Now a member of Major League Soccer's Western Conference, Sporting Kansas City faces their first intra-conference foe of 2015 at FC Dallas. Saturday's match at Toyota Stadium will kick off at 7:30 p.m. CT, airing locally on KMCI 38 the Spot and across the midwest on SKCTV. The match will also be broadcast on 102.9 FM (English) and 1340 AM (Spanish).
Peter Vermes’ men have picked up four points in their previous two trips to Dallas, winning 4-1 in 2011 and drawing 2-2 in 2013. However, Oscar Pareja guided FC Dallas to an MLS-best 12 home wins in 2014, and his team is 11-1-2 in their last 14 matches at Toyota Stadium in all competitions. We take a closer look at the matchup in our By The Numbers preview.
Head-to-head
- The home team in the series has just one win in the last six meetings dating back to 2010 (1-3-2).
- Sporting KC leads the all-time series 20-19-10, including a 9-11-4 record in Dallas.
- Five of FC Dallas' last seven goals against Sporting KC have come in the 88th minute or later.
- Sporting KC winger Graham Zusi has two goals and three assists in four career regular season starts against FC Dallas.
- FC Dallas forward Atiba Harris has three goals and five assists in 13 career regular season starts against Sporting KC.
- FC Dallas defender Matt Hedges scored a stoppage time equalizer last season against Sporting KC in a 1-1 draw at Sporting Park (3/15/14).
Sporting KC
- Sporting KC is 21-12-12 against Western Conference opposition since the beginning of 2011, including a 5-2-2 mark last year. Sporting KC's 21 wins against the West were more than any other Eastern Conference team during that time.
- Sporting KC has recorded eight road wins in each of the last three regular seasons and lead MLS with 24 road victories since the beginning of 2012. In comparison, other teams averaged 4.1 road wins per season from 2012-2014.
- In MLS Week 1, Sporting KC led all teams in shots (18), chances created (15), interceptions (37) and aerial duels won (34).
- Dom Dwyer and Graham Zusi both created five chances last Sunday against the New York Red Bulls, the most among all players in MLS Week 1.
- Amadou Dia and Ike Opara both recorded seven interceptions last Sunday against the New York Red Bulls, third most among all players in MLS Week 1.
FC Dallas
- Own an 11-1-2 record in their last 14 home games in all competitions.
- Led MLS in the 2014 regular season with 12 home wins (12-1-4, 33 GF, 22 GA).
- Led MLS in the 2014 regular season with 12 goals scored from set plays.
- Led MLS in the 2014 regular season with 56 duels won per match.
- In the 2014 regular season, Fabian Castillo led MLS with 113 dribbles completed, 24 more than any other player.
- In the 2014 regular season, Matt Hedges led MLS in blocks (30) and headed clearances (138) and ranked second in interceptions (104).
Milestones and miscellany
- If Bernardo Anor starts on Saturday, it will be the 50th regular season start of his MLS career.
- If Benny Feilhaber starts on Saturday, it will be the 100th regular season start of his MLS career.
- If Graham Zusi plays on Saturday, it will be the 150th regular season appearance for Sporting KC. He would move into sole possession of ninth place on the club’s all-time charts.
- Sporting KC is one shy of 100 road wins across all competions in team history.
Team stats (2015 regular season)
<strong>Sporting KC</strong> |
<b>FC Dallas</b> |
|
Goals scored (conceded) |
1 (1) |
1 (0) |
Shots (on goal) |
18 (4) |
11 (5) |
Chances created |
15 |
8 |
Crosses/corners |
21 |
30 |
Fouls committed |
10 |
16 |
Fouls suffered |
17 |
15 |
Passes |
304 |
369 |
Passing accuracy |
63.2% |
74.5% |
Possession |
43.3% |
52.1% |
Tackles |
13 |
19 |
Interceptions |
37 |
19 |
Recent regular season meetings
<strong>Date</strong> |
<strong>Score</strong> |
<strong>Result</strong> |
<strong>Location</strong> |
6/12/2011 |
4-1 |
W |
Toyota Stadium |
8/27/2011 |
2-3 |
L |
Sporting Park |
3/25/2012 |
2-1 |
W |
Sporting Park |
6/22/2013 |
2-2 |
T |
Toyota Stadium |
3/15/2014 |
1-1 |
T |
Sporting Park |
