Two in-form teams meet Friday night in a nationally televised contest at Sporting Park. Unbeaten in seven MLS matches and winners of four straight, Sporting Kansas City hosts the Philadelphia Union, who have lost just once since interim manager Jim Curtin took over on June 10. The 7 p.m. clash features the Eastern Conference's best offensive and defensive sides, as the Union have bagged 33 goals and Sporting KC has conceded just 19.
Fresh off their club record fifth straight road win last Saturday, Peter Vermes' men put two additional streaks on the line Friday night. Their current four-game MLS regular sesaon winning run is tied for third longest in team history. In addition, the MLS champs have recorded four conesutive multi-goal games, also tied for third best in team history. Here's a closer look at the Eastern Conference foes in our By The Numbers preview.
A few notable stats
- Sporting KC's one home loss is tied for fewest in MLS
- Sporting KC ranks first in shots (301), shots on target (110), fewest shots faced (201) and fewest shots faced on target (68)
- Sporting KC ranks first in average possession (56.2%), second in successful passes (7,292) and third in passing accuracy (80.8%)
- Sporting KC ranks first in fouls committed and second in fouls suffered (307 each)
- Graham Zusi ranks second in chances created per 90 minutes (3.54)
- Sporting KC ranks first in chances created from set play (49), while Philadelphia ranks second (35)
- Philadelphia ranks first in the Eastern Conference in goals scored (33), while Sporting KC ranks first in the Eastern Conference in goals allowed (19)
- Philadelphia ranks tied for first in away goals (17)
- Philadelphia is six-for-six from the penalty spot this season
- Philadelphia ranks first in the Eastern Conference in tackles (311)
- Philadelphia has one clean sheet in 12 road MLS matches this season
- Cristian Maidana ranks tied for second in assists (eight) and Raymon Gaddis ranks third in tackles won (51)
Head-to-head (MLS regular season)
Sporting KC overall: 4-3-3
- Home matches: 2-1-2 (six goals scored, five goals conceded)
- Away matches: 2-2-1 (five goals scored, six goals conceded)
Team leaders (MLS regular season)
<strong>Sporting KC</strong> |
<strong>Stat</strong> |
<strong>Philadelphia Union</strong> |
Dom Dwyer 14 |
<strong>GOALS</strong> |
Sebastien Le Toux 8 |
Benny Feilhaber 5 |
<strong>ASSISTS</strong> |
Cristian Maidana 8 |
Dom Dwyer 73 |
<strong>SHOTS</strong> |
Vincent Nogueira 37 |
Dom Dwyer 43 |
<strong>FOULS</strong> |
Maurice Edu 32 |
Benny Feilhaber 51 |
<strong>FOULS WON</strong> |
Maurice Edu 29 |
Three players 4 |
<strong>CAUTIONS</strong> |
Fabinho 6 |
Eric Kronberg 38<br>
Andy Gruenebaum 7 |
<strong>SAVES</strong> |
Zac MacMath 61 |
Eric Kronberg 0.88<br>
Andy Gruenebaum 1.00 |
<strong>GAA</strong> |
Zac MacMath 1.67 |
Team stats (MLS regular season)
<strong>Sporting KC</strong> |
<strong>Philadelphia</strong> |
|
Goals Scored (Conceded) |
31 (19) |
33 (35) |
Shots (on goal) |
301 (110) |
286 (90) |
Chances Created |
212 |
204 |
Crosses/Corners |
391 |
492 |
Fouls Committed (Suffered) |
307 (323) |
257 (279) |
Duels Success (Avg) |
49.4% |
49.8% |
Passes per game |
430 |
401 |
Passing Accuracy (Avg) |
80.8% |
78.0% |
Possession (Avg) |
56.2% |
50.1% |
Recent regular season meetings
<u>Date</u> |
<u>Score</u> |
<u>Result</u> |
<u>Location</u> |
06/23/2012 |
0-4 |
L |
PPL Park |
10/24/2012 |
2-1 |
W |
Sporting Park |
03/02/2013 |
3-1 |
W |
PPL Park |
09/27/2013 |
0-1 |
L |
Sporting Park |
10/26/2013 |
2-1 |
W |
PPL Park |
05/14/2014 |
1-2 |
L |
Sporting Park |
