By The Numbers presented by KDOT: #SKCvMTL | March 30, 2019

"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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407  The number of fatal alcohol-related crashes in Kansas in 2017.

With an international break in the rearview mirror, Sporting Kansas City begins another busy and important stretch on Saturday when the club hosts Canadian side Montreal Impact at Children's Mercy Park. The inter-conference clash will kick off at 2 p.m. CT and tickets remain available at SeatGeek.com as Manager Peter Vermes' men look to stay perfect at home ahead of next week's Champions League trip to Monterrey, Mexico.

FOX Sports Kansas City Plus, FOX Sports Midwest Plus and FOX Sports GO will provide three hours of live television coverage on Saturday beginning at 1:30 p.m. CT, while listeners can follow the action live locally on Sports Radio 810 WHB (English) and ESPN Deportes KC 1480 AM (Spanish). The new Sporting KC app will also deliver in-game updates and exclusive users to fans, including a digital coupon for free Ben & Jerry's ice cream at Price Chopper locations in the Kansas City area.

Sporting have yet to concede a goal on home soil this season, recording three goals in as many matches at Children's Mercy Park across all competitions, but Montreal enters the weekend with no short of confidence: the Impact have already emerged with two road wins this month. Without further delay, let's take a statistical look at the matchup in our newest edition of By The Numbers.

Head-to-Head

• Sporting are 4-1-2 against Montreal in the last seven regular season meetings and own a 6-4-3 edge in the all-time series.
• Montreal are unbeaten in the last three meetings against Sporting, securing two draws and a win. The Impact prevailed 2-0 when the sides last met in June 2018 as Ignacio Piatti scored the game-winner.
• Sporting are 3-2-1 versus Montreal on home turf, including a 1-1 draw when the sides last met at Children's Mercy Park in June 2017. In that game, Gerso Fernandes gave Sporting an early lead before now-departed forward Matteo Mancosu bagged a late equalizer.
• Montreal midfielder Ignacio Piatti has scored in three of his last four appearances against Sporting but is doubtful for Saturday with an undisclosed injury.
• Montreal won on two of their first three visits to Children's Mercy Park, but have gone 0-2-1 at the stadium since prevailing 2-1 in June 2013.

Montreal Impact

• 2019 MLS record: 2-1-0, 6 points (5th in East)
• 2019 MLS away record: 2-1-0 (6 GF, 4 GA)
• Last MLS match: W 3-1 at Orlando City SC on March 16
• 2018 regular season: 14-16-4, 46 points (7th in East, missed playoffs)
• Montreal will play their fourth straight away match on Saturday to open the 2019 season.
• Montreal have already won two away matches this season, having won just three in all of 2018 (3-12-2).
• Montreal are one of two MLS clubs (Minnesota) with two road wins this season, and their six away goals are second-most in the league.
• Montreal are 12-6-4 in MLS regular season action since June 13, 2018. This is the fifth-best record in the league during that time.
• Montreal ranks third in MLS with a shooting accuracy of 53.6 percent.
• Attacking midfielder Ignacio Piatti leads Montreal with three goals this season and on March 16 became the 44th player in MLS history to score a combined 100 goals and assists. He is the ninth-fastest to accomplish the feat, doing so in 127 appearances.
• Midfielder Saphir Taider leads Montreal with seven chances created this season.
• Defender Victor Cabrera ranks second in MLS in clearances (24) while ranking eighth in tackles won (8).

Sporting

• 2019 MLS record: 1-1-1, 4 points (7th in West)
• 2019 MLS home record: 1-0-0 (2 GF, 0 GA)
• Last MLS match: T 1-1 at Colorado Rapids on March 17
• 2018 regular season: 18-8-8, 62 points (1st in West, lost in conference finals)
• Sporting are perfect at Children's Mercy Park this season, winning all three games while outscoring opponents 8-0.
• On Saturday, Sporting will begin a stretch of five games in 16 days, having played six matches in 18 days between Feb. 28 and March 17.
• Sporting are unbeaten in seven straight regular season home games dating back to last season. The club boasts a 28-3-13 regular season home record since June 2016.
• Forward Krisztian Nemeth leads Sporting with five goals in six appearances this season across all competitions.
• Forward Johnny Russell, who opened his scoring 2019 account on March 17 at Colorado, leads Sporting with seven chances created in MLS this season.
• Midfielder Ilie Sanchez ranks second on the team with three goals in all competitions, including two from the penalty spot.
• Defender Matt Besler is the only player to play every minute of Sporting's first seven competitive matches this season.
• Sanchez and Besler are the only Sporting players to start all seven games this year.
• Forward Gerso Fernandes has recorded two goals and two assists in four Concacaf Champions League appearances.
• Goalkeeper Tim Melia has posted shutouts in four of his first six starts this season across all competitions.

Milestones and Miscellany

• Forward Krisztian Nemeth is one shy of his 50th career appearance for Sporting in all competitions.
• Sporting have won 100 competitive matches in Children's Mercy Park history, going 100-30-43 at the venue since its opening in June 2011.

Recent #SKCvMTL regular season meetings

• Regular season record vs. Montreal: 6-4-3 (20 GF, 13 GA)
• Regular season home record vs. Montreal: 3-2-1 (10 GF, 6 GA)

Team stats (2019 regular season)

MLS rank in parenthesis (source: Opta)