Following a four-game road trip, Sporting Kansas City returns home to host FC Dallas at 6 p.m. CT on Friday at Sporting Park. A limited number of tickets for the pivotal Western Conference clash are available via Ticketmaster.com. Friday's game will be nationally televised on UniMas, available in English and Spanish, in addition to three hours of local coverage on KMCI-TV 38 The Spot beginning at 5:30 p.m. CT. Live radio broadcasts will also be available on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM.
Fifth-place Sporting KC (11-8-8, 41 points) will look to snap a five-game winless run and hosts a second-place FC Dallas side (14-8-5, 47 points) that has won three straight matches and eight of their last 11. However, Oscar Pareja's men suffered two blowout losses at Sporting Park earlier this season while being outscored 10-2. We take a closer look at the matchup in our By The Numbers preview...
Head-to-head
- Sporting KC and FC Dallas have squared off three previous times this season in all competitions. The home side in the matchup has earned a multi-goal win on each occasion.
- The clubs last met in the 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 at Sporting Park on July 1. Dom Dwyer scored a club-record four goals in an emphatic 6-2 victory.
- The most recent regular season contest ended similarly as Krisztian Nemeth, Benny Feilhaber, Kevin Ellis and Graham Zusi all scored in a 4-0 win.
- FC Dallas won the first meeting of the season on March 14, receiving a brace from Blas Perez and a late goal from Fabian Castillo in a 3-1 result.
- FC Dallas won their first ever game at Sporting Park in August 2011 but is winless in four trips to Kansas City since then (all competitions).
- Sporting KC and FC Dallas have combined for just one clean sheet in their last nine meetings in all competitions dating back to September 2010.
- Graham Zusi has three goals and five assists in eight regular season appearances against FC Dallas.
- Krisztian Nemeth has three goals in three matches against FC Dallas in all competitions this season.
- Dallas goalkeeper Dan Kennedy is winless in his last five regular season starts against Sporting KC (0-4-1) with a 2.39 goals against average and two red cards. Each of his last three starts vs. Sporting KC have ended in 4-0 defeats (including two games with Chivas USA).
- In the all-time #SKCvDAL series, 71 percent of goals have come in the second half. SKC holds a narrow edge with a 21-20-10 record.
FC Dallas
- 2015 MLS record: 14-8-5, 47 points (2nd in West)
- 2015 MLS road record: 4-6-3 (15 GF, 18 GA)
- Last five MLS matches: 3-2-0, 9 points (L-L-W-W-W)
- Dallas is second in the West with 47 points but leads MLS with 1.74 points per game.
- Dallas has won three straight matches and eight of their last 11 dating back to June 26.
- Dallas is 13-0-0 when scoring two or more goals this season and has won 23 straight when scoring at least twice dating back to March 2014.
- Dallas is the only MLS club to have five players with at least five league goals (Fabian Castillo 9, Mauro Diaz 5, Blas Perez 5, Michael Barrios 5, Tesho Akindele 5).
- Dallas ranks third in MLS with just 31 goals conceded (22 of which after halftime) over 27 games.
- Fabian Castillo leads MLS with 93 dribbles completed, 27 more than any other player, while ranking ninth in both shots (68) and shots on goal (26).
Sporting KC
- 2015 MLS record: 11-8-8, 41 points (5th in West)
- 2015 MLS home record: 8-1-4 (23 GF, 15 GA)
- Last five MLS matches: 2-2-1, 7 points (T-W-W-L-L)
- SKC has conceded multiple goals in five of their last six matches, having allowed 16 in that span with a 1-4-1 record.
- SKC had conceded three goals or more just twice in their opening 21 games. Since then, they have done it four times in their six matches.
- Sporting KC is 12-1-4 at home this season in all competitions with 36 goals scored and 19 conceded.
- Benny Feilhaber is tied for the MLS lead with 14 assists. His 19 assists in all competitions are an all-time club record.
- Krisztian Nemeth's 13 goals in all competitions are the most by a Sporting KC newcomer since Miklos Molnar scored 17 in 2000 (excluding inaugural MLS season).
- Matt Besler leads MLS with 182 clearances and has played in every minute of Sporting KC's last 29 matches in all competitions.
Milestones and miscellany
- Graham Zusi ranks third in club history with 53 assists in all competitions, one shy of tying Chris Klein for second.
- Dom Dwyer is one shy of his 75th career regular season appearance for Sporting KC.
- Kevin Ellis is one shy of his 50th career start for Sporting KC in all competitions.
Team stats (2015 regular season)
MLS rank in parenthesis (Opta stats as of Sept. 17, 2015)
<strong>Category (per game)</strong> |
<strong>Sporting KC</strong> |
<b>FC Dallas</b> |
Goals scored |
1.52 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(5th)</span> |
1.48 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(t-6th</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">)</span> |
Goals conceded |
1.41 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(12th</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">)</span> |
1.15 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(2nd)</span> |
Shots |
12.0 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(10</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">t</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">h)</span> |
13.2 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(6th</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">)</span> |
Shooting accuracy |
41.4% <span style="font-size: 10px;">(17</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">th)</span> |
37.9% <span style="font-size: 10px;">(20th)</span> |
Assists |
1.74 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(3rd)</span> |
1.15 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(7th)</span> |
Chances created |
9.4 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(10th)</span> |
8.7 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(13th</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">)</span> |
Crosses/corners |
16.3 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(17</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">t</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">h</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">)</span> |
14.7 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(20th)</span> |
Fouls committed |
13.2 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(10</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">th)</span> |
12.0 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(t-17th</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">)</span> |
Fouls suffered |
11.3 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(16th)</span> |
11.8 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(14th)</span> |
Successful passes |
271 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(20</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">th)</span> |
284 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(15</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">th)</span> |
Passing accuracy |
73.9% <span style="font-size: 10px;">(19</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">th)</span> |
75.7% <span style="font-size: 10px;">(15th)</span> |
Possession |
49.1% <span style="font-size: 10px;">(10</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">th)</span> |
48.4% <span style="font-size: 10px;">(16</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">th)</span> |
Tackles won |
18.0 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(1st</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">)</span> |
14.5 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(13th)</span> |
Duels won |
55.7 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(2nd)</span> |
55.6 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(3rd</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">)</span> |
Interceptions |
26.1 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(1st)</span> |
23.7 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(2nd)</span> |
Shots faced |
10.3 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(1st)</span> |
10.9 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(2nd)</span> |
Saves |
3.0 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(t-9th</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">)</span> |
2.2 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(20</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">th)</span> |
Recent #SKCvDAL Meetings
- Regular season record vs. FC Dallas: 21-20-10
- Regular season home record vs. FC Dallas: 12-8-6
<strong>Date</strong> |
<strong>Score</strong> |
<strong>Venue<br><span style="font-size:10px;">(Competition)</span></strong> |
<strong>Scorers</strong> |
6/22/13 |
T 2-2 |
Toyota Stadium<br><span style="font-size:10px;">(Regular season)</span> |
<span style="font-size: 10px;">KC: Kamara 43, own goal 57<br>
DAL: Jacobson 88, Zimmerman 90</span> |
3/15/14 |
T 1-1 |
Sporting Park<br><span style="font-size: 10px;">(Regular season)</span> |
<span style="font-size: 10px;">KC: Collin 81</span><br><span style="font-size: 10px;">DAL: Hedges 90</span> |
3/14/15 |
L 1-3 |
Toyota Stadium<br><span style="font-size: 10px;">(Regular season)</span> |
<span style="font-size: 10px;">KC: Espinoza 44</span><br><span style="font-size: 10px;">DAL: Perez 17, 52, Castillo 73</span> |
5/29/15 |
W 4-0 |
Sporting Park<br><span style="font-size: 10px;">(Regular season)</span> |
<span style="font-size: 10px;">KC: Nemeth 19, Feilhaber 51, Ellis 57, Zusi 64</span><br><span style="font-size: 10px;">DAL: none</span> |
7/1/15 |
W 6-2 |
Sporting Park<br><span style="font-size: 10px;">(U.S. Open Cup)</span> |
<span style="font-size: 10px;">KC: Dwyer 5, 30, 41, 69, Nemeth 46+, 59</span><br><span style="font-size: 10px;">DAL: Barrios 62, Acosta 73</span> |
