By The Numbers: #CHIvSKC | Mar. 19, 2022

"By The Numbers" is a season-long series that gives a statistical preview of every Sporting match. To visit the series archive, click here.

Sporting Kansas City hits the road for the third time in the first four weeks of the MLS season as they take on Chicago Fire FC at Soldier Field on Saturday.

The return to the windy city for Sporting Kansas City is set for 5 p.m. CT and the match will air on 38 The Spot. Fans can also stream the match on Sporting One through the Sporting KC mobile app or stream the contest online at SportingKC.com/live with the broadcast beginning 30-minutes prior to kickoff with the pregame show. ESPN 94.5 and La Grande 1340 will carry the match over the radio.

Manager and sporting director Peter Vermes and Sporting KC lost on the road to Colorado after their home opening win against Houston a week prior. Now the attention turns to Chicago and a revamped Fire side. First-year head coach Ezra Hendrickson has a bolstered lineup including newly acquired attackers Xherdan Shaqiri and Kasper Przybylko. Sporting returns to Soldier Field for the 11th time in MLS regular season play and for just the second time since 2005.

Below, we provide a statistical preview of Saturday’s match between Sporting KC and the Chicago Fire.

Head-to-Head

• Sporting is 19-26-12 against the Fire in MLS regular season play. The 26 losses to Chicago are the second most against any team in MLS (28 Losses to FC Dallas).  
• Sporting is 5-18-3 in 26 regular season treks to Chicago. The last Sporting road win in Chicago came in March 2018 as Sporting outlasted the Fire 4-3 in a barn burner of a match.
• Sporting is 5-0-1 against the Fire in the last six meetings. Chicago has not beat Sporting since July 13, 2016.
• Sporting has lost just once in the last 10 meetings between these two sides dating back to July 2014.
• The last time these two faced each other was September 2021 with Sporting coming out on top with a 2-0 victory.
• Soldier Field last hosted Sporting KC on Oct. 17, 2020, with the match ending in a 2-2 draw.
• This will be just the second Sporting KC match at Soldier Field since 2005.

Sporting Kansas City

• 2022 MLS record: 1-2-0, 3 points (12th in Western Conference)
• 2022 MLS road record: 0-2-0, 0 points (1 GF, 5 GA)
• 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs: Lost to Real Salt Lake in Western Conference Semifinals
• All-time Honors: Two MLS Cups (2000, 2013), four Open Cups (2004, 2012, 2015, 2017), one Supporters' Shield (2000).
• Sporting leads MLS with 121 successful passes in the attacking third per match.
• Sporting’s 84.9% passing accuracy ranks third in MLS while the club’s 56.9% average possession is good for sixth in the league.
• Since July 2020, Sporting is 22-0-1 in the regular season when leading in the 75th minute.
• Sporting has outscored opponents 43-21 from the 60th minute onward in regular season matches since the start of the 2020 season.
• Defender Andreu Fontas leads MLS in passes (277) and successful passes (251) while also ranking third in successful passes ending in the final third (60).
• Midfielder Remi Walter ranks fifth in MLS in total distance covered at 34.55 kilometers (21.47 miles).
• Defender Logan Ndenbe is tied for third in MLS with 16 possessions won in the defensive third.
• Since the start of 2021, forward Daniel Salloi ranks second in MLS in non-penalty goals (17) and goals from open play (15) during the regular season.
• In eight regular season appearances against Chicago, Sporting goalkeeper Tim Melia has a 6-1-1 record with four shutouts.
• Sporting forward Johnny Russell has two goals and three assists in five regular season appearances against Chicago.
• Sporting defender Graham Zusi has four goals and two assists in 18 career regular season appearances against Chicago.

Chicago Fire FC

• 2022 MLS record: 1-0-2, 4 points (6th in Eastern Conference)
• 2022 MLS home record: 0-0-1, 1 point (0 GF, 0 GA)
• 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs: N/A
• All-time Honors: One MLS Cups (1998), four US Open Cups (1998, 2000, 2003, 2006), one Supporters’ Shield (2003).
• Chicago is the only MLS team to not concede a goal in 2022.
• For the first time since 2009, Chicago has opened the season unbeaten in three league games. For the first time in club history, they have opened with three straight clean sheets.
• The Fire have allowed just eight shots on target in the first three matches, the third-fewest in MLS.
• Chicago ranks second in MLS with 45 interceptions and 114 possessions won the middle third of the field.
• Chicago leads MLS with a tackle success rate of 77.1%
• The Fire’s goalkeeper Gaga Slonina leads MLS with three shutouts. The 17-year-old has seven clean sheets in 14 regular season appearances dating back to last season.
• Midfielder Gaston Gimenez ranks second in MLS with 35 recoveries and leads the league with 26 possessions won in the middle third of the field.
• Attacking midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri is tied for third in MLS with 11 chances created.
• Defenders Wyatt Omsberg and Rafael Czichos rank third and fourth in MLS, respectively, with Omsberg having 22 clearances and Czichos having 21.
• Defender Miguel Navarro ranks fifth in MLS with nine interceptions.

Milestones and Miscellany

• Defender Graham Zusi is 28 minutes shy of passing Matt Besler for most regular season minutes played in club history. Zusi is at 25,474 minutes and Besler is at 25,501).
• Since signing with Sporting in 2015, Tim Melia has won 10 or more regular season matches in the past seven seasons. No goalkeeper in MLS history has ever won double-digit matches in eight straight seasons.
• Peter Vermes is 20 matches away from becoming the first coach in MLS history to coach one club for 500 matches (incl. all competitions).
• Sporting is tied for second in MLS history with 340 regular season wins and will look to become just the second club after the LA Galaxy to eclipse 350 victories.