"By The Numbers presented by Compass Minerals" is a season-long series that gives a statistical preview of every Sporting match. To visit the series archive, click here.
Sporting Kansas City will travel north to face Minnesota United FC on Saturday in the club's final road game of the season. Kickoff at Allianz Field is slated for 7:30 p.m. CT with live coverage on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV, ESPN 94.5 FM and 1510 AM. With Sporting out of the playoff picture and Minnesota batlting for first place in the West, head coach Kerry Zavagnin's side will look to embrace the spoiler role in this late-season renewal of a familiar Midwestern rivalry.
As Saturday's contest approaches, we take a statistical look at the matchup in this edition of By The Numbers presented by Compass Minerals.
Head-to-Head
- The teams last met on March 15 at Children’s Mercy Park, battling to a wild 3-3 draw. Minnesota took a 3-0 lead behind Hassani Dotson’s early opener and a Tani Oluwaseyi brace, but Sporting responded with three goals in 12 second-half minutes—an own goal and strikes from Daniel Salloi and Dejan Joveljic.
- The most recent meeting on March 15 marked only the 19th time that an MLS team has overturned a three-goal deficit to claim a win or a draw in the regular season.
- Sporting and Minnesota met three times during the 2024 regular season. The Loons won all three meetings, including two home victories as well as the club’s first regular season road win at Children’s Mercy Park.
- Sporting won all three MLS meetings in 2023, including a 1-0 triumph at Allianz Field late in the season.
- Sporting had won its previous four regular season meetings against Minnesota from September 2022 to October 2023 before going 0-3-1 in the last four.
- Sporting and Minnesota have met 26 times in all competitions since the Loons joined MLS in 2017, the most of any opponent for both teams. Sporting has a 12-9-5 record in the all-time series.
- Minnesota’s active four-game unbeaten streak against Sporting is the team’s longest in the series across all competitions.
- Sporting leads the all-time regular season series against Minnesota with an 11-7-5 record, including a 9-1-1 home record and a 2-6-4 road record.
- Sporting has a 2-4-2 road record in eight regular season matches at Allianz Field with wins in August 2020 and September 2023.
- Sporting has outscored Minnesota 39-25 in the regular season series, including a 28-8 margin in 11 matches at Children’s Mercy Park.
- Sporting forward Dejan Joveljic has five goal contributions (four goals and one assist) in 359 regular season minutes against Minnesota. Joveljic also had two goals and one assist for the LA Galaxy in a 6-2 thrashing of Minnesota in the 2024 Western Conference Semifinals.
- Sporting forward Daniel Salloi has nine goal contributions (four goals and five assists) in 19 regular season appearances against Minnesota.
- Sporting forward Khiry Shelton has four goals and one assist in 15 regular season appearances against Minnesota. His four goals against the Loons are his most versus any MLS opponent.
- Sporting forward Mason Toye, who played for Minnesota from 2018-2020, scored a brace in his lone previous appearance against his former club as he helped CF Montreal to a 4-0 home win over the Loons on June 10, 2023.
- Sporting midfielders Memo Rodriguez (16 appearances) and Erik Thommy (seven appearances) both have one goal and two assists against Minnesota in the regular season.
- Minnesota defender Michael Boxall has a goal in two of the last five meetings between the clubs.
- Minnesota midfielder Hassani Dotson has two goals in 13 regular season appearances against Sporting.
- Minnesota midfielder Robin Lon has six goal contributions (one goal and five assists) in 13 regular season appearances against Sporting.
- Minnesota goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair has a 3-5-2 regular season record against Sporting with one shutout and a 1.80 goals against average. He was Minnesota’s keeper in the lone playoff meeting between the sides, a 3-0 victory for the Loons in the Western Conference Semifinals at Children’s Mercy Park on Dec. 3, 2020.
Sporting Kansas City
- 2025 MLS record: 7-19-6, 27 points (14th in West | 46 GF, 67 GA)
- 2025 MLS away record: 3-11-2 (21 GF, 35 GA)
- Last Five MLS Matches: 1-4-0, 3 points (W-L-L-L-L)
- Sporting has gained 14 points from losing positions (three wins and five draws) during the regular season, tied for fifth most in MLS.
- Sporting has been outscored 50-24 through the 60th minute while outscoring opponents 22-17 after the 60th minute this season.
- Sporting has scored 22 of 46 league goals after the 60th minute this season, a clip of 48%. Sporting’s 22 goals after the 60th minute are tied for fourth most in MLS.
- Sporting ranks second in MLS with 179 touches in the attacking third per game.
- Sporting ranks fifth in MLS with 25 touches in the attacking penalty area per game.
- Sporting ranks fourth in MLS with 18 progressive dribbles per game. Progressive dribbles are dribbles that advance the ball 10 yards closer to the opponent’s goal line or into the penalty area.
- Sporting ranks fifth in MLS with 5.7 dribbles into the box per game.
- With an average weighted age of 26.5, Sporting has the seventh youngest team in MLS this season based on playing time. The team had an average weighted age of 28.6 last season, which was the fourth oldest in MLS.
- Forward Dejan Joveljic ranks fourth in MLS with 18 goals this season.
- Joveljic’s 18 goals this year are tied with Preki (1996) for the second most in a single regular season in club history behind Dom Dwyer’s 22 goals in 2014.
- Joveljic’s 18 goals this season are tied with Preki (1996) for the most by a Kansas City newcomer in club history.
- Joveljic has scored 39 MLS goals (including playoffs) since the start of 2024, third most in the league behind Lionel Messi and Denis Bouanga.
- Sporting has three headed goals this season, all of which have been scored by Joveljic.
- Joveljic recorded a goal contribution in eight consecutive MLS appearances from May 14 to July 12, the third longest streak of any MLS player this season and tied for the second longest streak in club history.
- Joveljic is the first player in MLS history with back-to-back 18-goal seasons (including playoffs) with different clubs. He scored 21 goals for the MLS Cup champion LA Galaxy in 2024, including six in the playoffs.
- Goalkeeper John Pulskamp ranks third in MLS with a career-high 111 saves.
- Pulskamp has two assists during the 2025 regular season. He is the first goalkeeper in club history with multiple assists in a single MLS campaign and joins Tony Meola as the only goalkeepers with multiple regular season assists for Kansas City all-time.
- Pulskamp is the only Sporting player to start in all 32 MLS matches and in all 34 matches this season across all competitions.
- With seven goals and four assists this season, forward Daniel Salloi has eclipsed double-digit goal contributions for the fourth time in the last five MLS seasons since 2021.
- Salloi has 11 goal contributions this season, tied with Manu Garcia for second on the team behind Dejan Joveljic (20). Salloi also ranks second on the team in both goals (seven) and assists (four).
- Forward Mason Toye assisted Dejan Joveljic’s goal in Sporting’s loss to the LA Galaxy last weekend. Toye now has three goals and two assists in 424 minutes this season, averaging one goal contribution every 85 minutes.
- Midfielder Memo Rodriguez had a secondary assist on Joveljic’s goal last season. It was Rodriguez’s first goal contribution of the season and his first assist since July 7, 2024.
- Defender Jansen Miller has played the most regular season minutes (2,215) of any 2025 MLS SuperDraft selection this season.
- Midfielder Jacob Bartlett is the youngest player to appear in at least 28 MLS matches this season (19 years and 362 days as of Oct. 4). Bartlett has started in 22 of 28 MLS appearances during his first professional season.
- Forward Shapi Suleymanov is tied for second on the team with four assists and is the only Sporting field player to appear in all 32 regular season matches this season, although he will miss Saturday’s match in Minnesota for a red card suspension. He ranks fifth in MLS in both dribbles into the penalty area (56) and fouls suffered (61).
- Midfielder Erik Thommy has eight goal contributions (four goals, four assists) this season, fourth most on the team behind Dejan Joveljic (20), Manu Garcia (11) and Daniel Salloi (11).
- Midfielder Manu Garcia leads the team in assists (nine) and key passes (41). His 11 total goal contributions (two goals, nine assists) are tied with Daniel Salloi for second most on the team behind Dejan Joveljic (20).
- Garcia ranks seventh in MLS in successful through balls (14), ninth in progressive passes (213), 10th in successful passes into the final third (188) and 10th in successful passes into the penalty area (57). He has missed six of Sporting’s last nine matches with a quad injury and has not started since July 19.
Minnesota United FC
- 2025 MLS record: 15-7-10, 55 points (3rd in West | 52 GF, 37 GA)
- 2025 MLS home record: 7-5-4 (26 GF, 20 GA)
- Last Five MLS Matches: 2-1-2, 8 points (W-T-W-L-T)
- Minnesota occupies third place in the Western Conference with 52 points, the most in a regular season in the club’s nine-year history.
- Minnesota has tied the club record for wins in a regular season (15) and currently boasts a +15 goal differential, the best in team history.
- Minnesota has more away wins (eight) than home wins (seven) this season. The Loons also had more away wins than home wins in 2023 (four home and six away) and 2024 (seven home and eight away).
- Minnesota’s bid for a first trophy in club history fell short in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semifinals with a 2-1 extra-time home loss to Austin FC on Sept. 17.
- Minnesota leads MLS with 19 goals scored from set pieces.
- Minnesota is last in MLS in average possession (41.4%) while ranking 29th in passing accuracy (78.2%).
- Minnesota ranks third in MLS with a 1.16 goals against average, conceding 37 goals in 32 games.
- Minnesota has scored 11 goals in the first half this season, the fewest in MLS.
- Minnesota has conceded 22 of its 37 goals after the 60th minute this season. Their 22 goals conceded after the 60th minute are tied for third most in MLS.
- Minnesota is 14-1-4 when scoring first and 1-6-3 when conceding first this season.
- Minnesota is 9-1-2 when leading at halftime and 1-3-1 when trailing at halftime this season.
- Goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair leads MLS in save percentage (78.4%) while ranking second in goals against average (1.00) and fourth in shutouts (nine).
- Forward Tani Oluwaseyi led Minnesota in goals (10) and total goal contributions (eight) before transferring to Spanish LA LIGA side Villarreal on Aug. 29.
- Forward Kelvin Yeboah leads all current Minnesota players with nine goals this season.
- Midfielder Joaquin Pereyra has a team-best 10 assists and leads all current Minnesota players in total goal contributions (14).
- Midfielder Wil Trapp leads Minnesota in appearances (32), starts (30), and minutes (2,582) during the regular season.
- Defender Michael Boxall ranks fifth in MLS in clearances (185).
Milestones and Miscellany
- Forward Dejan Joveljic has scored 18 goals this year, tied for the second most in a single regular season in club history behind Dom Dwyer’s 22 goals in 2014.
- Midfielder Zorhan Bassong is one shy of his 50th career appearance for Sporting in all competitions.
- Midfielder Erik Thommy is one shy of his 100th career regular season appearance for Sporting.
- Defender Andrew Brody is one shy of his 100th career start in the MLS regular season.
- Defender Tim Leibold is 65 minutes shy of 5,000 minutes played for Sporting in all competitions.
- Midfielder Manu Garcia is one shy of 50 assists in his professional club career.
- Forward Daniel Salloi has scored 67 career goals for Sporting in all competitions, tied with Dom Dwyer and Johnny Russell for second most in club history.
