By The Numbers presented by KDOT: #SKCvFCD

"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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The cream of the MLS crop visits Children's Mercy Park on Saturday when Sporting Kansas City hosts reigning Supporters' Shield and U.S. Open Cup champion FC Dallas in the 2017 home opener. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. CT on FOX Sports Kansas City, ESPN 99.3 FM and La Grande 1340 AM, with a limited number of tickets still available at SeatGeek.com.

FC Dallas is coming off its best season in club history and has already enjoyed an excellent start to 2017, advancing to the CONCACAF Champions League semifinals and winning 2-1 at LA Galaxy to open the MLS campaign. However, recent head-to-head history paints a positive picture for Sporting KC ahead of this weekend's marquee matchup. Our By The Numbers preview offers a statistical breakdown of the fixture.

Head-to-head

• Sporting KC has won four straight home meetings in all competitions, outscoring FC Dallas 15-3 during that stretch.
• FC Dallas won on its first visit to Children's Mercy Park in 2011, but has gone 0-5-1 since then while being outscored 18-5.
• Sporting KC and FC Dallas split the 2016 regular season series, going 1-1-1. The lone meeting at Children's Mercy Park resulted in a 2-0 Sporting KC victory with goals from Benny Feilhaber and Lawrence Olum.
• In all competitions, 13 of the last 16 meetings between Sporting KC and FC Dallas have produced three or more goals, while the last seven have produced a combined 29 goals (4.14 per match).
• Sporting KC has scored in 13 straight games against FC Dallas, while FC Dallas has scored in 16 of its last 18 vs. Sporting KC (all competitions).
• The home side in the series is 7-0-3 in the last 10 meetings across all competitions.
• Sporting KC forward Dom Dwyer has seven goals in his last six appearances versus FC Dallas in all competitions.
• Sporting KC midfielder Benny Feilhaber has four goals and seven assists in his last seven appearances versus FC Dallas in all competitions.

FC Dallas

• 2017 MLS record: 1-0-0, 3 points (2nd in West)
• 2017 MLS road record: 1-0-0 (2 GF, 1 GA)
• 2016 MLS record: 17-8-9, 60 points (1st in West, won Supporters' Shield)
• In 2016, FC Dallas became the first team in MLS history to earn at least 60 points in back-to-back seasons. The club won the Supporters’ Shield and the U.S. Open Cup last year, securing its first major trophies since 1997.
• Led by head coach Oscar Pareja, FC Dallas leads MLS with 52 regular season wins since the start of 2014. During that time, their .607 winning percentage (52-30-21) is also a league-best.
• FC Dallas finished 2016 with five MLS road wins, most in the Western Conference (5-7-5).
• In the 26 MLS matches that center back Matt Hedges started last season, FC Dallas had a 0.88 goals against average. In the eight games he didn’t appear, FC Dallas had a 2.13 goals against average. Hedges won 2016 MLS Defender of the Year.
• Center back Walker Zimmerman finished 2016 in the top four among MLS defenders in goals (4), duels won (167), clearances (157) and interceptions (101).
• Argentine forward  Maxi Urruti and U.S. international midfielder Kellyn Acosta scored for FC Dallas in their 2-1 road win over LA Galaxy last Saturday. Urruti had a team-leading nine MLS goals in 2016.
• Acosta has scored three goals in all competitions this season, including a brace in FC Dallas’ 4-0 CCL win over Arabe Unido last month. That is already more than the two goals he scored in all of 2016.
• Four days after facing Sporting KC, FC Dallas will host Mexican powerhouse Pachuca in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League semifinals.

Sporting Kansas City

• 2017 MLS record: 0-0-1, 1 point (6th in West)
• 2017 MLS home record: 0-0-0 (0 GF, 0 GA)
• 2016 MLS record: 13-13-8, 47 points (5th in West)
• Sporting KC is 7-0-2 in its last nine MLS home matches dating back to June 2016. During that stretch, the club has outscored opponents 21-8.
• Sporting KC scored 30 home goals in 2016, their most in a regular season since 2006.
• Sporting KC had 11 chances created from open play in last Saturday’s 0-0 draw at D.C. United, second most in MLS in Week 1.
• In his Sporting KC debut last Saturday, winger Gerso completed five dribbles, most by any MLS player in Week 1, and had a game-high three chances created.
• Right back Graham Zusi finished with an MLS career-high 10 duels won in last weekend’s draw. His four successful crosses from open play were the most in MLS in Week 1.
• MLS debutant Ilie finished with 85 passes last Saturday, third most in MLS in Week 1.

Milestones and Miscellany

• Sporting KC is unbeaten (2-0-4) in six MLS home openers at Children's Mercy Park, scoring seven goals and conceding just three, with three shutouts. 
• Sporting KC is 13-2-6 all-time in home openers with the lone losses coming in 1999 (Chicago Fire) and 2009 (Toronto FC).
• Ninth-year manager Peter Vermes is currently the longest tenured head coach in MLS.

Team stats (2016 regular season)

MLS rank in parenthesis (source: Opta)

Recent #SKCvFCD meetings (all competitions)

• Regular season record vs. FC Dallas: 23-21-11 (84 GF, 88 GA)
• Regular season home record vs. FC Dallas: 14-8-6 (53 GF, 35 GA)