By The Numbers: Sporting KC at Real Salt Lake - June 21, 2015

Sporting Kansas City and Real Salt Lake resume MLS competition Sunday in a nationally televised match on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Deportes. Kickoff at Rio Tinto Stadium is set for 9 p.m. CT as the Western Conference rivals square off for the second time in 2015.

Riding an eight-game unbeaten streak in all competitions, Sporting KC (6-2-6, 24 pts.) visits a Real Salt Lake side (4-5-6, 18 pts.) that has won just of their last 11 MLS matches but holds one of the strongest home-field advantages in the league. Jeff Cassar's men have lost just twice in 25 MLS games at Rio Tinto Stadium since the start of 2014.

Sporting KC is unbeaten in five straight meetings against Real Salt Lake, including a 2-1 win in their visit to Rio Tinto Stadium in July 2013 and a 10-round penalty shootout triumph in MLS Cup 2013. Just once in the last eight #RSLvSKC fixtures has a team scored more than one goal, and the last two contests between the sides have ended in goalless draws. We examine the matchup in our By The Numbers preview...

Head-to-head

• Sporting KC is unbeaten in five straight meetings against Real Salt Lakewith three clean sheets (2-0-3 including MLS Cup 2013) .
• Just once in the last eight #RSLvSKC fixtures has a team scored more than one goal in a match. SKC has outscored RSL 7-4 during that stretch with a 3-1-4 record.
• Neither team has scored a first half goal in the last six meetings (including MLS Cup 2013) dating back to August 2011.
• Each of the last two regular season meetings have ended in 0-0 draws at Sporting Park.
• Sunday is the fifth all-time trip to Rio Tinto Stadium for Sporting KC, who ahve come away with two wins and two losses in previous visits.
• The last time Sporting KC visited Rio Tinto Stadium in July 2013, Ike Opara headed home a 97th-minute corner kick from Graham Zusi to give the visitors a 2-1 win. It was the latest regular season goal in KC history.

Sporting KC

• SKC leads MLS with 26 assists and tops the Western Conference with 1.57 goals scored per game and 10.9 chances created per game.
• SKC is 2nd in MLS with seven clean sheets, including four in the last six games.
• SKC has conceded 9.3 shots per game and 3.4 shots on target per game, both the fewest in MLS.
• SKC is the only MLS team to have three players with four or more goals (Krisztian Nemeth 6, Benny Feilhaber 5, Dom Dwyer 4).
• SKC has won nine straight games when leading at halftime dating back to 2014.
• Krisztian Nemeth is third among MLS newcomers with six goals scored, one behind Kaka and Sebastian Giovinco.
• Benny Feilhaber ranks 2nd in MLS with seven assists.
• Tim Melia has a 4-0-2 record through is first six MLS starts, including four clean sheets and a league-best 0.50 goals against average.
• Melia currently has a 386-minute shutout streak in all competitions. His 296-minute shutout streak in MLS play is 42 minutes shy of the longest this season.

Real Salt Lake

• RSL has qualified for the playoffs in each of the last seven seasons, the longest streak in MLS.
• RSL's five home defeats since the beginning of 2013 are 2nd fewest in MLS (excluding 2015 expansion clubs).
• RSL is tied for 4th in MLS with six clean seets, three of which coming at Rio Tinto Stadium.
• RSL ranks 2nd in MLS with 18 tackles won per game.
• RSL has been shut out seven times, most in MLS, after being shut out seven times in all of 2014.
• RSL's four 0-0 draws are tied for most in MLS this season.
• RSL has 10 straight wins when leading at halftime dating back to 2014.
• RSL is 0-5-6 when tied or trailing at halftime.
• RSL's 13 goals are 2nd fewest in MLS. They rank last in shots per game (9.9) and chances created per game (6.7).
• Javier Morales has scored three goals from outside the box this season, 2nd most in MLS.
• Nine of the last 12 penalty kicks Nick Rimando has faced have not been successful.

Milestones and miscellany

• Peter Vermes is one win shy of tying Thomas Rongen for 9th all-time with 83 regular season victories.
• Jalil Anibaba, Roger Espinoza and Benny Feilhaber are all one shy of their 125th regular season appearances.
• Dom Dwyer is one shy of his 50th regular season start for Sporting KC.
• Graham Zusi is one shy of tying Chris Klein for 2nd place on the club's all-time MLS assist chart (49) and all competitions assist chart (54).
• Chance Myers is in contention to play his first MLS match since May 23, 2014, after recovering from an achilles injury.
• Sporting KC is one shy of its 250th regular season win in club history (tied 4th most all-time).

Team stats (2015 regular season)

MLS rank in parenthesis (stats as of June 19, 2015)

Recent #RSLvSKC meetings

• All-time regular season record vs. Real Salt Lake: 8-5-5
• Regular season record at Real Salt Lake: 3-4-1 (11 GF, 13 GA)