By The Numbers presented by KDOT: #SKCvVAN | May 18, 2019

"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 (2-4-4, 10 points) kicks off a three-game homestand Saturday when Vancouver Whitecaps FC (3-6-3, 12 points) visits for a 7:30 p.m. CT matchup at Children's Mercy Park. Tickets for the match are available at SeatGeek.com as Manager Peter Vermes' men aim to bounce back into the win column at the expense of a Vancouver side that fell to Atlanta United FC on Wednesday night.

FOX Sports Kansas City Plus, FOX Sports Midwest Plus and FOX Sports GO will carry three hours of live coverage on Saturday beginning at 7 p.m. CT, while local radio calls will air on Sports Radio 810 WHB and ESPN Deportes KC 1480 AM. As two teams hungry for points prepare to square off, let's take a statistical dig into the matchup with our newest edition of By The Numbers.

Head-to-Head

• Sporting are 8-3-3 all-time against Vancouver in MLS competition, including a 5-1-1 record at Children's Mercy Park.
• Sporting swept the 2018 series with a pair of lopsided wins, prevailing 6-0 at Children's Mercy Park on April 20 and cruising 4-1 at BC Place on Oct. 17.
• Forward Johnny Russell scored a hat-trick in Sporting's 6-0 win over Vancouver last year as the hosts tied a club record for largest margin of victory in a competitive match.
• Forward Daniel Salloi keyed Sporting's 4-1 road win last October, scoring a pair of second-half goals at BC Place.
• Matt Besler, Ilie Sanchez and Graham Zusi recorded assists in both wins over Vancouver last season.
• Prior to falling twice last season, Vancouver had won four straight matches against Sporting in all competitions, including a pair of games in the 2016-17 Concacaf Champions League group stage.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC

• 2019 MLS record: 3-6-3 (12 points, 8th in Western Conference)
• 2019 MLS away record: 1-3-1 (6 GF, 8 GA)
• Last MLS match: L 1-0 vs. Atlanta United FC on May 15
• Last 5 MLS matches: 2-2-1, 7 points (L-T-W-W-L)
• Vancouver ranks second-to-last in MLS with 0.92 goals scored per game. The club has scored one or fewer goals in nine of 12 matches this season.
• Vancouver has scored two goals in the final 30 minutes of matches this season, the lowest total in MLS. The club has been outscored 8-2 in the final half-hour of matches in 2019.
• Eleven of Vancouver's 12 matches this season have been decided by one goal or resulted in a draw. The club is 3-5-0 in one-goal games.
• Vancouver is 0-5-0 when allowing the first goal this season and 0-3-0 when trailing at halftime.
• Vancouver has faced 17.3 shots per game this season, the most in MLS.
• Vancouver went 3-1-1 during a five-game stretch from April 17 to May 10 before taking a 1-0 home loss to Atlanta United FC on Wednesday, conceding a first-half penalty kick to Josef Martinez.
• Veteran Fredy Montero leads Vancouver with three goals. The club's eight assists have come from eight different players.
• Defenders Erik Godoy and Doneil Henry are the only players to start all 12 matches for Vancouver this season. Henry leads MLS with 28 interceptions and ranks third with 67 clearances.
• Midfielder Inbeom Hwang leads Vancouver with 15 chances created.

Sporting Kansas City

• 2019 MLS record: 2-4-4, 10 points (11th in Western Conference)
• 2019 MLS away record: 2-1-2 (15 GF, 10 GA)
• Last MLS match: L 1-0 at D.C. United on May 12
• Last 5 MLS matches: 0-3-2, 2 points (T-L-T-L-L)
• Sporting ranks fourth in MLS with 1.9 goals scored per game.
• Sporting has averaged 3.0 goals in five MLS home matches this season, the best clip in MLS.
• Sporting has gone scoreless in consecutive MLS matches for the first time since May 2017.
• Sporting are winless in eight straight matches across all competitions, recording three draws and five losses since April 4. Their six-game winless run in MLS is the club's longest since May 2016.
• Forward Krisztian Nemeth is tied for fourth in MLS with six league goals and has scored 10 times this season in all competitions.
• Forward Johnny Russell is one of eight players with at least four goals and three assists this season.
• Goalkeeper Tim Melia has saved 40.9% of the penalty kicks he has faced in his MLS regular season career (9 of 22). That is the second-best clip in MLS history.

Milestones and Miscellany

• Saturday will be the 150th MLS match in Children's Mercy Park history (including playoffs).

Recent #SKCvVAN regular season meetings

• Regular season record vs. Vancouver: 8-3-3 (29 GF, 17 GA)
• Regular season home record vs. Vancouver: 5-1-1 (17 GF, 7 GA)

Team stats (2019 regular season)

MLS rank in parenthesis (source: Opta)