By The Numbers presented by KDOT: #NYvSKC | July 14, 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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A pair of MLS originals occupying third place in their respective conferences will lock horns Saturday when Sporting Kansas City (9-4-6, 33 points) visits the New York Red Bulls (10-5-2, 32 points) in a marquee matchup at Red Bull Arena. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. CT on FOX Sports Kansas City, FOX Sports Midwest Plus, FOX Sports GO, Sports Radio 810 WHB (English) and ESPN Deportes KC 1480 AM (Spanish).

Saturday's showdown serves as a rematch of the 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final, a gripping battle at Children's Mercy Park in which Sporting KC prevailed 2-1 to lift their fourth major trophy since 2012. Manager Peter Vermes' men own a three-game winning streak in the head-to-head series, but the Red Bulls remain one of the league's most dangerous teams with the likes of Bradley Wright-Phillips and Kaku wreaking havoc in attack. We take a statistical look at the fixture in our newest edition of By The Numbers.

Head-to-Head

• Sporting KC has won three straight meetings against the Red Bulls in all competitions since the start of 2016.
• This is a rematch of the 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final, which saw Sporting KC prevail 2-1 at Children’s Mercy Park last September.
• Sporting KC is 3-1-1 in its last five regular season visits to Red Bull Arena dating back to 2012.
• In 11 regular season meetings between the clubs since 2012, the home team is just 2-5-4.
• Sporting KC owns a narrow 21-20-13 advantage in the all-time regular season series.
• New York forward Bradley Wright-Phillips has seven goals in eight appearances against Sporting KC across all competitions.

New York Red Bulls

• 2018 MLS record: 10-5-2, 32 points (3rd in East)
• 2018 MLS home record: 6-1-1 (20 GF, 4 GA)
• Last MLS match: L 0-1 at New York City FC on July 8
• Last five MLS matches: 3-1-1, 10 points (T-W-W-W-L)
• The Red Bulls own a plus-17 goal differential (34 GF, 17 GA), the second-best mark in MLS.
• The Red Bulls are 6-1-1 at home this season with five shutouts, 20 goals scored and 4 conceded.
• New York has allowed one goal per game, the lowest goals against average in MLS.
• New York is averaging two goals per game, tied for fourth in MLS, and leads the league with 30 primary assists.
• New York leads MLS in shooting accuracy (56.4) and ranks second with 6.4 shots on target per game, but places last in passing accuracy (70.6).
• New York leads MLS in both duels won (60.9), tackles won (15.2) and interceptions (16.3) per game.
• New York is tied for the league lead with nine headed goals.
• New York has scored nine goals in the first 15 minutes of matches this season, two more than any other MLS team.
• Forward Bradley Wright-Phillips is tied for second in MLS with 11 goals. His 104 regular-season goals since 2014 are 31 more than any other player.
• Midfielder Kaku is tied for the league lead with 10 assists in his first MLS season.

 Sporting KC

• 2018 MLS record: 9-4-6, 33 points (3rd in West)
• 2018 MLS away record: 3-3-3 (13 GF, 13 GA)
• Last MLS match: T 2-2 vs. Toronto FC on July 7
• Last five MLS matches: 1-2-2, 5 points (T-W-L-L-T)
• Sporting KC has allowed 12 goals across its last five games in all competitions, conceding the first goal in each match.
• Sporting KC is tied for second in MLS with 44 big chances created.
• Sporting KC is 5-1-0 this season in games decided by one goal.
• Sporting KC has received eight MLS goals from substitutes, an all-time regular season club record.
• Forward Johnny Russell is tied for the MLS lead with three penalties earned and ranks second with 122 touches in the opponent's box. He has recorded six goals and six assists in his first MLS campaign.
• Midfielder Roger Espinoza is tied for fifth in MLS with a career-high eight assists and ranks fourth with 36 chances created from open play.
• Midfielder Ilie leads MLS with 685 successful passes in the attacking half.
• Graham Zusi leads MLS defenders with 36 chances created and ranks second in MLS in touches (1,674).
• Goalkeeper Tim Melia is tied for the MLS lead with seven shutouts and has saved five of the last nine penalty kicks he has faced since the start of 2017.

Milestones and Miscellany

• Sporting KC is one shy of its 100th all-time road win in the MLS regular season.
• Sporting KC is five shy of reaching 1,000 goals scored all-time in the MLS regular season.

Recent #NYvSKC meetings (all competitions)

• All-competitions record vs. New York: 22-21-13 (72 GF, 67 GA)
• All-competitions road record at New York: 6-12-8 (27 GF, 33 GA)

Team stats (2018 regular season)

MLS rank in parenthesis (source: Opta)