By The Numbers presented by KDOT: #PORvSKC | June 9, 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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With a convincing U.S. Open Cup road win over Real Salt Lake in the books, Sporting KC will travel further west to continue their MLS regular season campaign at 9:30 p.m. CT Saturday against the Portland Timbers at Providence Park. The game will air live on FOX Sports Kansas City, FOX Sports Midwest Plus and FOX Sports GO in addition to radio coverage on Sports Radio 810 WHB (English) and ESPN Deportes KC 1480 AM (Spanish).

Manager Peter Vermes' men have experienced plenty of success at hallowed Providence Park, where the Timbers boast a 10-0-1 record dating back to 2017. Sporting KC has just two defeats in seven regular season visits to the Rose City and Saturday figures to be an excellent battle between a pair of in-form sides: the visitors are unbeaten in six across all competitions, while the Timbers have avoided defeat in eight straight overall. We take a statistical look at the marquee matchup in our newest edition of By The Numbers.

Head-to-Head

• Sporting KC has a 4-1-2 regular season record against Portland dating back to 2014. That includes a 1-0 victory at Providence Park last season.
• Sporting KC is 4-2-1 all-time at Providence Park in the regular season, including shutouts in four of their last five visits.
• Sporting KC has conceded just five goals in their seven regular season visits to Portland. The seven regular season meetings at Providence Park have produced just 10 total goals.
• Across all competitions, the home team in the series has won just two of the last 11 meetings.
• Portland midfielder Diego Valeri has scored in two of his last three appearances versus Sporting KC.
• Sporting KC forward Daniel Salloi scored his first career MLS goal in the most recent meeting between the sides, a 1-1 draw at Children's Mercy Park on July 1, 2017.

Portland Timbers

• 2018 MLS record: 6-3-3, 21 points (5th in West)
• 2018 MLS home record: 4-0-1 (10 GF, 4 GA)
• Last MLS match: T 1-1 vs. LA Galaxy on June 2
• Last five MLS matches: 4-0-1, 13 points (W-W-W-W-T)
• Portland started the regular season 0-3-2 but have collected six wins and a draw since then, including a 4-0-1 mark at Providence Park.
• Portland owns an eight-game unbeaten run in all competitions, winning seven and drawing one since falling 3-2 at Orlando City SC on April 8.
• Portland owns a 10-0-1 regular season record at Providence Park dating back to August 2017. The Timbers' last home defeat came on July 19, 2017, to Real Salt Lake.
• Reigning MLS MVP Diego Valeri has six goals and three assists in 12 starts this season.
• Midfielder Diego Chara is tied for second in MLS this with five yellow cards, including one in his last game that leaves him suspended for Saturday’s match due to caution accumulation. Portland is 0-11-6 in its last 17 matches without Chara.
• Forward Samuel Armenteros has scored three goals in his last three games. Armenteros scored twice for Portland in their 3-2 preseason win over Sporting KC on Feb. 24.
• Defender Larrys Mabiala leads MLS with 74 clearances.

 Sporting KC

• 2018 MLS record: 8-2-4, 28 points (1st in West)
• 2018 MLS away record: 3-1-2 (11 GF, 7 GA)
• Last MLS match: W 4-1 vs. Minnesota United FC on June 3
• Last five MLS matches: 2-1-2, 8 points (L-W-T-T-W)
• Sporting KC leads the Western Conference in wins (8), goals (28), goal difference (+14) and fewest goals allowed (14).
• Sporting KC is on a six-game unbeaten run in all competitions, winning four and drawing two since falling to the New England Revolution on April 28
• Sporting KC leads MLS with six goals from substitutes this season, having received just two goals from subs in all of 2017.
• Sporting KC has conceded just five goals in their last 10 regular season games since March 31, the fewest in MLS.
• Sporting KC leads MLS in shots per game (19.0), passing accuracy (85.3 percent) and average possession (60 percent).
• In Sunday's 4-1 win over Minnesota, Sporting KC received a goal from two Homegrown Players in the same game for the first time ever. Daniel Salloi scored his fourth of the season before Kuzain became Kansas City’s second-youngest regular-season goal scorer all-time.
• SKC has just one loss in its last 13 regular season games (8-1-4), tied with FC Dallas for the fewest in MLS since March 10.
• Midfielder Ilie leads MLS with 520 successful passes in the attacking half. He is also tied for third in the league with 27 chances created from open play.
• Midfielder Roger Espinoza has a career-high six assists through 14 league games. He leads MLS with 30 chances created from open play.
• Graham Zusi leads MLS in touches (1,272) and ranks first among defenders with 26 chances created.
• Goalkeeper Tim Melia is second in MLS in shutouts (six) and goals against average (1.00).

Milestones and Miscellany

• Defender Matt Besler is one shy of his 241st regular season appearance for the club, which would break a tie with Davy Arnaud for the most in Sporting KC history.
• Sporting KC is one shy of its 100th road win all-time in the MLS regular season.

Recent #PORvSKC regular season meetings

• Regular season record vs. Portland: 6-3-3 (12 GF, 10 GA)
• Regular season record at Portland: 4-2-1 (5 GF, 5 GA)

Team stats (2018 regular season)

MLS rank in parenthesis (source: Opta)