By The Numbers presented by KDOT: #SKCvLAFC | Oct. 28, 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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It all comes down to Decision Day. With a top-four finish and a home playoff game already secured, Western Conference leaders Sporting Kansas City (17-8-8, 59 points) will play for the No. 1 playoff seed at 3:30 p.m. CT Sunday when second-place Los Angeles Football Club (16-8-9, 57 points) visits Children's Mercy Park in a monumental regular season finale. The marquee matchup, one of 11 MLS games kicking off concurrently on Decision Day, will be televised live on FS1 and FOX Deportes with live radio coverage on SiriusXM FC, ESPN 94.5 FM (English) and ESPN Deportes KC 1480 AM (Spanish).

• Western Conference standings going into Sunday

Sunday's mouthwatering tilt features the top two teams in the West and two of the best attacks in MLS. A limited number of tickets for the game are available via SeatGeek.com as Sporting KC hosts its Fan Appreciation Match, featuring thousands of prize giveaways exclusively through the Sporting KC Uphoria app. With the stakes running high, let's take a statistical look at the match in our final regular-season edition of By The Numbers.

Seeding scenarios

Sporting KC can still finish anywhere between first and fourth place in the West. The top two seeds will earn a Knockout Round bye to the two-legged conference semifinals, playing away in the first leg and hosting the second leg. The No. 3 and 4 seeds will host a single-elimination Knockout Round match on either Oct. 31 or Nov. 1. With that in mind, here are Sporting KC’s seeding scenarios going into the final game of the 2018 regular season.

Sporting KC can clinch a No. 1 seed if…

• Sporting KC beats LAFC, OR
• Sporting KC ties LAFC, AND
  FC Dallas fails to beat Colorado by 15 or more goals

Sporting KC can clinch a No. 2 seed if…

• Sporting KC ties LAFC, AND
  FC Dallas beats Colorado by 15 or more goals, OR
• Sporting KC loses to LAFC, AND
  Colorado beats or ties FC Dallas, AND
  San Jose beats or ties Seattle

To finish third, Sporting KC must lose and one of either Seattle (vs. San Jose) or FC Dallas (at Colorado) must win. To finish fourth, Sporting KC must lose and both Seattle and FC Dallas must win. Click here to see every team's playoff scenarios going into Decision Day.

Head-to-Head

• The inaugural meeting between the sides saw Sporting KC emerge 2-0 winners at Banc of California Stadium on Aug. 11, receiving goals in either half from Gerso Fernandes and Ilie Sanchez.
• The 2-0 setback to Sporting KC remains LAFC's only home loss in club history. Head coach Bob Bradley's side has gone 9-1-7 at Banc of California Stadium this season.
• LAFC goalkeeper Tyler Miller has played in all but one MLS match this season, with his lone absence coming in the loss to Sporting KC as Luis Lopez featured in goal.

LAFC

• 2018 MLS record: 16-8-9, 57 points (2nd in West)
• 2018 MLS away record: 7-7-2 (35 GF, 35 GA)
• Last MLS match: L 0-1 at D.C. United on Oct. 13
• Last five MLS matches: 2-1-2, 8 points (T-W-T-W-L)
• Since losing to Sporting KC on Aug. 11, LAFC are 6-1-3 in their last 10 MLS matches with 22 goals scored and 11 conceded.
• LAFC have become the fifth expansion team in MLS history to earn a playoff spot in their inaugural season.
• LAFC lead MLS with 35 road goals in 16 games, an average of 2.19 per game. LAFC is 7-7-2 away from home this season.
• LAFC rank second in MLS with 67 goals this season, an average of 2.03 per game.
• LAFC have been shut out just three times this season, tied for the fewest in MLS.
• LAFC have scored 12 goals in the opening 15 minutes of matches this season, tied for the most in MLS.
• LAFC leads MLS with 13 multi-goal wins this season.
• LAFC leads MLS with 6.1 shots on target per game while ranking third in both shooting accuracy (51.4%) and passing accuracy (83.8%).
• LAFC is the only team to have three players with at least 12 league goals this season. Carlos Vela leads the side with 13, while Adama Diomande and Diego Rossi have 12 each. Vela is one of two MLS players (Ignacio Piatti) with at least 13 goals and 13 assists this season.
• Carlos Vela ranks sixth in MLS in shots on target (42), while forward Diego Rossi ranks eighth (40).
• Forward Adama Diomande ranks third in MLS with four multi-goal games. Diomande has 12 goals in 17 MLS appearances this season.
• Former Sporting KC midfielder Benny Feilhaber is the only LAFC player to feature in all 33 MLS matches this season. He ranks sixth in MLS in successful passes (1,747), seventh in tackles won (54) and 11th in duels won (195).
• Goalkeeper Tyler Miller is tied for third in MLS with 10 shutouts.

 Sporting KC

• 2018 MLS record: 17-8-8, 59 points (1st in West)
• 2018 MLS home record: 9-2-5 (32 GF, 16 GA)
• Last MLS match: W 3-0 at FC Dallas on Oct. 21
• Last five MLS matches: 2-1-2, 8 points (L-T-T-W-W)
• With 63 goals through 33 games, Sporting KC has set a club record for most goals in a single regular season.
• Sporting KC has also set single-season club records for away goals (31), assists (67) and shots (575) while reaching 200 shots on target for the first time since 1998.
• If the season ended today, Sporting KC’s plus-24 goal differential (63 GF, 39 GA) would be the best in club history.
• Sporting KC has scored 17 goals in the final 15 minutes of matches this season, tied for the most in MLS.
• Sporting KC leads MLS in shots per game (17.4) and chances created per game (13.8).
• Sporting KC leads MLS with a passing accuracy of 84.0 percent and ranks second in average possession at 57.5 percent.
• Sporting KC is 9-0-0 this season when leading at halftime.
• Forwards Johnny Russell and Daniel Salloi are tied for the team lead with 10 MLS goals and 12 goals in all competitions.
• Russell has become the fourth player in Sporting KC history to hit double-digit goals (10) and assists (10) in a single regular season.
• Salloi leads MLS Homegrown Players in all competitions with 19 combined goals (12) and assists (7) this season.
• Sporting KC is 8-1-3 this season when Russell, Salloi and forward Khiry Shelton start together.
• Midfielder Ilie Sanchez has reached career-highs with four goals and four assists this season. He also leads MLS with 1,140 successful passes in the attacking half.
• Midfielder Roger Espinoza has reached MLS career-highs in 2018 with two goals and nine assists.
• Among MLS defenders, Graham Zusi ranks first in chances created (66), second in recoveries (209) and fourth in duels won (154). He also leads the league in touches (2,946) and ranks 11th in interceptions (65).
• Ilie and Zusi are two of four MLS field players who have played every minute of all 33 league matches this season.
• Goalkeeper Tim Melia is tied for the MLS lead with a career-high 13 shutouts. He has saved an MLS-best six penalty kicks since the start of 2017, two more than any other keeper.

Milestones and Miscellany

• Sporting KC's eight-year playoff streak is the third longest active streak in MLS and two years shy of tying the league record.
• Sporting KC is one shy of its 300th regular season win all-time.
• Defender Ike Opara is one shy of his 100th regular season start for Sporting KC.

Team stats (2018 regular season)

MLS rank in parenthesis (source: Opta, through Oct. 27, 2018)