By The Numbers presented by KDOT: #SKCvSEA

"By The Numbers" is sponsored by The Kansas Department of Transportation. Did you know that 16% of all drivers involved in fatal crashes during the week were impaired, compared to 29% on weekends? Be safe and designate a sober driver.

Two teams fighting to climb above the red line in the Western Conference square off Sunday as seventh-place Sporting Kansas City (8-10-4, 28 points) hosts ninth-place Seattle Sounders FC (6-11-2, 20 points) at Children's Mercy Park. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. CT with national television coverage on ESPN and ESPN Deportes, while the match will also air locally on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM. A limited number of tickets are still available via Ticketmaster.com, and the first 10,000 fans through the gates will receive free lunch bags courtesy of match sponsor Mark One Electric.

These historically successful clubs ride long postseason streaks into 2016—Sporting KC since 2011 and Seattle since 2009—but both currently find themselves outside of the playoff picture. Sunday's crucial clash could go a long way in deciding whether either side will be among the West's six playoff representatives.

We take a statistical look at the matchup in our By The Numbers preview.

Head-to-head

• Sporting KC has a 3-7-3 regular season record against Seattle, including a 1-4-1 mark in Kansas City. The lone home win came in the most recent meeting at Children's Mercy Park in June 2015, a cagey affair decided by Benny Feilhaber's 84th-minute penalty kick.
• Sporting KC is unbeaten in four straight MLS matches vs. Seattle, winning two and drawing two since the start of 2015. Prior to this stretch, Sporting KC had just one win in 10 all-time MLS meetings with the Sounders — the inaugural meeting in April 2009 at CenturyLink Field.
• Neither side has won by more than one goal in all 13 regular season meetings.
• In these 13 games, the clubs have combined for more than three goals just once, and five of the last six have produced a goal or less.
• Seattle has scored just one goal in the last four regular season meetings (0-2-2).
• Eight of Seattle's 13 regular season goals against Sporting KC have come after the 75th minute, and five of their seven victories in the series have produced a game-winning goal in second-half stoppage time.
• Sporting KC Goalkeeper Tim Melia has recored shutouts in all three of his MLS appearances against Sounders FC, posting a 2-0-1 record with nine saves.
• Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei has a 0.91 goals against average in 11 regular season appearances against Sporting KC with a 3-4-4 record.
• Sporting KC forward Dom Dwyer scored a 78th-minute equalizer in a 1-1 draw when the clubs last met at Children's Mercy Park in September 2015.
• Sporting KC won the first meeting of 2016 in the season opener on March 6, claiming a 1-0 victory at CenturyLink Field behind Nuno Coelho's 73rd-minute strike from distance.

Seattle Sounders FC

• 2016 MLS record: 6-11-2, 20 points (9th in West)
• 2016 MLS road record: 1-6-2 (8 GF, 16 GA)
• Last five games: 1-3-1, 4 points (L-T-L-W-L)
• Seattle is 2-7-1 in its last 10 MLS matches since May 14, having been shut out five times during that stretch.
• Seattle is 1-6-2 on the road with eight goals for and 16 goals against.
• Seattle is a league-worst 0-9-2 when allowing the first goal this season. The team is also 3-0-0 when leading at halftime and 0-8-1 when trailing at the break.
• Seattle is off to its worst 19-game start in team history with 20 points. Their second-lowest point total through 19 games was 25 in 2010.
• Forwards Clint Dempsey and Jordan Morris are tied for the MLS lead with three game-winning goals. Each of Dempsey's three goals have been game-winners.
• Midfielder Andreas Ivanschitz is fifth in MLS with 41 chances created.
• Midfielder Osvaldo Alonso will miss Sunday's match through caution accumulation. He leads MLS with 150 duels won and 91 percent passing accuracy (minimum 10 games played).

Sporting Kansas City

• 2016 MLS record: 8-10-4, 28 points (7th in West)
• 2016 MLS home record: 6-4-1 (17 GF, 14 GA)
• Last five games: 2-2-1, 7 points (T-W-W-L-L)
• SKC leads MLS with 14.6 shots per game while also allowing the fewest shots per game at 9.0.
• SKC leads MLS with 10.3 chances created per game, but ranks 17th with 1.09 goals per game.
• SKC has eight one-goal losses, the most in MLS.
• Defender Jimmy Medranda leads MLS with 53 tackles won. Since May 20, he also leads the league with 39 interceptions.
• Midfielder Roger Espinoza is second in MLS with 144 duels won while ranking seventh in tackles (45) and ninth in successful passes (762).
• Forward Dom Dwyer leads the team with eight goals and ranks third in MLS with 70 shot attempts.

Milestones and Miscellany

• Graham Zusi is one shy of his 150th career start for Sporting KC in the MLS regular season.
• Tim Melia is one shy of his 50th career start in the MLS regular season.
• Jacob Peterson is one shy of his 100th career substitute appearance in the MLS regular season. He would be the fifth MLS player to reach the century mark in regular season substitute appearances.

Team stats (2016 regular season)

MLS rank in parenthesis (source: WhoScored.com)

Recent #SKCvSEA regular season meetings

• Regular season record vs. Seattle: 3-7-3 (9 GF, 13 GA)
• Regular season home record vs. Seattle: 1-4-1 (6 GF, 9 GA)