"By The Numbers" is a season-long series presented by the Kansas Department of Transportation that gives a statistical preview of every Sporting match. To visit the series archive, click here.
Traffic Safety By The Numbers: Drunk driving caused 27 crashes during the Fourth of July holiday in 2019 in Kansas. Visit the Drive to Zero Coalition for more information.
Riding the waves of consecutive home wins last week, second-place Sporting Kansas City (7-3-2, 23 points) will look to stay hot in a sizzling Fourth of July showdown against the third-place LA Galaxy (7-3-0, 21 points) on Sunday night at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
The marquee Western Conference clash will kick off at 9:30 p.m. CT with live coverage on Bally Sports Kansas City, Bally Sports Midwest Plus, BallySports.com and the Bally Sports app as well as Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM.
Sunday’s contest will rightfully be billed as a battle between two of the best attacks in Major League Soccer, with Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez and the Galaxy squaring off against Daniel Salloi and a Sporting side that leads MLS in goal scoring. With plenty to be excited about on Sunday, we take a statistical look at the compelling fixture in our newest edition of By the Numbers, presented by the Kansas Department of Transportation.
Head-to-Head
- Sporting went 4-0-4 against the Galaxy from October 2015 to October 2018, but LA swept the 2019 series with a pair of wins.
- Sporting are 2-1-1 in their last four visits to Dignity Health Sports Park, including consecutive wins in 2017 and 2018.
- Sporting and LA haven't met since Sept. 15, 2019, when the Galaxy posted a 7-2 win at Dignity Health Sports Park, equaling Kansas City's all-time record for most goals conceded in a match.
- Sporting and LA have met 64 times in the regular season, with the Galaxy holding a 26-23-15 edge.
- The 64 regular season meetings dating back to 1996 have produced just three scoreless draws.
- Sporting forwards Johnny Russell and Daniel Salloi have two goals apiece against the Galaxy in regular season play.
- LA midfielder Sebastian Lletget as two goals and two assists in eight regular season appearances against Sporting.
Sporting Kansas City
- MLS record: 7-3-2, 23 points
- MLS standings: 2nd in West
- MLS away record: 2-3-0 (7 GF, 8 GA)
- Last five matches: 3-1-1, 10 points (W-T-L-W-W)
- Last match: Won 2-1 vs. LAFC on June 26
- Sporting lead MLS in goals (22), expected goals (24.5) and goals per match (1.83).
- Sporting are 5-1-1 in their last seven matches dating back to May 16. Their five wins and 16 goals since then are both the most in MLS.
- Sporting are on pace for 65 points in the regular season, which would eclipse the club record of 63 set in 2012.
- Sporting lead MLS in both shots per game (17.2) and chances created per game (12.2).
- Sporting lead MLS with 32 big chances this season.
- Sporting lead MLS this season with 16 points and five wins from losing positions. No other club has more than seven points and two wins from losing positions in 2021.
- Forward Daniel Salloi ranks third in MLS in both goals (seven) and combined goals and assists (10).
- Salloi leads MLS with four game-winning goals this season.
- Sporting are the only MLS team to have two players with six goals. Salloi has seven and Alan Pulido has six.
- Pulido is one of three MLS players with six goals in each of the last two regular seasons.
- Among MLS forwards, Salloi and Johnny Russell rank first with 19 chances created apiece.
- Midfielder Gianluca Busio leads MLS in starts (12), minutes played (1,062) and pressures (315). He also ranks fourth among field players in recoveries (90) and tackles won (21).
- Defender Andreu Fontas leads MLS by a wide margin in passes (960), passes completed (863) and touches (1,088).
- Sporting KC Academy products have scored in each of Sporting's last seven matches.
- Sporting are tied for last in MLS with one shutout this season.
LA Galaxy
- MLS record: 7-3-0, 21 points
- MLS standings: 3rd in West
- MLS home record: 4-1-0 (9 GF, 5 GA)
- Last five matches: 3-2-0, 9 points (L-W-L-W-W)
- Last match: Won 3-1 at San Jose Earthquakes on June 26
- LA's seven wins this season are tied for the most in MLS alongside Sporting, Seattle and New England.
- LA already have more wins this season (7-3-0 record) than they did in all of 2020 (6-12-4 record).
- LA rank second in MLS with five one-goal wins this season. The Galaxy are 5-1 in games decided by a single goal.
- LA are the only MLS club without a draw this season.
- LA have outshot their opponents just twice this season. They rank 21st in shots per game (11.3) and 23rd in chances created per game (7.5).
- LA rank second in MLS with a shot conversion rate of 15.1%.
- LA are 6-1-0 when scoring first and 4-0-0 when leading at halftime this season.
- Forward Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez leads MLS with 10 goals in 10 matches this season. Chicharito had just two goals in 12 appearances during his debut MLS campaign in 2020.
- Chicharito's three multi-goal games this season are the most in MLS.
- Chicharito's 10 goals have come from just 26 shot attempts, a conversion rate of 38.5%. The league average for shot conversion rate is 9.8%.
- Goalkeeper Jonathan Bond leads MLS in wins (seven) and ranks second in saves (49).
- Bond, Chicharito and defender Jorge Villafana have started all 10 matches for LA this season.
- Midfielder Sacha Kljestan has contributed two goals and two assists despite starting just three of LA's 10 matches.
Milestones and Miscellany
- Sporting defender Graham Zusi is one shy of his 300th career regular season appearance.
- Sporting are 3-8-2 all-time in matches played on the Fourth of July.
