"By The Numbers" presented by Compass Minerals is a season-long series that gives a statistical preview of every Sporting match. To visit the series archive, click here.
Boasting a 6-3-3 record in the last dozen MLS matches, Sporting Kansas City will look to continue their climb up the Western Conference table on Saturday by visiting rivals Houston Dynamo FC. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. CT at Shell Energy Stadium with free broadcasts on Apple TV, Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM.
The 2023 campaign has been a tale of two seasons for both teams. Sporting struggled out of the gates before taking significant strides forward since the start of May. Houston, meanwhile, is one of the league's best home teams and worst away teams. It all makes for a fascinating new chapter of a longtime rivalry that has seen both clubs collect 13 wins and 14 draws apiece across 40 regular season meetings.
We take a statistical look at the match in our newest edition of By the Numbers, presented by Compass Minerals.
Head-to-Head
- Sporting are 4-1-1 in their last five meetings against Houston across all competitions, with the lone loss coming in the most recent meeting as Houston claimed a 1-0 home win in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 on May 10.
- Houston’s Open Cup win over Sporting in May saw Thor Ulfarsson score the decisive goal in the 12th minute. The Dynamo held on for a 1-0 victory despite being outshot 17-2 and playing down a man for 55 minutes following Chase Gasper’s red card.
- Sporting have failed to score in each of their last three trips to Shell Energy Stadium in all competitions, taking a 0-0 draw and two 1-0 losses since 2021.
- Sporting are 8-3-2 in their last 13 regular season meetings against Houston dating back to 2018.
- Sporting have faced Houston 43 times in all competitions since 2011, more than any other opponent (18-14-11 record).
- The all-time regular season series is even through 40 meetings with both teams going 13-13-14 and scoring 54 goals apiece (1.35 per game).
- Sporting forward Johnny Russell has seven goals and three assists in 13 appearances against Houston in all competitions since 2018.
- Sporting midfielder Gadi Kinda has four goals and two assists in six regular season appearances against Houston.
- Sporting forward Alan Pulido has four goals and one assist in six regular season appearances against Houston.
- Houston forward Corey Baird has four goals in 10 regular season appearances against Sporting, all of which as a member of Real Salt Lake and none since 2019.
- Only four people have played or coached in 600 MLS matches in league history: Sporting manager Peter Vermes (692) and Houston head coach Ben Olsen (609), who will go head-to-head on Saturday, as well as Jason Kreis (662) and Gregg Vanney (612).
Sporting Kansas City
- 2023 MLS record: 6-10-6, 24 points (10th in West | 26 GF, 30 GA)
- 2023 MLS away record: 1-5-5 (8 GF, 17 GA)
- Last five MLS matches: 2-2-1 (W-L-T-L-W)
- Since the start of May, Sporting lead the Western Conference in wins (six) and points (21).
- Since the start of May, Sporting are tied for the MLS lead with 23 goals scored (Columbus Crew).
- In all competitions this season, Sporting are 7-0-1 when scoring multiple goals and 0-11-5 when scoring one or fewer.
- Sporting has earned four wins by a three-goal margin in 2023, tied for the second-most in a single regular season in club history (six in 2018, four in 2013, 2014 and 2023).
- Sporting has scored at least three goals in eight of its last 17 MLS home matches since August 2022, winning all eight. The team has five four-goal games during that stretch.
- The buildup to Remi Walter’s opening goal in Sporting’s 3-0 win over Vancouver on Saturday began with a goal kick from Kendall McIntosh and featured passes by nine different players. According to Opta, Sporting has scored only one other regular season goal from a buildup that began with a goal kick in the past five seasons (Yohan Croizet’s goal in a 1-1 draw at Houston on June 1, 2019).
- In last Saturday’s win over Vancouver, Sporting fielded the fewest U.S.-born players in a regular season match in club history. Goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh and right back Jake Davis were the only two players born in the U.S. of the 16 players that took the field for the club. Sporting had fielded at least three U.S.-born players in its previous 875 regular season matches prior to last Saturday.
- Forward Alan Pulido has a team-high eight MLS goals and nine goals in all competitions this season. His nine goals in all competitions are his most for Sporting in a single season since joining the club in 2020.
- Pulido leads Sporting with 12 total goal contributions in all competitions this year (nine goals, three assists).
- Pulido is the third player in club history to score seven goals in a six-game stretch of the regular season, having done so from June 3 to July 1. His seven goals since the start of June are the most in MLS during that time.
- Midfielder Erik Thommy scored his sixth career MLS goal in last Saturday’s 3-0 win over Vancouver. Sporting owns a perfect 6-0-0 record when Thommy scores dating back to his arrival in June 2022.
- Thommy has eight goal contributions (three goals and five assists) since the start of May, second most on the team behind Alan Pulido (10). His five assists since the start of May are tied for second most in MLS.
- Thommy leads Sporting with six assists in all competitions while ranking seventh in MLS in shots (59) and eighth in shots on target (22).
- Forward Daniel leads MLS in progressive carries (86), ranks second in successful crosses from open play (18), fourth in expected assists (5.3), fifth in shots on target (23) and ninth in chances created (42). He also ranks second on Sporting with 10 goal contributions this season in all competitions (five goals, five assists).
- Salloi is one of four Western Conference players with seven goals and seven assists since the start of August 2022 alongside Cristian Espinoza (San Jose), Carlos Vela (LAFC) and Ryan Gauld (Vancouver).
- Salloi is the only player in MLS to start 22 matches this season and he leads all MLS players with 1,932 minutes played in 2023.
- Salloi and Thommy are two of four MLS players to play in 22 matches this season.
- With an assist in last Saturday’s win over Vancouver, midfielder Gadi Kinda now has 28 goal contributions (13 goals, 15 assists) in 55 career regular season appearances for Sporting.
- Since the start of 2020, Sporting are 22-10-7 when both Pulido and Kinda play in the regular season (1.87 points per game, 1.87 goals per game). The club is 14-20-12 in games without both (1.17 points per game, 1.22 goals per game).
- Left back Tim Leibold is the third Sporting defender in the last six regular seasons to record three assists in an eight-game span (Graham Zusi in 2018 and Luis Martins in 2021).
- Sporting are 4-0-0 when the center back pairing of Andreu Fontas and Dany Rosero start together at home this season.
- Midfielder Remi Walter ranks second among MLS field players with 161 recoveries this season.
Houston Dynamo FC
- 2023 MLS record: 8-9-3, 27 points (7th in West | 24 GF, 26 GA)
- 2023 MLS home record: 7-1-1 (17 GF, 3 GA)
- Last five MLS matches: 3-2-0 (W-W-W-L-L)
- Houston is 7-1-1 in nine regular season home games this season and boasts a 9-1-1 home record in all competitions, including two Open Cup victories.
- Houston has conceded just three goals at home this season, the fewest in MLS at an average of 0.33 per match. In all competitions, the Dynamo have conceded three goals in 11 home games.
- Six of Houston’s seven MLS shutouts this season have come at home.
- Houston has trailed for a total of only 18 minutes at home this season (810 minutes played in MLS and 990 minutes played in all competitions).
- Among Western Conference clubs, Houston has the best MLS home record (7-1-1) and the worst MLS away record (1-8-2).
- Houston is averaging 1.89 goals per game at home and 0.64 goals per game on the road.
- Houston is 7-0-1 when scoring first and 1-9-1 when conceding first this season. Similarly, the Dynamo are 4-0-0 when leading at halftime and 0-4-0 when trailing at halftime.
- Houston has a +14 home goal differential (17 GF, 3 GA) and a -16 away goal differential (7 GF, 23 GA).
- Houston has scored five goals from penalty kicks this season, tied for second most in MLS.
- Houston has advanced to the 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semifinals after outscoring opponents 10-1 through the first four rounds. Houston claimed its first and only Open Cup title to date in 2018.
- Midfielder Amine Bassi leads Houston with eight MLS goals this season. No other Houston player has more than three league goals. He ranks seventh in MLS with 0.60 goals per 90 minutes.
- Longtime Mexican international midfielder Hector Herrera leads Houston with seven assists and is tied for second on the team with three goals.
- Houston is 0-2-1 in the three MLS matches Herrera has missed this season. He is one of two MLS players with two red card ejections this season alongside Colorado’s Braian Galvan.
- Midfielder Artur is the only Houston field player to start in each of the club’s 20 MLS matches this season.
- Midfielder Adalberto Carrasquilla ranks ninth in MLS in completed through balls (nine) and 10th in successful crosses into the penalty area (11).
- Defender Franco Escobar is tied for seventh in MLS with 32 tackles won.
Milestones and Miscellany
- Manager Peter Vermes has won a combined 295 MLS matches as a player or a coach, tied with Bruce Arena for the most in league history (regular season and playoffs).
- Forward Daniel Salloi is one shy of his 150th start for Sporting in all competitions. Salloi has 42 regular season goals for Sporting, sixth most in club history and one shy of Davy Arnaud and Josh Wolff in fourth.
