By The Numbers presented by KDOT: #SKCvPOR | Sept. 29, 2019

"By The Numbers" is a season-long series sponsored by The Kansas Department of Transportation that gives a statistical preview of every Sporting match.
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67%  The percent of alcohol-impaired deaths in which the driver had a BAC of .15 or higher.

Following a narrow loss at Minnesota United FC on Wednesday, Sporting Kansas City (10-15-7, 37 points) will now prepare for the club's 2019 home finale versus the Portland Timbers (13-13-6, 45 points) on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. CT.

Tickets for the Western Conference clash remain available at SeatGeek.com or by calling 888-4KC-GOAL to secure a Family 4 Pack, consisting of four tickets, four Coca-Cola products, four bags of chips and four hamburgers, hot dogs or chicken tender baskets. The first 5,000 fans through the stadium gates will also receive a free headband courtesy of match sponsor PNC Bank. FOX Sports Kansas City, FOX Sports Midwest, FOX Sports GO, ESPN 94.5 FM and La Grande 1340 AM will carry the game live, with pregame TV coverage starting at 6 p.m. CT.

Eliminated from postseason contention for the first time since 2010, Sporting has the opportunity to embrace a spoiler role this weekend against a stuttering Portland side that currently sits just one point above the playoff line. We take a look at the compelling matchup in our newest edition of By The Numbers.

Head-to-Head

• Sporting are 5-2-4 in their last 11 regular season meetings against Portland since 2014.
• Sporting have shut out Portland in eight of the last 11 regular season meetings, which have produced just 15 combined goals between the teams.
• Across all competitions, the home team in the series has won just four of the last 16 meetings.
• Sporting own a 3-1-2 regular season home record against Portland, with the Timbers' lone triumph at Children's Mercy Park coming in 2013.
• As a member of Sporting, goalkeeper Tim Melia has conceded just three goals in sven regular season appearances against Portland.
• The sides last met on Sept. 7 in Portland as the Timbers staged a late comeback to win 2-1. Benny Feilhaber fired Sporting ahead before the hosts responded with late goals from Jeremy Ebobisse and Brian Fernandez.
• Portland last visited Kansas City in the second leg of the 2018 Western Conference Championship, prevailing 3-2 to win the series by the same aggregate score. The game included a Diego Valeri brace and a Sebastian Blanco wondergoal for Portland, while Sporting struck through Daniel Salloi and Gerso Fernandes.

Portland Timbers

• 2019 MLS record: 13-13-6 (45 points, 6th in Western Conference)
• 2019 MLS away record: 6-8-2 (21 GF, 27 GA)
• Last MLS match: T 2-2 vs. New England Revolution on Sept. 25
• Last 5 MLS matches: 1-2-2, 5 points (W-L-L-T-T)
• Portland can clinch a playoff berth on Sunday with a win over Sporting and a loss from either San Jose or FC Dallas.
• Portland have played their last 10 matches at home, going just 4-4-2 during that stretch. Their last away match resulted in a 1-0 loss at Minnesota on Aug. 4.
• Portland's six road wins (6-8-2) are tied for the second-most in MLS.
• Portland is 6-3-1 in its last 10 away matches this season, having started 0-5-1 on the road.
• Portland is 10-0-1 when leading at halftime but 0-11-2 when trailing at the break.
• Portland ranks last in MLS with a shot conversion rate of 8.9%.
• Portland has committed the second-most fouls in MLS (13.6 per game) while suffering the second-fewest fouls in the league (9.0 per game).
• Midfielder Diego Valeri leads MLS with 124 chances created and ranks second with 16 assists.
• Forward Brian Fernandez is tied for third in MLS with five game-winning goals.
• Goalkeeper Steve Clark tops MLS with a 78.0 save percentage (minimum five appearances) and is tied for the league lead with a 1.00 goals against average. He has a 12-6-4 record as a starter.

Sporting Kansas City

• 2019 MLS record: 10-15-7, 37 points (11th in Western Conference)
• 2019 MLS home record: 7-6-3 (28 GF, 28 GA)
• Last MLS match: L 1-2 at Minnesota United FC on Sept. 25
• Last 5 MLS matches: 1-4-0, 3 points (W-L-L-L-L)
• Sporting have been eliminated from playoff contention for the first time since 2010. Their eight-year playoff streak was the fourth-longest in MLS history.
• Sporting have lost four straight matches for the first time since 2014. The club hasn't lost five straight since May 2011.
• Sporting have gone 17 straight MLS matches without a draw. This is the longest such streak in club regular season history during the non-shootout era (2000-present).
• Sporting have conceded 19 goals in the final 15 minutes of matches this season, the most in MLS.
• Sporting have suffered six losses this season when scoring first, the most in MLS. That total includes each of the club's last four defeats.
• Sporting have conceded as many MLS home goals this year (28) as the previous two seasons combined.
• Goalkeeper Tim Melia has saved all three penalty kicks he has faced this season.
• Felipe Gutierrez has become the fourth midfielder in club history to hit double-digit goals in a single regular season (Preki, Mark Chung, Benny Feilhaber).
• Gutierrez has also become the first MLS player during the Opta era (2010-present) to record 12 goals and win 50 tackles in a single regular season.
• Forward Johnny Russell, who has nine goals and eight assists in MLS, is one goal shy of becoming the fourth player in Sporting history to score double-digit goals in back-to-back regular seasons (Preki, Josh Wolff, Dom Dwyer).

Milestones and Miscellany

• Goalkeeper Tim Melia is one shy of his 46th regular season shutout for Sporting, which would pass Jimmy Nielsen for the most in club history.

Recent #SKCvPOR meetings

• Regular season record vs. Portland: 7-4-4 (16 GF, 12 GA)
• Regular season home record vs. Portland: 3-1-2 (10 GF, 5 GA)

Team stats (2019 regular season)

MLS rank in parenthesis (source: Opta)