By The Numbers presented by KDOT: #DALvSKC | Oct. 14, 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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53.8%  The percentage of occupant fatalities who were not properly restrained during 2018 in Kansas.

Winners of three straight matches, Sporting Kansas City (9-5-2, 29 points) will aim to stay hot Wednesday when they travel to face Western Conference rivals FC Dallas (5-4-6, 21 points) at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. The midweek battle is slated for 7:30 p.m. CT with live coverage on FOX Sports Kansas City, FOX Sports Midwest, FOX Sports GO, Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM, marking the third head-to-head meeting between the fellow MLS charter members this season.

Manager Peter Vermes' men have pulled within a point of first place in the West thanks to a three-game winning streak that hit new levels of excitement on Sunday when Erik Hurtado came off the bench to bag a world-class volley that sealed a 2-1 defeat of Nashville SC at Children's Mercy Park. Dallas, meanwhile, will be on full rest after their weekend fixture against Minnesota was postponed due to COVID-19 concerns.

As the MLS playoff picture starts to crystalize, we take a statistical look at the matchup in the newest edition of By the Numbers, presented by the Kansas Department of Transportation.

Head-to-Head

• FC Dallas holds a narrow edge in the regular season series, posting a 26-25-13 record through 64 meetings dating back to 1996.
• FC Dallas have taken four points from the previous two meetings this season at Children's Mercy Park, claiming a 1-1 draw on Sept. 2 and a 3-2 victory on Sept. 19.
• Dallas forward Franco Jara has three goals in two appearances against Sporting this season, including two in his team's 3-2 road win on Sept. 19.
• Sporting forward Johnny Russell scored twice in Sporting's home loss to Dallas on Sept. 19.
• Sporting are 0-3-1 in their last four meetings with Dallas since the start of 2019.
• Sporting have won twice at Toyota Stadium since the Peter Vermes era began in 2009, prevailing 4-1 in June 2011 and 3-0 in October 2018.

FC Dallas

• MLS record:5-4-6, 16 points (6th in Western Conference)
• MLS home record: 4-1-4 (15 GF, 8 GA)
• Last five regular season matches: 1-2-2, 5 points (W-L-T-T-L)
• Last Match: W 4-1 vs. Colorado Rapids on Wednesday, Sept. 16
• Dallas have gone 0-2-2 since defeating Sporting on Sept. 19.
• Dallas rank second in MLS with 11.5 tackles won per match.
• Dallas are 5-0-2 this season when scoring the first goal and 0-4-1 when conceding the first goal this season. Similarly, they are 3-0-1 when leading at halftime and 0-2-0 when trailing at halftime.
• Dallas have outscored opponents 7-3 after the 75th minute this season.
• Forward Franco Jara leads Dallas with five goals, three of which have come against Sporting.
• Midfielder Santiago Mosquera ranks fourth in MLS with 1.08 goals per 90 minutes (four goals in 333 minutes).
• Midfielder Thiago Santos leads MLS in duels won (134), ranks fourth in fouls committed (32) and ranks sixth in fouls suffered (37).
• Goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer boasts a 0.95 goals against average but has won just two of his nine starts (2-3-4 record).
• Santos and defenders Matt Hedges and Reto Ziegler lead Dallas with 14 starts this season.
• Midfielder Michael Barrios has a team-leading three assists and 28 chances created. Barrios had a career-high 15 assists last season.

Sporting Kansas City

• MLS record:9-5-2, 29 points (3rd in Western Conference)
• MLS away record: 3-1-1 (9 GF, 6 GA)
• Last five regular season matches: 3-2-0, 9 points (L-L-W-W-W)
• Last Match: Won 2-1 vs. Nashville SC on Sunday, Oct. 11
• Sporting have won three straight matches and are seeking their first four-game winning streak in the regular season since August 2018.
• Sporting has won three straight regular season matches in a nine-day period for the seventh time in club history, a stretch running from Oct. 3-11.
• Sporting are the only team yet to be shut out this season and have scored in 16 straight regular season matches since the start of the year, tied for the third longest run in club history.
• Sporting boast a 3-1-1 road record this season.
• Sporting's six one-goal victories are tied for the second-most in MLS.
• Sporting have outscored opponents 13-7 after the 60th minute this season.
• Sporting are tied for the MLS lead with two wins when trailing at halftime this season (2-3-0 record).
• Sporting rank second in MLS in shots per game (15.0) and also lead the league in fewest shots faced per game (9.2).
• Forward Erik Hurtado leads MLS with 1.76 goals per 90 minutes, having scored three in 153 minutes this season.
• Forward Johnny Russell has four goals and two assists in his last six appearances.
• Sporting are 4-1-1 this season when defender Winston Reid starts.
• Goalkeeper Tim Melia has saved 11 of the 25 penalty kicks he has faced in his MLS regular season career, including four of the last five. His 0.56 goals conceded percentage on penalties is the lowest in MLS history among keepers who have faced at least 10 penalty kicks.

Milestones and Miscellany

• Sporting goalkeeper Tim Melia is one shy of his 50th career regular season shutout for the club.
• Sporting midfielder Roger Espinoza is one shy of his 250th regular season appearance for the club.

Recent #DALvSKC meetings

• Regular season record vs. FC Dallas: 25-26-13 (94 GF, 104 GA)
• Regular season away record at FC Dallas: 10-15-5 (34 GF, 60 GA)

Team Stats (2020 regular season)

(Per Opta; MLS rank in parenthesis)