regular season with at least one goal or assist.

The only player in Kansas City's history to have more games with a goal contribution in their first season with the team is Johnny Russell, who recorded 17 such games in 2018.

Austin FC – Brad Stuver

Brad Stuver made five saves against San Jose last week, marking his 56th match with at least five saves since joining Austin in 2021. The closest competitor in MLS over the past five seasons is Kristijan Kahlina, who has 36 such games.

Stuver has kept eight clean sheets in 27 MLS appearances this season, ranking 12th for most shutouts in the entire MLS. 

MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW

The home team has won each of the last six matches between Sporting KC and Austin.

Neither team has won both encounters in a single season since Austin took both games in 2022, which was also the last time Austin won away at Kansas and remains their only road victory in the fixture.

Sporting KC have managed just four home wins so far in 2025. Historically, Sporting have won at least five home games in 15 consecutive seasons, with the exception of 2009, when they recorded a club-low of just four home wins.

Going head-to-head with his goalkeeping counterpart in Stuver, Sporting's John Pulskamp has also enjoyed a standout season between the sticks, having made the second-most saves in MLS this term, with 98. 

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Sporting Kansas City - 37.2%

Draw - 26.3%

Austin - 36.5%