By The Numbers: Sporting KC at Orlando City SC - Sept. 13, 2015

The inaugural meeting between Sporting Kansas City and Orlando City SC is set for 6 p.m. CT on Sunday at the Orlando Citrus Bowl. The contest will be televised nationally on FOX Sports 1, FOX Deportes and FOX Sports GO with a Spanish radio broadcast available on La Grande 1340 AM.

Sitting fifth in the Western Conference, Sporting KC (11-7-8, 41 points) has a 6-1-2 record against Eastern Conference opposition this season and is 7-1-2 all-time in their first matches against expansion teams. Orlando City (7-13-8, 29 points) is eighth in the East and has just one victory in their past 11 matches, but a win on Sunday could lift the Lions into a playoff spot. We examine the matchup in our By The Numbers preview...

Head-to-head

• Sporting KC and Orlando City — formerly a member of USL Pro (third division) — met in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in both 2012 and 2013 at Sporting Park.
• Peter Vermes' men beat Adrian Heath's side 3-2 in the 2012 Round of 32 before winning the U.S. Open Cup title later that season. Paulo Nagamura opened the scoring in that match.
• A rematch in the 2013 Round of 16 saw Orlando City pull off a 1-0 upset victory thanks to Long Tan's 2nd-minute goal. The Lions went on to win the USL Pro title that year, while Sporting KC was eventually crowned MLS Cup champion.

Orlando City SC

• 2015 MLS record: 7-13-8, 29 points (8th in East)
• 2015 MLS home record: 4-5-5 (18 GF, 16 GA)
• Last five MLS matches: 0-3-2, 2 points (T-L-L-T-L)
• Orlando is 1-7-3 since the start of July with 11 goals scored, 29 conceded and just one shutout.
• Orlando has conceded a league-high 50 goals, while their minus-17 goal diferential is worst in MLS.
• Orlando's four home wins (4-5-5 overall) are tied for the fewest in MLS.
• Orlando leads the league with an 82.2 percent passing accuracy and ranks second in MLS with 369 successful passes per game.
• No team in MLS has more red cards than Orlando's nine.
• Cyle Larin has a team-leading 11 goals and is currenlty tied for the MLS rookie goal scoring record first set by Chicago's Damani Ralph in 2003.
• Designated Player and Brazil international Kaka (status day-to-day with a leg muscle injury) ranks second on Orlando with nine goals but hasn't scored in seven straight league appearances dating back to July 18.
• Aside from Larin and Kaka, no Orlando players have more than two goals.
• Darwin Ceren ranks third in MLS with 54 successful passes per game (minimum 10 games played).

Sporting KC

• 2015 MLS record: 11-7-8, 41 points (5th in West)
• 2015 MLS road record: 3-6-4 (17 GF, 20 GA)
• Last five MLS matches: 1-3-1, 4 points (W-L-L-L-T)
• SKC is 6-1-2 against Eastern Conference teams this season with the lone loss coming Aug. 22 at Columbus Crew SC.
• SKC has won eight road games in each of the past three regular seasons but has just three victories through 13 away matches this season (3-6-4).
• Benny Feilhaber is second in MLS with 13 assists and leads the league with nine big chances created. Among MLS midfielders, he also ranks seventh in duels won (150) and eighth in tackles won (58).
• Krisztian Nemeth's four game-winning goals are one behind the league co-leaders who have five.
• Matt Besler leads MLS with 178 clearances and has played in every minute of Sporting KC's last 28 games in all competitions.
• Soni Mustivar leads MLS with 5.8 interceptions per 90 minutes played and boasts a 13-2-4 record as a starter in all competitions.

Knocking off the new guys

During Major League Soccer's expansion era (2005-present), Sporting KC is 7-1-2 in their first meetings against expansion (or relocated*) clubs. The list below excludes the San Jose Earthquakes, who took a two-year hiatus from 2006-07 before returning to MLS in 2008.

Milestones and miscellany

• Graham Zusi ranks third in club history with 53 assists across all competitions, one shy of tying Chris Klein for second.
• Benny Feilhaber has recorded 18 assists across all competitions in 2015, one shy of breaking the single-season club record he currently shares with Preki (2003).
• Seth Sinovic is one shy of his 150th appearance for Sporting KC in all competitions.

Team stats (2015 regular season)

MLS rank in parenthesis (Opta stats as of Sept. 10, 2015)