By The Numbers presented by KDOT: #SKCvNE

"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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Sporting Kansas City (10-6-11, 41 points) continue their race for top spot in the Western Conference on Saturday when the club begins a four-game homestand against the New England Revolution (10-13-5, 35 points) at Children's Mercy Park. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. CT on FOX Sports Kansas City, FOX Sports Midwest, Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM. Tickets for the all-important interconference match can be secured at SeatGeek.com, and the first 5,000 fans through the gates will receive a Sporting KC wall decal courtesy of match sponsor US Bank.

Manager Peter Vermes' men are riding a club-record home unbeaten streak, while the Revolution have yet to win on the road in 2017. The fixture is all the more intriguing for the fact that Teal Bunbury, Kei Kamara and Krisztian Nemeth — all former Sporting KC players — will return to Children's Mercy Park as members of New England. We offer a statistical breakdown in our By The Numbers preview.

Head-to-Head

• New England has won four of the last five meetings, including a 3-1 home win the last time the sides battled on Oct. 1, 2016. An own goal plus strikes from Juan Agudelo and Kei Kamara secured three points for the Revs.
• Sporting KC is 4-1-2 all-time against New England at Children's Mercy Park, including a 4-2 triumph when the Revs last visited on May 20, 2015. Krisztian Nemeth, now a member of New England, scored twice for Sporting KC to pace the victory.
• The last three meetings between the teams have produced a combined 15 goals.
• After failing to score in five straight regular season games against Sporting KC from 2012-2013, New England has scored at least twice in the last five meetings.
• Sporting KC's 24-17-11 regular-season record versus New England is their best against any MLS charter member.
• Benny Feilhaber has two goals and four assists in seven MLS appearances against New England (including playoffs).
• Kei Kamara has three goals and four assists in nine regular season appearances against Sporting KC.
• Lee Nguyen has three goals and two assists in 10 regular season appearances against Sporting KC.
• Teal Bunbury has scored twice in four regular season appearance against Sporting KC since leaving Kansas City ahead of the 2014 campaign.

New England Revolution

• 2017 MLS record: 10-13-5, 35 points (8th in East)
• 2017 MLS away record: 0-11-3 (10 GF, 35 GA)
• Last five games: 2-3-0, 6 points (L-L-W-W-L)
• Last MLS match: L 0-7 at Atlanta United FC on Wednesday
• New England is 0-11-3 on the road this season and hasn't won an away game since Sept. 17, 2016. The Revs have lost six straight road games by a combined 19-2 scoreline.
• New England's minus-25 road goal differential (10 GF, 35 GA) is the worst in MLS.
• New England suffered a 7-0 loss at Atlanta United FC on Wednesday, tied for the worst shutout loss in MLS history.
• New England has been far better at home, where they own a 10-2-2 record with 34 goals scored and 13 conceded.
• New England is 5-2-3 this season against Western Conference opponents.
• New England has missed 27 big chances this season per Opta, the third-most in MLS.
• Midfielder Lee Nguyen ranks third in MLS with 23 combined goals (nine) and assists (14), trailing only David Villa (28) and Diego Valeri (26).
• Forward Kei Kamara leads New England with 11 goals, while Juan Agudelo ranks third with eight.
• Midfielder Teal Bunbury has scored six goals this season, his most in an MLS season since 2011 when he scored nine for Sporting KC.

 Sporting KC

• 2017 MLS record: 10-6-11, 41 points (3rd in West)
• 2017 MLS home record: 8-0-5 (25 GF, 8 GA)
• Last five games: 1-2-2, 5 points (T-L-W-L-T)
• Last MLS match: T 1-1 at Columbus Crew SC on Sunday
• SKC is unbeaten in a club-record 22 straight regular season home games dating back to June 2016, good for the fourth-longest run in MLS history.
• SKC's 0.78 goals against average is on pace to be the lowest in a 34-game regular season in MLS history.
• SKC has just one loss in 10 games against Eastern Conference opponents this season.
• SKC is second in MLS with 9.2 chances created from open play per game.
• SKC is 11-2-8 with a 0.56 goals against average (all competitions) when center backs Matt Besler and Ike Opara start together in 2017.
• Among goalkeepers with at least five games played, Tim Melia leads MLS in goals against average (0.78) and save percentage (79.8). He also leads the league in shutouts (10) and penalty saves (three).
• Defender Graham Zusi leads MLS defenders with 42 chances created. He also has a team-best five assist this season.
• Midfielder Ilie is third in MLS with 1,527 passes completed. He also ranks second among MLS midfielders with 54 interceptions.

Team stats (2017 regular season)

MLS rank in parenthesis (source: Opta)

Recent #SKCvNE regular season meetings

• Regular season record vs. New England: 24-17-11 (82 GF, 67 GA)
• Regular season home record at New England: 13-7-5 (41 GF, 28 GA)