By The Numbers presented by KDOT: #MTLvSKC | June 30, 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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Unbeaten in nine straight matches across all competitions, Western Conference leaders Sporting Kansas City (9-2-5, 32 points) travel north of the border for a cross-conference clash with the Montreal Impact (6-11-0, 18 points) at Stade Saputo, kicking off at 6 p.m. CT Saturday. FOX Sports Kansas City, FOX Sports Midwest and FOX Sports GO will air three hours of live coverage beginning at 5:30 p.m. CT, while listeners can catch the action on Sports Radio 810 WHB (English) and ESPN Deportes KC 1480 AM (Spanish).

Sporting KC has avoided defeat in six straight meetings against a Montreal side that has won three of its last four games after enduring a tumultuous start to the campaign. We take a statistical look at the matchup in our newest installment of By The Numbers.

Head-to-Head

• Sporting KC is 4-0-2 against Montreal in the last six regular season meetings and owns a 6-3-3 edge in the all-time series.
• Sporting KC is 3-1-2 all-time at Montreal, including a 2-2 draw in their last visit to Stade Saputo in June 2018.
• Montreal midfielder Ignacio Piatti has scored in two of his last three appearances against Sporting KC.
• Sporting KC forward Gerso Fernandes opened the scoring in last year's 1-1 draw between the sides at Children's Mercy Park before Montreal's Matteo Mancosu leveled late.

Montreal Impact

• 2018 MLS record: 6-11-0, 18 points (9th in East)
• 2018 MLS home record: 4-3-0 (12 GF, 10 GA)
• Last MLS match: W 2-0 at Orlando City SC on June 23
• Last five MLS matches: 3-2-0, 9 points (L-W-L-W-W)
• Montreal has won three of their last four games, keeping clean sheets in all three victories. The Impact had gone 3-15-0 in their previous 18 MLS matches, posting just three shutouts during that time.
• Montreal has gone 37 MLS matches without a tie (13 wins, 24 losses), with their last draw coming on June 17, 2017.
• Montreal has been outscored 12-4 in the final 15 minutes of matches this season.
• Montreal is 6-2-0 when scoring the first goal this season but 0-9-0 when conceding the the first goal.
• Montreal ranks second-to-last in MLS with 1.18 goals per game and dead-last with 3.6 shots on target per game.
• Midfielder Ignacio Piatti has been involved in seven of the eight MLS goals Montreal has scored since the start of May (four goals, three assists). Piatti leads Montreal in both goals (eight) and assists (six).
• Midfielder Saphir Taider leads Montreal with 32 chances created.
• Midfielder Samuel Piette leads MLS field players in recoveries (164) and ranks fifth in interceptions (42).
• Goalkeeper Evan Bush is amidst a 252-minute regular season shutout streak, the longest active streak in MLS. He leads the league with 75 saves, 15 more than any other player.

 Sporting KC

• 2018 MLS record: 9-2-5, 32 points (1st in West)
• 2018 MLS away record: 3-1-3 (11 GF, 7 GA)
• Last MLS match: W 3-2 vs. Houston Dynamo on June 23
• Last five MLS matches: 2-0-3, 9 points (T-T-W-T-W)
• Sporting KC is unbeaten in nine straight matches across all competitions since the start of May (6-0-3), four games shy of tying the club record.
• Sporting KC has received eight MLS goals from substitutes, an all-time regular season club record.
• Sporting KC has outscored opponents 9-2 in the final 15 minutes of matches this season.
• Sporting KC has conceded just seven road goals in 2018, the second-fewest in MLS. The team has allowed just two goals across its last five away games.
• Sporting KC leads MLS in shots per game (18.6) and passing accuracy (85.0 percent) while ranking second in average possession (59.6).
• Sporting KC has just one loss in its last 15 regular season games (9-1-5), the fewest in MLS dating back to March 10.
• Sporting KC's 1.00 goals against average is tied for the lowest in MLS.
• Forward Daniel Salloi is tied for the team lead in goals (five) and assists (six) in MLS competition.
• Midfielder Ilie leads MLS with 584 successful passes in the attacking half and ranks third among field players with 149 recoveries. He is also ranks seventh with 30 chances created from open play.
• Midfielder Roger Espinoza has a career-high six assists through 15 league games. He also ranks second in MLS with 35 chances created from open play.
• Graham Zusi leads MLS in touches (1,438) and ranks first among defenders with 29 chances created.
• Goalkeeper Tim Melia is tied for the MLS lead with seven shutouts and ranks third with a 76.8 save percentage.

Milestones and Miscellany

• Midfielder Ilie is one shy of his 50th career regular season appearance and start.
• Sporting KC is one shy of its 100th regular season road win all-time.

Recent #MTLvSKC regular season meetings

• Regular season record vs. Montreal: 6-3-3 (20 GF, 11 GA)
• Regular season road record at Montreal: 3-1-2 (10 GF, 5 GA)

Team stats (2018 regular season)

MLS rank in parenthesis (source: Opta)