New York City FC head coach Pascal Jansen insisted he is not worried about Alonso Martinez's fitness levels.

Martinez scored a 91st-minute winner for NYCFC against Eastern Conference rivals Orlando City last time out to complete a late comeback in their 2-1 victory.

The striker has now started three consecutive games since returning from the CONCACAF Gold Cup with Costa Rica.

Costa Rica finished second in their group on seven points before losing to the United States on penalties in the quarter-finals, where Martinez scored in both regular time and the shootout.

Despite playing a lot of games in recent months, Jansen is not troubled by Martinez's long-term fitness heading into their next fixture against Sporting Kansas City.

Jansen said after the Orlando win: "We are all very proud of what he [Martinez] achieved during the Gold Cup. Unfortunately, they lost to the US, but that makes us happy too, because we had [our] goalkeeper Matt Freese on the other side.

"I love working with him [Martinez], he is a great team player. A very happy spirit in the dressing room as well.

"He is going through a tough time at the moment. Sometimes he looks a little tired from all the games he has played. He is a number nine; he lives off his goals.

"Like you saw, he missed a huge opportunity. But we kept him in the game, and I told the guys in the dressing room, as long as we have his back, he will be ok, and he will get back to his normal level.

"And he got us that goal which gave us the win in the end."

Midwest Matchup on deck pic.twitter.com/NQiuwjb1rO
— New York City FC (@newyorkcityfc) July 18, 2025

Sporting KC suffered a setback in their push for a playoff spot, losing 3-2 to the Seattle Sounders last time out on the back of a three-game unbeaten streak.

Kansas City are six points behind ninth-place San Jose Earthquakes in the Western Conference, but have played one game fewer.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Sporting Kansas City – Dejan Joveljic

Dejan Joveljic has been crucial for Sporting KC this season. He is their leading scorer with 13 goals, which is tied for the fourth highest among the league's top scorers in 2025.

Joveljic is the second Kansas City player this season to record a streak of four home matches with a goal contribution.

The last Kansas City player to register a streak of at least five games was Johnny Russell (six straight) in August-October 2021.

New York City FC – Alonso Martinez

Martinez is NYCFC's joint-top scorer this season, alongside Hannes Wolf on nine goals.

Martinez became the fifth player in club history to score 25 regular-season goals with his winner against Orlando.

He reached this milestone in the second-fewest games played (48) with only David Villa reaching the mark in fewer games (40).

MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW

NYCFC picked up their first road win since April after defeating Orlando. It was the club's first time with multiple goals in a road win since September 2024 at the New York Red Bulls. NYCFC have not scored multiple goals in consecutive away games since May 2024.

With a pair of second-half goals against Seattle, Sporting KC have now tallied 23 second-half goals this season – tied for third most in MLS. 12 of Kansas City's 16 goals scored in their active eight-game scoring streak have been second-half goals.

Since Kansas City won the first two meetings against New York in 2015 and 2016, NYCFC have won three of the last four matches (D1) in the fixture. NYCFC have three clean sheets in those matches, outscoring Kansas City, 6-1.

In their last six league matches, Sporting KC have won two, drawn one and lost three. NYCFC, meanwhile, have won three, drawn one and lost two in their last six.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Sporting Kansas City – 35.5%

Draw – 26.1%

New York City FC – 38.4%