"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.
Sporting Kansas City (2-2-5, 11 points) will close the month of April with a trip to face regional rivals Minnesota United FC (4-2-2, 14 points) on Saturday at Allianz Field. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT with live coverage on Apple TV for MLS Season Pass subscribers. Pub partners in the Sporting Pub Network will also show all of the action, while radio broadcasts will air locally on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM.
Manager Peter Vermes' men have enjoyed recent success against their counterparts from the north, winning each of their last four meetings against the Loons, but Minnesota has opened 2024 in impressive fashion after missing the playoffs last year. We take a statistical look at Saturday's matchup in our newest edition of By The Numbers presented by Compass Minerals.
Head-to-Head
- Sporting and Minnesota have met 22 times in all competitions since the Loons joined MLS in 2017, the most of any opponent for both teams. Sporting have a 12-6-4 record in the all-time series.
- Sporting lead the all-time regular season series against Minnesota with an 11-4-4 record, including a perfect 9-0-0 record at home and a 2-3-4 road mark at Allianz Field.
- Sporting have won the last four regular season meetings since September 2022, outscoring the Loons 11-2 during that stretch.
- Sporting won the most recent meeting with a 3-1 Decision Day victory on Oct. 21, 2023, at Children’s Mercy Park, receiving a Johnny Russell brace, a Remi Walter goal and two assists from Daniel Salloi.
- The most recent meeting at Allianz Field saw Sporting prevail 1-0 on Sept. 16, 2023, with a late winner from Gadi Kinda.
- Minnesota last beat Sporting on Oct. 31, 2021, prevailing 2-1 at Allianz Field. The Loons have gone winless in five meetings since then (0-4-1).
- Sporting forward Johnny Russell has five goals and 10 assists in 15 regular season appearances against Minnesota. His 15 goal contributions against the Loons are his most versus any MLS opponent in the regular season.
- Sporting forward Khiry Shelton has four goals and one assist in 11 regular season appearances against Minnesota. His four goals against the Loons are his most versus any MLS opponent.
- Sporting forward Daniel Salloi has three goals and four assists in 15 regular season appearances against Minnesota.
- Sporting forward Willy Agada scored a brace in his lone previous appearance against Minnesota, a 4-1 home victory on Sept 17, 2022.
- Sporting goalkeeper Tim Melia has a 10-3-2 regular season record against Minnesota, including seven shutouts and a 0.62 goals against average.
- Minnesota goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair has a 0-5-1 regular season record against Sporting with zero shutouts and a 2.33 goals against average. However, he was Minnesota’s keeper in the lone playoff meeting between the sides, a 3-0 Minnesota victory in the Western Conference Semifinals at Children’s Mercy Park on Dec. 3, 2020.
Sporting Kansas City
- 2024 MLS record: 2-2-5, 11 points (10th in West | 17 GF, 16 GA)
- 2024 MLS away record: 1-0-2 (4 GF, 2 GA)
- Last five matches: 1-2-2 (L-W-T-L-T)
- Sporting rank fourth in MLS in total goals scored (17) and third in non-penalty goals (17).
- Sporting have scored two or more goals in six straight regular season matches for the first time since the inaugural MLS season in August 1996. The team has never scored multiple goals in seven straight regular season matches.
- Last Saturday’s 3-3 draw against St. Louis was Sporting’s fifth straight match to produce at least four combined goals. The team’s first four games of the season produced three or fewer combined goals.
- Sporting’s last four home matches since March 23 have produced 22 total goals, an average of 5.5 per game.
- Sporting have trailed for a total of 63 minutes this season, the fewest in MLS.
- Sporting have scored first in five straight matches and in 25 of the club’s last 35 matches in all competitions dating back to 2023.
- Sporting have conceded the opening goal just once this season, the fewest in MLS.
- Sporting rank fourth in MLS with 5.4 shots on target per match and have the longest average shooting distance in the league (19.5 yards)
- Midfielder Erik Thommy, who scored Sporting’s final goal in a 3-3 home draw against St. Louis last Saturday, has three goals in his last two games and a team-leading four goals on the season. He has three goals in a two-game stretch for the first time since September 2012 when he played for the FC Augsburg U-19s in his native Germany.
- Thommy, who leads MLS with 50 progressive carries this season, has appeared in 55 straight regular season matches since debuting for Sporting on July 23, 2022, tied for the seventh longest streak in club history.
- Thommy has outperformed his expected goal total by 2.8, the most of any player in MLS this season.
- Forward Alan Pulido scored the opening goal last Saturday’s draw against St. Louis. He became the third fastest player in Kansas City history to hit 30 regular season goals for the club, doing so in 69 matches.
- Forward Willy Agada has scored or assisted a goal in four of Sporting’s last five matches since making his first start of the season on March 23. Agada has equaled his MLS career-high with two assists, tied for the team lead in 2024 with Jake Davis and Memo Rodriguez.
- Agada ranks fourth in MLS in both expected goals per 90 minutes (0.79) and shots on target per 90 minutes (1.90).
- Defender Jake Davis has started in each of Sporting’s last 36 matches in all competitions since May 28, 2023. That streak will end Saturday as he serves a one-game suspension for caution accumulation.
- Forward Daniel Salloi has appeared in 61 straight regular season matches for Sporting since June 19, 2022, the fifth longest streak in club history (Chris Brown 80, Mark Chung 74, Davy Arnaud 67, Ilie Sanchez 64).
Minnesota United FC
- 2024 MLS record: 4-2-2, 14 points (5th in West | 13 GF, 9 GA)
- 2024 MLS home record: 1-1-2 (5 GF, 4 GA)
- Last five matches: 2-2-1 (W-L-T-L-W)
- Minnesota has opened the season with a 4-2-2 record for the second straight year.
- Minnesota’s four wins this season are one shy of the MLS lead.
- Minnesota is 3-0-0 when scoring first and 1-2-2 when conceding first this season.
- Minnesota has an MLS-best 4-0-0 record when leading at halftime this season. All four of their wins this season have come with a halftime lead. The Loons are 0-2-1 when trailing at the break.
- Minnesota has won just five of its last 21 regular season home matches since the start of 2023 (5-5-11 record), including a 1-1-2 record this season.
- Minnesota has used 24 players during the 2024 regular season, second most in MLS.
- Minnesota ranks second in MLS in passes into the box per game (10.8) and third in shots on target per game (5.5).
- Minnesota leads MLS with 12.4 interceptions per game.
- Midfielder Robin Lod leads Minnesota in both goals (three) and assists (five) this season. Lod’s five assists are one shy of the MLS lead and his eight total goal contributions are fourth most in the league.
- Lod ranks second in MLS this season with 0.87 assists per 90 minutes.
- Lod has three straight matches with an assist, the second longest active streak in MLS behind Lionel Messi’s four.
- Forward Tanitoluwa Oluwaseyi is tied with Lod for the Minnesota lead with three goals this season and also has two assists.
- Oluwaseyi has five total goal contributions despite just 219 minutes and one start across eight appearances this season. Four of his goal contributions have come as a second-half substitute.
- Midfielder Joseph Rosales is the only MLS player with two red cards this season. He ranks fifth in the league in interceptions (17).
- Defender Michael Boxall is tied for third in MLS in clearances (45), while defender DJ Taylor ranks fourth in the league in interceptions (18).
Milestones and Miscellany
- Forward Johnny Russell has 56 regular season goals for Sporting, one shy of tying Dom Dwyer for second most in club history.
- Forward Daniel Salloi has 96 goal contributions (58 goals, 38 assists) for Sporting in all competitions, one shy of tying Chris Klein for fourth most in club history.
