By the Numbers presented by Compass Minerals

By The Numbers presented by KDOT: #PORvSKC

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Just seven days after Sporting Kansas City topped the Portland Timbers 1-0 at Children's Mercy Park, the Western Conference foes meet again Sunday at Providence Park. The all-important clash will kick off at 3 p.m. CT on ESPN, ESPN Deportes, 99.3 FM and 1340 AM as fourth-place Sporting Kansas City (10-10-4, 34 points) looks to distance itself from the seventh-place Timbers, who are one point out of playoff position.


Recent history in the head-to-head matchup favors Sporting Kansas City, but Peter Vermes' men are winless in nine straight MLS road games as they revisit the site of the epic 2015 Western Conference Knockout Round, which saw Portland eliminate Sporting KC in the longest shootout in MLS postseason history. We take a statistical look at the contest in our By The Numbers preview.


Head-to-head


  • Sporting KC is unbeaten in five straight regular season matches against Portland, notching shutouts in every game (3-0-2).
  • Sporting KC is currently on a 482-minute regular season shutout streak vs. Portland, the fourth longest against a single team in club history.
  • The last five regular season games between the sides have produced just three total goals, with Sporting KC earning three 1-0 wins.
  • Prior to Sporting KC's 1-0 win over Portland last Sunday, the home side in the series was winless in seven straight games across all competitions.
  • The clubs met three times during the 2015 regular season, playing to a pair of 0-0 draws before Sporting KC scraped a 1-0 road win on Oct. 3 behind Krisztian Nemeth's MLS Goal of the Year winner.
  • Sporting KC leads the all-time regular season series 5-2-2, including a 3-1-1 mark at Providence Park.
  • Sporting KC has earned three straight regualr season shutouts at Providence Park and has conceded just two goals in five regular season trips to the venue.


Portland Timbers


  • 2016 MLS record: 7-8-8, 29 points (7th in West)
  • 2016 MLS home record: 7-3-2 (24 GF, 18 GA)
  • Last five games1-2-2, 5 points (T-T-W-L-L)
  • Last MLS match: Lost 1-0 at Sporting KC on July 31
  • Portland leads MLS with 10.39 chances created per game.
  • Portland has lost two straight MLS matches after going on a nine-game league unbeaten streak from May 22 through July 17.
  • Portland has yet to win consecutive league games this season.
  • Portland has scored 10 regular season goals after the 75th minute, tied for the second most in MLS.
  • Portland has scored 24 goals at home, third most in the league, for an average of 2.0 per game. The Timbers have scored in all 12 MLS matches at Providence Park this season.
  • Midfielder Diego Valeri leads MLS with 74 chances created and ranks fifth with 71 shot attempts (nine goals).
  • Forward Fanendo Adi is tied for sixth in MLS with 10 goals, including eight at Providence Park.
  • Adi (10) and Valeri (9) have combined for 19 goals, the second most by a duo on the same team in MLS.
  • Midfielder Diego Chara leads MLS with 59 fouls committed and is tied for the league lead with 56 tackles won.


Sporting Kansas City


  • 2016 MLS record: 10-10-4, 34 points (4th in West)
  • 2016 MLS road record: 2-6-3 (7 GF, 11 GA)
  • Last five games: 3-2-0, 9 points (W-L-L-W-W)
  • Last MLS match: Won 1-0 vs. Portland Timbers on July 31
  • SKC is 5-2-2 in its last nine MLS matches. Only New York City FC (18) has more points in its last nine league games than Sporting KC (17).
  • SKC is winless in nine straight regular season road games (0-6-3) after winning their first two away fixtures of 2016.
  • SKC leads MLS with 14.6 shots per game while also allowing a league-low 8.7 shots per game.
  • SKC is 8-2-1 in nationally televised matches this season, going 5-1-1 on FOX/FS1 and 3-1-0 on ESPN.
  • SKC has earned back-to-back shutout wins for the first time this season.
  • Forward Jacob Peterson has scored in consecutive MLS matches for the second time in his 11-year career and the first time since 2006.
  • Defender Jimmy Medranda leads MLS with 56 tackles won. Since May 20, he also leads the league with 46 interceptions.
  • Defender Saad Abdul-Salaam is tied for the lead among MLS defenders with five assists.
  • Midfielder Benny Feilhaber is tied for third in MLS with three assists off set plays. Only Sacha Kljestan (5) and Andreas Ivanschitz (4) have more.


Milestones and Miscellany


  • Graham Zusi is one shy of his 200th career MLS appearance (including playoffs).
  • Seth Sinovic is one shy of his 150th career regular season appearance in MLS.
  • Jacob Peterson is one shy of his 100th career substitute appearance in the MLS regular season.
  • Saad Abdul-Salaam is one shy of his 50th appearance for Sporting KC in all competitions.
  • Soni Mustivar is one shy of his 50th appearance for Sporting KC in all competitions.


Team stats (2016 regular season)


MLS rank in parenthesis (source: WhoScored.com)

<strong>Category (per game)</strong>
<strong>Sporting KC</strong>
<strong>Portland</strong>
Goals scored
1.17 (14th)
1.43 (8th)
Goals conceded
1.04 (3rd)
1.48 (14th)
Shots
14.6 (1st)
13.3 (5th)
Shots on goal
4.5 (13th)
4.8 (7th)
Passing accuracy
78.0 (8th)
77.9 (9th)
Possession
53.7 (2nd)
48.5 (15th)
Tackles
19.7 (7th)
20.8 (2nd)
Interceptions
19.6 (7th)
15.7 (19th)
Fouls committed
12.9 (7th)
12.6 (10th)
Shots faced
8.7 (1st)
14.7 (17th)

Recent #SKCvPOR meetings (all competitions)


  • Regular season record vs. Portland: 5-2-2 (10 GF, 6 GA)
  • Regular season road record at Portland: 3-1-1 (4 GF, 2 GA)
<strong>Date</strong>
<strong>Result</strong>
<strong>Home/Away</strong>
<strong>Competition</strong>
<strong>Details</strong>
06/24/2014
L 1-3
H
U.S. Open Cup
Portland dumps SKC in Round of 16
06/27/2014
W 1-0
A
Regular season
Lawrence Olum scores winner
03/21/2015
T 0-0
H
Regular season
SKC outshoots Portland 16-7 in stalemate
09/09/2015
T 0-0
A
Regular season
Melia makes career-high seven saves
10/03/2015
W 1-0
A
Regular season
Nemeth scores MLS Goal of the Year winner
10/29/2015
T 2-2
A
MLS Cup Playoffs
Portland wins in shootout following 2-2 draw
07/21/2016
W 1-0
H
Regular season
Peterson scores 50th-minute winner