Sporting Kansas City hosts Real Esteli FC on Tuesday night at Sporting Park as the reigning MLS Cup champions continue their run in the 2014-15 CONCACAF Champions League tournament.
Sporting KC was drawn into Group 2 and is the only MLS team to make back-to-back appearances in the 2013-14 and 2014-15 editions of the tournament. Sporting KC and Real Esteli are joined by Costa Rican side Deportivo Saprissa.
Saprissa (1-1-1, 4 pts) and Sporting KC (1-0-1, 4 pts) sit atop Group 2 with four points each, although Sporting Kansas City holds the head-to-head tie breaker after defeating Saprissa 3-1 at Sporting Park on Thursday.
Sporting KC opened this year's CCL campaign on the road, securing a 1-1 result at Estadio Independencia last month. Real Esteli opened the scoring in the sixth minute in Nicaragua but Sporting KC winger Antonio Dovale equalized 10 minutes later on a perfectly placed free kick.
Dovale went on to notch two more goals in Sporting KC's 3-1 victory at Sporting Park last week and his three CCL goals moves him into a tie with Roy Lassiter for second place on the club's all-time chart for most goals scored in international competitive matches. Dovale is now one goal shy of tying the club's all-time record currently held by Chris Brown.
Real Esteli has never won in the CCL (0-10-5), but 12 of its 15 games all-time have been decided by one goal or less. The Nicaraguan champions have won seven consecutive Primera Division titles and are off to a perfect start in the Nicaraguan Primera Division's 2014 Apertura season (4-0-0).
The CONCACAF Champions League features the top club teams from across North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The winner of the tournament earns a berth in the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup. The tournament started in 1962 and was originally called the CONCACAF Champions Cup before switching to the current format in 2008.
Fans are encouraged to arrive early on Tuesday as the first 10,000 supporters will receive a commemorative Dom Dwyer poster courtesy of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City. In-game updates will be available online at SportingKC.com/GameOn or by following @SKCGameday on Twitter.
