By The Numbers presented by KDOT: #SKCvPOR

"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 (8-4-6, 30 points) will look to extend their lead atop the Western Conference when they welcome the third-place Portland Timbers (7-7-4, 25 points) to Children's Mercy Park at 6 p.m. CT for a nationally televised showdown on ESPN and ESPN Deportes. Local radio broadcasts will also air on Sports Radio 810 WHB (English) and La Grande 1340 AM (Spanish), while live updates will be available through the Sporting KC Uphoria mobile app.

Manager Peter Vermes' men completed the month of June unbeaten in six matches across all competitions, including two straight road wins that saw Sporting KC defeat the LA Galaxy and Houston Dynamo. The Timbers, meanwhile, have just two wins to show from their last 10 league games after racing out to a 5-2-1 start. We offer a statistical breakdown of the matchup in our By The Numbers preview.

Head-to-head

• Sporting KC won the first meeting between the sides this season, claiming a 1-0 road victory on April 15 behind Dom Dwyer's 53rd-minute goal assisted by Jimmy Medranda.
• Sporting KC has shut out Portland in six of the last seven regular season meetings dating back to 2014, posting a 4-1-2 record during that time.
• Just one of the last five regular season meetings between the clubs has taken place at Children’s Mercy Park, where Sporting KC is 2-1-1 against Portland.
• The teams squared off in back-to-back weeks last year, with Sporting KC winning the first meeting 1-0 behind Jacob Peterson’s header on July 31 at Children’s Mercy Park. Portland exacted their revenge on Aug. 7, earning a 3-0 victory with goals from Diego Valeri, Jack Jewsbury and Fanendo Adi.

Portland Timbers

• 2017 MLS record: 7-7-4, 25 points (5th in West)
• 2017 MLS away record: 2-6-1 (12 GF, 19 GA)
• Last five games: 2-2-1, 7 points (W-W-L-L-T)
• Last MLS match: T 2-2 vs. Seattle Sounders FC on June 25
• Since starting the season 5-2-1, the Timbers are just 2-5-3 in their last 10 MLS matches.
• Portland is tied for the MLS lead with five goals from the penalty spot.
• Portland leads MLS with 14.5 fouls committed per game.
• Midfielder Diego Valeri is third in MLS with 29 chances created from open play. His 15 combined goals (nine) and assists (six ) are tied for fourth-most in MLS.
• Forward Fanendo Adi is tied for the team lead with nine goals. His 41 regular season goals since the start of 2015 are the fourth-most in MLS.
• Midfielder Darlington Nagbe leads MLS in passing accuracy at 90.7 percent.
• Midfielders Diego Chara and David Guzman are tied for second in MLS with 30 fouls committed.
• Portland is fourth in MLS with 13.7 shots per game but just 14th in shots on target per game with 4.3.

 Sporting KC

• 2017 MLS record:8-4-6, 30 points (1st in West)
• 2017 MLS home record: 6-0-2 (17 GF, 3 GA)
• Last five games: 2-1-2, 8 points (L-W-T-T-W)
• Last MLS match: W 2-1 at LA Galaxy on June 24
• Sporting KC is unbeaten in a club-record 17 straight regular season home matches (13-0-4), the longest active home undefeated run in MLS.
• Sporting KC has outscored opponents in 21-3 in nine home matches across all competitions this season (7-0-2).
• Sporting KC's 0.67 goals against average is on pace to tie the lowest single-season mark in MLS history.
• Sporting KC leads MLS with 14.8 shots per game while facing a league-low 9.2 shots per game.
• Sporting KC leads MLS in passing accuracy (83.3%) and ranks third in average possession (57.9%).
• Center back Ike Opara led all Sporting KC players during the month of June with four goals in six games (including Open Cup). In Opara's 18 starts across all competitions, Sporting KC has posted 11 shutouts and allowed just eight goals.
• Goalkeeper Tim Melia leads MLS in shutouts (nine), goals against average (0.67) and save percentage (82.6) among keepers with at least two games played.
• Forward Gerso is second in MLS in dribbles completed (40) and third in touches in the opponent's box (110).
• Midfielder Benny Feilhaber is second in MLS with 30 chances created from open play.
• Midfielder Ilie leads MLS in passes (1,319) and ranks 12th in duels won (105).

Milestones and Miscellany

• Midfielder Jimmy Medranda is one shy of his 50th career start in all competitions for Sporting KC.
• Midfielder Benny Feilhaber is one shy of his 150th career start in all competitions for Sporting KC.

Team stats (2017 regular season)

MLS rank in parenthesis (source: Opta)

Recent #SKCvPOR meetings

• Regular season record vs. Portland: 6-3-2 (11 GF, 9 GA)
• Regular season home record vs. Portland: 2-1-1 (6 GF, 4 GA)