By The Numbers presented by KDOT: #CLBvSKC | June 23, 2019

"By The Numbers" is a season-long series sponsored by The Kansas Department of Transportation, giving a statistical preview of every Sporting KC match.
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Rested and refreshed after a weekend off, Sporting Kansas City (3-5-7, 16 points) gets the ball rolling again on Sunday with a visit to fellow MLS originals Columbus Crew SC (5-9-2, 17 points). The interconference clash at MAPFRE Stadium will kick off at 4:30 p.m. CT with live coverage on FOX Sports Kansas City Plus, FOX Sports Midwest Plus, FOX Sports GO, Sports Radio 810 WHB and ESPN Deportes KC 1480 AM.

Both clubs will view Sunday as an excellent opportunity to right the ship heading into the second half of the MLS campaign. Sporting and Crew SC have earned one win each since early April, making this particular battle a vital tone-setter as the calendar crawls toward July. We take a statistical look at the matchup in our newest edition of By The Numbers.

Head-to-Head

• Sporting are 6-1-2 in their last nine regular season meetings with Columbus since 2013.
• Sporting are 3-1-2 in their last six visits to MAPFRE Stadium dating back to 2012. Their lone defeat during this stretch was a 3-2 decision in August 2015.
• Sporting and Columbus have drawn each of their last two meetings, including a 1-1 tie at MAPFRE Stadium in September 2017 and a scoreless stalemate last year in Kansas City.
• Sporting lead the all-time regular season series 25-22-8 with 85 goals scored and 84 conceded.
• Sporting midfielder Benny Feilhaber has three goals and three assists in 10 regular season appearances against Columbus.
• Sporting defender Graham Zusi has two goals and four assists in 11 regular season starts against Columbus.

Columbus Crew SC

• 2019 MLS record: 5-9-2 (17 points, 10th in Eastern Conference)
• 2019 MLS home record: 4-3-2 (11 GF, 11 GA)
• Last MLS match: T 2-2 vs. New York City FC on June 1
• Last 5 MLS matches: 1-3-1, 4 points (W-L-L-L-T)
• Columbus began the season 4-1-1 with four shutouts through their first six MLS matches, but have gone 1-8-1 with zero shutouts since April 13.
• Columbus' four points since April 13 (1-8-1) are the fewest in MLS.
• Columbus' three home losses (4-3-2) are one shy of the most in MLS.
• Columbus rank second-to-last in MLS with 1.00 goals scored per game.
• Columbus have scored five goals in the final 30 minutes of matches this season, the second-fewest in MLS.
• Columbus are 5-0-1 when scoring the first goal this season but 0-9-1 when conceding the first goal.
• Columbus will be without multiple regular starters due to international duty, including midfielder Wil Trapp, forward Gyasi Zardes and defender Jonathan Mensah. This trio has combined for 45 starts of a possible 48 starts this season, with Zardes bagging a team-best six goals.
• Playmaker Federico Higuain has a team-best five assists this season, but will miss the rest of the year with an ACL injury.
• Columbus midfielder Pedro Santos ranks third in MLS in both fouls suffered (46) and duels won (125).
• Columbus took a 3-2 home loss to Atlanta United FC in the U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 on Tuesday, receiving a David Accam strike and an own goal. Accam also scored the winner in a 1-0 U.S. Open Cup victory over Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC on June 11.

Sporting Kansas City 

• 2019 MLS record: 3-5-7, 16 points (10th in Western Conference)
• 2019 MLS away record: 0-3-4 (7 GF, 12 GA)
• Last MLS match: T 2-2 at Toronto FC on June 7
• Last 5 MLS matches: 1-1-3, 6 points (T-W-L-T-T)
• Sporting rank third in MLS with 1.73 goals per game.
• Sporting are tied for the MLS lead with five goals from the penalty spot.
• Sporting are the only team to have three player with at least six MLS goals this season. Krisztian Nemeth and Johnny Russell have seven each, while Felipe Gutierrez has six.
• Russell leads MLS with three goals from outside the box.
• Nemeth has a team-leading 11 goals in 16 appearances this season across all competitions.
• Midfielder Ilie Sanchez is the only Sporting player to appear in all 21 matches this season (including Concacaf Champions League).
• Goalkeeper Tim Melia has saved both of the penalties he has faced this season in MLS play.
• Sporting has just one shutout this season, the second-fewest in MLS behind Portland's zero.
• Sporting are the only Western Conference club without an away win this season (0-3-4).
• Sporting are 1-7-6 in all competitions since the start of April, collecting zero shutouts during that stretch.

Milestones and Miscellany

• Sporting are one shy of their 500th away goal all-time (all competitions).
• Forward Krisztian Nemeth is one shy of his 50th regular season appearance for Sporting.

Recent #SKCvCLB regular season meetings

• Regular season record vs. Columbus: 25-22-8 (85 GF, 84 GA)
• Regular season road record at Columbus: 11-13-5 (41 GF, 44 GA)

Team stats (2019 regular season)

MLS rank in parenthesis (through June 21)