"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.
Children's Mercy Park will lift the curtains on its 13th season as the world-class home of Sporting Kansas City on Saturday when the club hosts LA Galaxy at 7:30 p.m. CT. Standing-room only tickets for the highly anticipated home opener are available online at SeatGeek.com as a pair of MLS originals lock horns for the 69th time in regular season action.
Saturday's clash will kick off at 7:39 p.m. CT and will stream live on Apple TV for MLS Season Pass subscribers in both English and Spanish, with pre-match programming starting at 7:10 p.m. CT. Radio coverage will also air locally in English on Sports Radio 810 WHB or ESPN 94.5 FM/1510 AM, and in Spanish on La Grande 1340 AM with streams available in the Sporting KC app.
Sporting and LA have built rich histories as two of Major League Soccer's perennial title contenders. Both teams enter the Week 3 encounter aiming to taste victory for the first time this year, and if history is any indication, Sporting will have more than a few reasons to like their chances.
We offer a statistical breakdown of the matchup in our newest edition of By the Numbers, presented by Compass Minerals.
Head-to-Head
- Sporting are 7-2-5 against LA in the last 14 regular season meetings since October 2015.
- Sporting are 3-0-1 in the last four regular season meetings since losing twice to the Galaxy in 2019.
- Sporting are 7-1-6 in their last 14 regular season home matches against LA since 2008. Their only loss during that time came by a 2-0 scoreline on May 29, 2019.
- LA head coach Gregg Vanney is 0-5-4 in nine MLS meetings against Peter Vermes and Sporting, including a 0-2-3 mark with Toronto and a 0-3-1 record with LA.
- Sporting took four points from two meetings in 2022, prevailing 4-2 at Children’s Mercy Park on Aug. 6 and drawing 2-2 at LA on Sept. 4.
- Sporting forward Willy Agada scored his first two MLS goals in the 4-2 home win over LA last August.
- Sporting goalkeeper John Pulskamp has a 2-0-1 record against LA. He developed in the LA Galaxy Academy as a youth player.
- LA forward Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez scored four goals in two meetings against Sporting last season. He will likely miss Saturday’s match with a hamstring injury.
- Sporting forward Johnny Russell has six goals in eight regular season appearances against LA, but he will miss Saturday’s match with a hamstring injury.
- LA goalkeeper Jonathan Bond is 0-3-1 in four regular season starts against Sporting, allowing 10 goals on 22 shots faced.
- In 68 regular season meetings all-time, Sporting and LA have 26 wins and 16 draws apiece.
- The 68 regular season meetings dating back to 1996 have produced just three scoreless draws.
Sporting Kansas City
- 2023 MLS record: 0-1-1, 1 point (10th in Western Conference)
- 2023 MLS home record: 0-0-0 (0 GF, 0 GA)
- All-Time Honors: Two MLS Cups (2000, 2013), four Open Cups (2004, 2012, 2015, 2017), one Supporters' Shield (2000)
- Sporting ended the 2022 MLS campaign with six straight regular season home wins, equaling their longest home winning streak during the Children’s Mercy Park era and one shy of the club record set in 1998 and 2000. Sporting can tie the club record with a victory on Saturday.
- Sporting have outscored opponents 17-4 during their six-match home winning streak, which began Aug. 6, 2022, with a 4-2 win over the LA Galaxy.
- Sporting are 16-3-8 all-time in regular season home openers, including a 5-1-6 record at Children’s Mercy Park.
- Sporting rank second in MLS through Week 2 with 15 shots on goal. Their 11 shots on target at the Colorado Rapids on March 4 were their most in a regular season road match since Oct. 2, 2010. Sporting also rank fourth in MLS with 29 total shots.
- Midfielder Remi Walter has started 44 consecutive regular season matches for Sporting since Sept. 29, 2021. That is the third-longest active streak among MLS field players behind Jakob Glesnes (75) and Darlington Nagbe (69). He ranks second in MLS through Week 2 with 23 recoveries.
- Midfielder Erik Thommy is one shy of the MLS lead in both shots (nine) and shots on target (six).
- Goalkeeper John Pulskamp enters Saturday with a 174-minute shutout streak. The 21-year-old is the youngest MLS goalkeeper to record a shutout this season.
- Forward Daniel Salloi has led Sporting in each of the last two regular seasons in total goal contributions, amassing 12 in 2022 (seven goals, five assists) and 24 in 2021 (16 goals, eight assists). He is one shy of the MLS lead with nine shot attempts through Week 2.
LA Galaxy
- 2023 MLS record: 0-1-0, 0 points (13th in Western Conference)
- 2023 MLS away record: 0-1-0 (1 GF, 3 GA)
- All-Time Honors: Five MLS Cups (2002, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2014), four Supporters' Shields (1998, 2002, 2010, 2011), two Open Cups (2001, 2005), one Concacaf Champions' Cup (2000)
- LA fell 3-1 at FC Dallas in its season opener last Saturday, going ahead through Dejan Joveljic before conceding three consecutive goals.
- Joveljic finished second on LA last year with 11 goals and has scored 0.7 goals per 90 minutes in the regular season since joining the Galaxy in August 2021.
- LA ended the 2022 regular season with a 5-1-4 record from Aug. 13 onward, scoring 26 goals during that span.
- LA midfielder Riqui Puig was a marquee summer signing last year and recorded three goals and five assists in 10 regular season appearances from Aug. 19 onward.
- After falling 4-2 to Sporting at Children’s Mercy Park on Aug. 6, LA ended the 2022 regular season with a 3-1-2 away record, including wins over New England, San Jose and Houston.
- LA’s six road wins last season (6-7-4) record were their most away from home since 2012. The club has had a losing road record for 10 consecutive seasons.
- LA returned to the MLS Cup Playoffs last year, falling to eventual champions LAFC in the Western Conference Semifinals, after missing the playoffs in four of the previous five seasons from 2017-2021.
- LA’s season opener against rivals LAFC on Feb. 25 at the Rose Bowl was postponed until July 4 due to winter weather in the LA area.
- LA ranks first in MLS history in MLS Cups (five), Supporters’ Shields (four), regular season wins (377), regular season goals (1,366) and major trophies in all competitions (12).
Milestones and Miscellany
- Forward Daniel Salloi’s 13 career game-winning goals are tied with Dom Dwyer and Preki for the most in club regular season history. Salloi's 38 regular season goals are tied with Kei Kamara for sixth in club history, one shy of Chris Klein in fifth.
- Midfielder Roger Espinoza is tied with Benny Feilhaber for fourth in club history with 43 regular season assists, two shy of tying Chris Klein for third.
