By The Numbers presented by KDOT: #SKCvVAN | May 16, 2021

"By The Numbers" is a season-long series presented by the Kansas Department of Transportation that gives a statistical preview of every Sporting match. To visit the series archive, click here.
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Four days removed from a frustrating midweek loss at rivals Houston Dynamo FC, Sporting Kansas City (2-2-1, 7 points) returns to Children’s Mercy Park on Sunday to host Vancouver Whitecaps FC (2-2-1, 7 points) at 1 p.m. CT. The highly anticipated Soccer For All match will feature the launch of Sporting's new Pride jersey and a limited number of tickets for the contest are available at SeatGeek.com while supplies last.

Supporters can catch Sunday's Western Conference clash on Bally Sports Kansas City Plus, Bally Sports Midwest Plus, BallySports.com and the Bally Sports app. Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM will air local radio broadcasts, while the Sporting KC app will provide additional in-game updates.

With plenty to play for this weekend, we take a statistical look at the fixture in the newest edition of By the Numbers, presented by the Kansas Department of Transportation.

Head-to-Head

• Sporting are 10-3-4 against Vancouver in the MLS regular season, including a 3-1 road victory in the 2020 season opener that saw Alan Pulido and Gadi Kinda score on their MLS debuts.
• Sporting have outscored Vancouver 36-19 across the 17 meetings in the regular season series.
• Sporting have gone 4-0-1 in the last five regular season meetings against Vancouver, scoring 17 goals and conceding just three.
• Vancouver last beat Sporting by a 1-0 scoreline on Sept. 30, 2017, at Children's Mercy Park.
• Sporting are 5-1-2 in eight regular season home matches against Vancouver.
• Sporting and Vancouver notably met in the MLS is Back Tournament Round of 16 last July. Sporting outshot Vancouver 36-8 but the match was decided in penalty kicks after a scoreless draw, with goalkeeper Tim Melia making two saves to propel SKC to a 3-1 shootout win.
• Sporting are 18-4-6 in 28 regular season home matches against Canadian clubs (Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto).
• Sporting and Vancouver have posted the exact same results, week by week, through the first month of the regular season: win, draw, loss, win, loss.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC

• MLS record:2-2-1, 7 points
• MLS standings: 5th in West
• MLS away record: 0-1-1 (2 GF, 3 GA)
• First four matches: W-T-L-W-L
• Last match: Lost 1-0 at Minnesota United FC on May 12
• Vancouver are one of five MLS clubs averaging less than one goal allowed per game (0.80).
• Vancouver ranks second to last in MLS with 5.8 chances created per game.
• Vancouver leads MLS with a shooting accuracy of 63.6%.
• Forward Cristian Dajome has scored three of Vancouver's five goals this season, including both in a 2-0 win over CF Montreal on May 8.
• Forward Lucas Cavallini leads MLS with 65 duels won, 20 more than any other player.
• Cavallini leads MLS with 22 fouls suffered, while Dajome ranks sixth with 14.
• Midfielder Janio Bikel ranks second in MLS with 13 fouls committed.
• Defender Cristian Gutierrez leads Vancouver with two primary assists and nine chances created. Gutierrez is also tied for fourth in MLS with three big chances created.
• Eight Vancouver players have started all five games this season: Dajome, Cavallini, Bikel, Gutierrez, Ranko Veselinovic, Deiber Caicedo, Russell Teibert and Andy Rose.
• Since the start of 2018, Vancouver's 45 regular season losses (32-45-19 record) are the third-most in MLS.

Sporting Kansas City

• MLS record:2-2-1, 7 points
• MLS standings: 7th in West
• MLS home record: 1-0-1 (3 GF, 2 GA)
• First five matches: W-T-L-W-L
• Last match: Lost 2-1 at Houston Dynamo FC on May 12
• Sporting have secured six points from losing positions this season, the most in MLS. The club has gained eight total points from trailing positions in each of the last two seasons.
• Sporting have scored in 17 straight regular season home matches dating back to Aug. 10, 2019, tied for the second-longest home scoring streak in club history.
• Through their first three matches, Sporting averaged an MLS-low 4.3 chances created per game. In their last two matches, they have averaged 15.5 chances created.
• Similarly, Sporting averaged 7.7 shots through their first three matches. They have averaged 20.5 shots in their last two.
• Sporting's 9.2 fouls committed per game are the fewest in MLS. Similarly, their 8.6 fouls suffered per game are the second-fewest in the league.
• Defender Andreu Fontas leads MLS in both passes (349) and passes completed (300). He also ranks second with 413 touches.
• Defender Luis Martins ranks second in MLS with 26 crosses from open play.
• With the recent signing of 18-year-old defender Kayden Pierre, Sporting leads MLS with 12 Academy products on its current roster.

Milestones and Miscellany

• Forward Khiry Shelton is one shy of his 100th career MLS regular season appearance.

Recent #SKCvVAN regular season meetings

• Regular season record vs. Vancouver: 10-3-4 (36 GF, 19 GA)
• Regular season home record vs. Vancouver: 5-1-2 (18 GF, 8 GA)

Team Stats (2021 regular season)

(Source: Opta; MLS rank in parenthesis)