By The Numbers presented by KDOT: #DALvSKC | Oct. 21, 2018

"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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Coming off an emphatic 4-1 victory at Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Wednesday, Sporting Kansas City (16-8-8, 2nd place) will now prepare for a monumental showdown with FC Dallas (16-7-9, 1st place) on Sunday at Toyota Stadium. Manager Peter Vermes' men currently occupy second place in the Western Conference, level on points with LAFC and one point behind FC Dallas, heading into the penultimate weekend of the 2018 MLS regular season. Needless to say, a win on Sunday would work wonders as both teams push for a top-two finish and the Knockout Round bye that comes with it.

• Western Conference standings going into Sunday

Kickoff on Sunday is set for 4 p.m. CT, with three hours of live coverage running from 4-7 p.m. CT on FOX Sports Kansas City, FOX Sports Midwest and FOX Sports GO. Local radio broadcasts will air on ESPN 94.5 FM (English) and ESPN Deportes KC 1480 AM (Spanish), while the Sporting KC Uphoria app will provide in-game updates. With that in mind, let's take a statistical look at the matchup in our newest edition of By The Numbers.

Home Playoff Game Scenarios

Sporting KC can clinch a top-four finish and a home playoff game on Sunday if any one of the three scenarios below come to fruition. All six Western Conference matches will kick off simultaneously at 4 p.m. CT. It is impossible for Sporting KC to clinch a top-two finish (and an accordant Knockout Round bye) this weekend.

1. Sporting KC beats FC Dallas, OR
2. Real Salt Lake beats or ties Portland, OR
3. Sporting KC ties FC Dallas, AND
   Houston beats Seattle

Head-to-Head

• The two previous meetings between the clubs this season have produced 10 total goals. Sporting KC prevailed 3-2 in the U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 on June 16 before FC Dallas exacted revenge with a 3-2 regular season win on July 28.
• Sporting KC is 1-5-3 in its last nine games at Toyota Stadium, with their lone win coming in June 2011 by a 4-1 scoreline.
• Sporting KC holds a narrow 24-23-12 edge in the all-time regular season series.
• The home side in the series is 11-1-4 in the last 16 meetings across all competitions since 2011.
• Forward Daniel Salloi has scored three goals in two appearances against FC Dallas this season, bagging a brace in the Open Cup victory and scoring late in the regular season loss.
• FC Dallas midfielder Michael Barrios scored a hat-trick in his team's 3-2 win at Children's Mercy Park on July 28.
• Gerso Fernandes has scored in two straight regular season appearances against FC Dallas.

FC Dallas

• 2018 MLS record: 16-7-9, 57 points (1st in West)
• 2018 MLS home record: 10-1-5 (32 GF, 16 GA)
• Last MLS match: L 0-1 at D.C. United on Oct. 13
• Last five MLS matches: 2-1-2, 8 points (T-W-T-W-L)
• FC Dallas is 10-1-5 at home this season, with their lone loss coming to last-place San Jose by a 3-1 scoreline on Aug. 4.
• FC Dallas is 4-4-3 since the start of August, while Sporting KC is 7-2-2 during that same timeframe.
• FC Dallas is 16-1-4 when scoring first this season, but 0-6-3 when conceding first. Similarly, the club is 11-0-2 when leading at halftime and 0-5-2 when trailing at halftime.
• FC Dallas, coming off a 1-0 loss at D.C. on Oct. 13, has lost two straight games just once this season.
• FC Dallas boasts a 9-3-0 record in one-goal games this season.
• Winger Roland Lamah leads FC Dallas with eight MLS goals, while forward Maxi Urruti leads the side with 11 league assists. Urruti is tied for third in MLS with 110 shots.
• Defenders Reggie Cannon and Matt Hedges lead FC Dallas with 31 MLS starts, having featured in all but one league match this season. Cannon ranks third in MLS with 57 tackles won, while Hedges is second in clearances (154) and ninth in interceptions (64).
• Defender Reto Ziegler leads MLS with three red cards this season.
• Goalkeeper Jesse Gonzalez boasts an 11-5-3 record as a starter with six shutouts and a 1.21 goals against average.

 Sporting KC

• 2018 MLS record: 16-8-8, 56 points (2nd in West)
• 2018 MLS away record: 7-6-3 (28 GF, 23 GA)
• Last MLS match: W 4-1 at Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Oct. 17
• Last five MLS matches: 2-1-2, 8 points (W-L-T-T-W)
• With 60 goals through 32 games, Sporting KC is one goal shy of tying a club record for most goals in a regular season (1996).
• If the season ended today, Sporting KC’s plus-21 goal difference (60 GF, 39 GA) would be the best in club history.
• Sporting KC's 28 away goals are more than their previous two seasons combined (22) and one shy of tying a club record for most away goals in a season (2005).
• Sporting KC's plus-5 road goal differential (28 GF, 23 GA) is the second-best in MLS behind Atlanta United FC (plus-6).
• Sporting KC has scored 16 goals in the final 15 minutes of matches this season, one shy of the league lead held by the Red Bulls and D.C.
• Sporting KC leads MLS with a passing accuracy of 84.4 percent and ranks second in average possession at 57.8 percent.
• Forwards Johnny Russell and Daniel Salloi are tied for the team lead with nine MLS goals and 11 goals in all competitions.
• Russell is one goal shy of becoming the fourth player in Sporting KC history to hit double-digit goals and assists in a single regular season.
• Salloi leads MLS Homegrown Players in all competitions with 18 combined goals (11) and assists (7) this season.
• Midfielder Ilie Sanchez has reached career-highs with four goals and four assists this season. He also leads MLS with 1,122 successful passes in the attacking half.
• Midfielder Roger Espinoza is the only MLS player with at least nine goals, 175 duels won and 45 tackles won this season.
• Defender Graham Zusi leads MLS defenders with 66 chances created while also leading the league in touches (2,899) and ranking 11th in interceptions (63).
• Goalkeeper Tim Melia is tied for the MLS lead with a career-high 12 shutouts.

Milestones and Miscellany

• Sporting KC is one shy of its 61st goal of the regular season, which would tie the club record set in 1996.
• Defender Matt Besler is one shy of his 300th appearance for Sporting KC in all competitions. He is also one shy of his 250th regular season start for the club.

Recent #DALvSKC meetings (all competitions)

• Regular season record vs. FC Dallas: 24-23-12 (88 GF, 92 GA)
• Regular season road record at FC Dallas: 9-14-5 (31 GF, 54 GA)

Team stats (2018 regular season)

MLS rank in parenthesis (source: Opta, as of Oct. 20, 2018)