By The Numbers presented by KDOT: #SKCvCHI | Oct. 7, 2020

"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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After dispatching the Houston Dynamo last weekend, Sporting Kansas City (7-5-2, 23 points) will return to Children's Mercy Park on Wednesday to battle the Chicago Fire (4-7-4, 16 points) at 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets for the match are available at SeatGeek.com and fans following from home can catch the action live on FOX Sports Kansas City, FOX Sports Midwest, FOX Sports GO, Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM.

Chicago enters the midweek battle a point below the playoff line in the East but on a strong run of form, having claimed seven points from their previous three matches. Sporting, meanwhile, occupy third place in the West and will look to keep pace with another victory at the expense of the Fire, who have failed to win on each of their previous seven visits to Kansas City.

As Sporting and Chicago prepare to lock horns, we take a statistical look at the fixture in our newest edition of By the Numbers, presented by the Kansas Department of Transportation.

Head-to-Head

• Sporting has won three straight meetings against Chicago dating back to 2017.
• Sporting are 5-0-2 in their last seven home matches against Chicago, including wins in three straight meetings.
• Chicago hasn't won at Children's Mercy Park since June 2012.
• Sporting won the most recent meeting by a 1-0 scoreline in July 2019 at Children's Mercy Park, receiving a 14th-minute goal from now-departed Frenchman Yohan Croizet.
• Chicago holds a 26-17-11 edge in the regular season series. Sporting's 26 losses to Chicago are their most against any MLS team.
• Sporting goalkeeper Tim Melia made his club debut against the Fire with a 1-0 win at Children's Mercy Park on May 3, 2015.

Chicago Fire FC

• MLS record:4-7-4, 16 points (11th in Eastern Conference)
• MLS away record: 0-4-3 (6 GF, 15 GA)
• Last five regular season matches: 2-1-2, 8 points (T-L-W-W-T)
• Last Match: T 2-2 at Montreal Impact on Saturday, Oct. 3
• Chicago won just two of their first 12 regular season matches but have gone 2-0-1 in their last three.
• Chicago are winless on the road this season, going 0-4-3 in seven away matches.
• Chicago lead MLS with seven goals scored before the 15th minute. However, they have been outscored 14-5 this season after the 75th minute.
• Chicago are 0-6-1 this season when conceding the first goal of the match.
• Chicago lead MLS with 16 interceptions per game.
• Forward Robert Beric is tied for fifth in MLS with seven goals and has scored in five straight matches, the longest streak in the league this season. He is also third in MLS in both shots on goal (20) and fouls suffered (39).
• Defender Francisco Calvo leads MLS with 47 interceptions, 10 more than any other player, and ranks ninth with 716 successful passes.
• Midfielder Ignacio Aliseda ranks seventh in MLS with 31 dribbles completed.
• Midfielder Fabian Herbers is second on Chicago with four goals, including three in his last five appearances.
• Midfielder Gaston Gimenez is one shy of the MLS lead with three game-winning assists.

Sporting Kansas City

• MLS record:7-5-2, 23 points (3rd in Western Conference)
• MLS home record: 2-3-1 (11 GF, 11 GA)
• Last five regular season matches: 2-3-0, 6 points (L-W-L-L-W)
• Last Match: Won 2-1 at Houston Dynamo on Saturday, Oct. 3
• Sporting are the only MLS team yet to be shut out this season. They have set a club record by scoring in their first 14 matches of the regular season.
• Sporting are tied for the MLS lead with three road wins (3-1-1 record) but have gone just 2-3-1 at Children's Mercy Park, including defeats in two straight home matches.
• Sporting are tied for third in MLS with four wins by a one-goal margin.
• Sporting rank second in MLS in shots per game (15.1) and also lead the league in fewest shots faced per game (9.1).
• Forward Johnny Russell has four goals in his last four games and leads Sporting with six goals on the season. He also ranks eighth in MLS with 67 touches in the opponent's box.
• Forward Alan Pulido scored both goals in Saturday's win over Houston and will miss Wednesday's match while on international duty with Mexico.
• On Saturday, 18-year-old midfielder Gianluca Busio became the second-youngest player to notch two primary assists from open play in an MLS regular season match during the Opta era (since 2010).
• Midfielder Gadi Kinda and forward Khiry Shelton are tied for third on the team with four goals apiece.
• Shelton is one of four MLS players with at least 20 chances created from open play and 80 duels won this season.

Milestones and Miscellany

• Midfielder Gianluca Busio is one shy of his 50th career appearance for Sporting in all competitions.
• On Saturday, Manager Peter Vermes became the fifth head coach in MLS history to win 150 regular season matches and the first do accomplish the feat with a single club.
• On Saturday, defender Graham Zusi became the second player in Sporting history (Matt Besler) to start 300 competitive matches for the club.
• On Saturday, midfielder Roger Espinoza leapfrogged Kerry Zavagnin for third on the club's all-time appearances chart with 292, behind only Besler and Zusi.

Recent #SKCvCHI meetings

• Regular season record vs. Chicago 17-26-11 (67 GF, 91 GA)
• Regular season home record vs. Chicago: 12-8-9 (41 GF, 40 GA)

Team Stats (2020 regular season)

(Per Opta; MLS rank in parenthesis)