A daunting 15-day stretch for Sporting Kansas City ends Saturday when the club faces Columbus Crew SC at Mapfre Stadium. The match, Sporting KC's fifth in a two-week span, is set to kick off at 6:30 p.m. CT with television coverage beginning at 6 p.m. CT on KMCI-TV 38 The Spot and SKCTV. Radio broadcasts of the interconference tilt will be available on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM.
Peter Vermes' men have won five consecutive matches against Crew SC and are unbeaten in their last four trips to central Ohio dating back to July 2012. Columbus, meanwhile, boasts a potent offense led by MLS Golden Boot leader and former Kansas City player Kei Kamara, who has bagged a career-high 18 goals this season. We take a closer look at the matchup in our By The Numbers preview...
Head-to-head
- Sporting KC holds a narrow 24-21-6 edge in the 20-year series, and 2015 marks the first time that the clubs will meet just once in the regular season.
- Sporting KC is unbeaten in six straight games against Crew SC dating back to October 2012, including five consecutive wins since the beginning of 2013.
- Sporting KC has earned three wins and a draw in their last four matches at Mapfre Stadium. Crew SC haven't defeated Kansas City on home soil since April 2011.
- Sporting KC swept the 2014 series, defeating Columbus 2-0 at Sporting Park on May 4 before Benny Feilhaber scored a 93rd-minute winner — which won Sporting KC's Goal of the Year at season's end — in a 2-1 result at Mapfre Stadium on July 16.
- Jacob Peterson has three goals against Columbus in eight regular season starts, including the game-winner in a 2-0 result last season at Sporting Park.
- Kei Kamara has two goals and two assists in seven regular season appearances against Sporting KC.
- Wil Trapp received a second-half red card in both defeats to Sporting KC last season.
Columbus Crew SC
- 2015 MLS record: 9-8-8, 35 points (3rd in East)
- 2015 MLS home record: 7-2-4 (29 GF, 18 GA)
- Last five MLS matches: 2-1-2, 8 points (W-T-L-W-T)
- CLB has scored in a club-record 22 straight regular season home games, a streak that began in a 2-1 loss to Sporting KC on July 16, 2014.
- CLB ranks second in MLS with 40 goals scored, 29 of which coming in 13 games at Mapfre Stadium.
- CLB leads MLS in assists (47), chances created (277) and big chances created (31) while ranking second in passing accuracy (80.9%).
- CLB has conceded 18 goals at home, second most in MLS.
- Kei Kamara leads MLS with 18 goals (and seven headed goals).
- Ethan Finlay is tied with Benny Feilhaber for second in MLS with 13 assists and leads the league with 27 successful crosses from open play.
- Finlay has directly assisted Kamara for six regular season goals this year.
- Steve Clark ranks third in MLS with 81 saves. He has faced 322 total shots, second most among league goalkeepers.
Sporting KC
- 2015 MLS record: 11-5-7, 40 points (3rd in West)
- 2015 MLS road record: 3-4-3 (14 GF, 15 GA)
- Last five MLS matches: 2-2-1, 7 points (L-T-W-W-L)
- SKC is third in the West with 40 points but leads MLS with 1.74 points per game.
- SKC is tied for third in MLS with nine clean sheets but hasn't earned a shutout since July 12, a stretch of six league games (eight games in all competitions).
- SKC has conceded 13 goals over their last six league matches (and eight in the last two). In contrast, the club allowed just 17 goals through their first 17 games.
- SKC has conceded seven goals before the 15th minute, tied with Columbus for second most in MLS.
- Matt Besler ranks second in MLS with 162 clearances, while Kevin Ellis is tied for the lead among MLS defenders with three goals.
- Tim Melia's .700 winning percentage (9-3-3 record) is best among MLS goalkeepers.
- SKC leads MLS with 32 road wins since 2011 and is the only club during that time with a winning road record (32-31-20 including playoffs).
Milestones and miscellany
- Paulo Nagamura is one shy of his 250th career MLS appearance (including playoffs).
- Graham Zusi is one shy of his 175th career MLS appearance (including playoffs).
- Seth Sinovic is one shy of his 150th career MLS appearance (including playoffs).
Team stats (2015 regular season)
MLS rank in parenthesis (Opta stats as of Aug. 21, 2015)
<strong>Category (per game)</strong> |
<strong>Sporting KC</strong> |
<b>Crew SC</b> |
Goals scored |
1.51 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(t-3rd)</span> |
1.60 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(5th</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">)</span> |
Goals conceded |
1.30 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(11th</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">)</span> |
1.64 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(t-17th)</span> |
Shots |
12.4 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(10</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">t</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">h)</span> |
13.8 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(3rd</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">)</span> |
Shooting accuracy |
40.9% <span style="font-size: 10px;">(17</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">th)</span> |
47.2% <span style="font-size: 10px;">(10th)</span> |
Assists |
1.83 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(2nd)</span> |
1.88 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(1st)</span> |
Chances created |
10.0 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(8th)</span> |
11.1 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(1</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">st)</span> |
Crosses/corners |
16.4 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(17</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">t</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">h</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">)</span> |
26.3 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(1st)</span> |
Fouls committed |
13.1 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(11</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">th)</span> |
12.4 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(16</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">th)</span> |
Fouls suffered |
10.9 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(18th)</span> |
10.7 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(19th)</span> |
Successful passes |
278 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(1</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">8</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">th)</span> |
348 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(3</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">rd)</span> |
Passing accuracy |
74.3% <span style="font-size: 10px;">(19</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">th)</span> |
80.9% <span style="font-size: 10px;">(2nd)</span> |
Possession |
49.5% <span style="font-size: 10px;">(11</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">th)</span> |
52.6% <span style="font-size: 10px;">(5</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">th)</span> |
Tackles won |
18.7 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(1st</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">)</span> |
14.2 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(15th)</span> |
Duels won |
56.7 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(2nd)</span> |
45.6 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(19</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">th)</span> |
Interceptions |
25.7 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(1st)</span> |
15.6 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(17th)</span> |
Shots faced |
10.0 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(1st)</span> |
12.9 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(16th)</span> |
Saves |
2.9 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(11</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">th)</span> |
3.2 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(8</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">th)</span> |
Recent #CLBvSKC Meetings
- Regular season record vs. Columbus: 24-21-6
- Regular season road record vs. Columbus: 11-12-4
<strong>Date</strong> |
<strong>Score</strong> |
<strong>Location</strong> |
<strong>Scorers</strong> |
6/29/13 |
W 3-2 |
Sporting Park |
<span style="font-size:10px;">KC: Kamara 34, 80; Bieler 50<br>
CLB: Arrieta 48, Oduro 53</span> |
9/7/13 |
W 3-0 |
Sporting Park |
<span style="font-size: 10px;">KC: Bieler 7; Saad 41; Sapong 55</span><br><span style="font-size: 10px;">CLB: none</span> |
10/5/13 |
W 1-0 |
Mapfre Stadium |
<span style="font-size: 10px;">KC: Opara 17</span><br><span style="font-size: 10px;">CLB: none</span> |
5/4/14 |
W 2-0 |
Sporting Park |
<span style="font-size: 10px;">KC: Peterson 10, Bieler 95+</span><br><span style="font-size: 10px;">CLB: none</span> |
7/16/14 |
W 2-1 |
Mapfre Stadium |
<span style="font-size: 10px;">KC: Sapong 42, Feilhaber 93+</span><br><span style="font-size: 10px;">CLB: own goal 69</span> |
