By The Numbers presented by KDOT: #SKCvPHI

"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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Tied for pole position in the Western Conference standings, Sporting Kansas City (8-4-7, 31 points) puts its club-record 18-game home unbeaten streak on the line Thursday when Manager Peter Vermes' men welcome the upstart Philadelphia Union (6-7-4, 22 points) to Children's Mercy Park for a 7:30 p.m. CT kickoff on FOX Sports Kansas City, FOX Sports Midwest Plus, Sports Radio 810 WHB (English) and La Grande 1340 AM (Spanish).

Sporting Kansas City is has avoided defeat in seven straight matches across all competitions, while the Union are fresh off a 3-0 dismantling of the New England Revolution and own six wins over their last nine games. We take a statistical look at the interconference battle in our By The Numbers preview.

Head-to-head

• Sporting KC leads the all-time series with a 6-5-5 record in all competitions, but has just one win in the last six matchups since 2014.
• The clubs notably met in the 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final at Talen Energy Stadium, a gripping affair that Sporting KC won 7-6 on penalties after a 1-1 draw through regulation.
• The most recent meeting saw the Philadelphia Union claim a 2-0 home victory last August, receiving second-half goals from Roland Alberg and Tranquillo Barnetta.
• The clubs last met at Children's Mercy Park in April 2015, when Sporting KC overturned a 2-1 deficit in second-half stoppage time to win 3-2.
• The Union are a respectable 2-2-2 in six visits to Children's Mercy Park.
• Sporting KC has failed to shut out the Union in 11 straight regular season meetings.

Philadelphia Union

• 2017 MLS record: 6-7-4, 22 points (8th in East)
• 2017 MLS away record: 1-4-2 (7 GF, 7 GA)
• Last five games: 2-3-0, 6 points (L-L-L-W-W)
• Last MLS match: W 3-0 vs. New England Revolution on Sunday
• Philadelphia is 6-3-0 since the beginning of May, having started the season 0-4-4. The Union's plus-10 goal differential since the start of May is the second-best in MLS.
• Philadelphia's seven road goals allowed through seven matches are the fewest in MLS.
• Philadelphia ranks 20th in MLS in shots per game (10.9) but third in shooting accuracy (52.4%).
• Philadelphia ranks third in both duels won (54.7) and interceptions (14.7) per game.
• Former Sporting KC forward C.J. Sapong leads Philadelphia with nine goals. No other player has more than four. Sapong also leads MLS with eight headed shots on target (three more than any other player) and ranks third in duels won (127).
• Midfielder Haris Medunjanin is the only player to start all 17 MLS matches for the Union. He is tied for fourth in MLS with seven assists and leads the league with 25 chances created in road matches.
• Midfielder Chris Pontius has already tied his MLS career-high with six assists in 2017, having started 16 of 17 matches thus far.

 Sporting KC

• 2017 MLS record:8-4-7, 31 points (T-1st in West)
• 2017 MLS home record: 6-0-3 (18 GF, 4 GA)
• Last five games: 2-0-3, 9 points (W-T-T-W-T)
• Last MLS match: T 1-1 vs. Portland Timbers on Saturday
• Sporting KC is unbeaten in a club-record 18 straight regular season home matches (13-0-5), the longest active home undefeated run in MLS.
• Sporting KC has outscored opponents in 22-4 in 10 home matches across all competitions this season (7-0-3).
• Sporting KC's 0.68 goals against average is on pace to be the second-lowest single-season mark in MLS history.
• Sporting KC is tied for the MLS lead with nine shutouts. Their 13 goals allowed are three fewer than any other team.
• Sporting KC leads MLS with 14.4 shots per game while facing a league-low 9.2 shots per game.
• Sporting KC leads MLS in passing accuracy (83.4%) and ranks second in average possession (57.6%).
• Center back Ike Opara is second among MLS defenders in recoveries (111) and leads the team in interceptions (31) and headed clearances (32). Sporting KC is 10-2-7 in all competitions when Opara starts/plays.
• Goalkeeper Tim Melia leads MLS in shutouts (nine), save percentage (79.7) and penalty kick saves (three). He also ranks second in goals against average (0.68), third in wins (eight) and fourth in total saves (59).
• Midfielder Benny Feilhaber is second in MLS with 31 chances created from open play.
• Midfielder Ilie leads MLS in passes (1,383) and ranks 13th in duels won (110).

Milestones and Miscellany

• Midfielder Jimmy Medranda is one shy of his 50th career start in all competitions for Sporting KC.

Team stats (2017 regular season)

MLS rank in parenthesis (source: Opta)

Recent #SKCvPHI meetings

• Regular season record vs. Union: 5-5-4 (all competitions: 6-5-5)
• Regular season home record vs. Union: 3-2-2 (all competitions: 3-2-2)