Sporting Kansas City hosts the Philadelphia Union in a midweek matchup as they look to take sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference. It's been a tough start for Philadelphia who have only one victory through 11 matches. Overall, the away team has won the last three meetings in the series, including two wins by Sporting KC at PPL Park in 2013. The last meeting between the two sides at Sporting Park was on September 27, 2013 with the Union getting a narrow 1-0 victory. Wednesday's match is the first of three regulars season meetings in 2014.
Below is a closer look at the two teams in this match's By The Numbers preview.
A few notable stats
- Sporting KC leads MLS in possession (59.29%) and chances created from set pieces (25).
- Philadelphia has created the fourth most chances (57) in MLS in away matches
- Sporting KC have not conceded a goal in 360 minutes at Sporting Park, earning four consecutive shutouts
- Philadelphia's Vincent Nogueira is fourth in MLS with 665 passes
- In his last three match against Philadelphia, Graham Zusi has two goals and two assists
- The Union lead MLS with 99 tackles won
Head To Head (MLS regular season)
Overall: 4-2-3
- Home Matches: 2-1-1 (5 goals scored, 3 goals conceded)
- Away Matches: 2-1-2 (6 goals scored, 7 goals conceded)
Team Leaders (MLS regular season)
<u>Sporting KC</u> |
<u>Stat</u> |
<u>Philadelphia Union</u> |
Dom Dwyer 6 |
<strong>GOALS</strong> |
Fernades/Le Toux/Edu 2 |
Graham Zusi 4 |
<strong>ASSISTS</strong> |
Cristian Maidana 2 |
Dom Dwyer 35 |
<strong>SHOTS</strong> |
Vincent Nogueira 22 |
Dom Dwyer 20 |
<strong>FOULS</strong> |
Maurice Edu 26 |
Eric Kronberg 18 |
<strong>SAVES</strong> |
Zac MacMath 28 |
Eric Kronberg 0.67 |
<strong>GAA</strong> |
Troy Perkins 1.27 |
Team Stats (MLS regular season)
<u>Sporting KC</u> |
<u>Philadelphia Union</u> |
|
Goals Scored (Conceded) |
14 (6) |
10 (14) |
Shots (on goal) |
130 (47) |
141 (37) |
Fouls Committed (Suffered) |
139 (120) |
132 (164) |
Duels Success (Avg) |
49.09% |
50.50% |
Passes (Avg) |
460 |
417 |
Passing Accuracy (Avg) |
82.40% |
78.24% |
Possession (Avg) |
59.29% |
52.49% |
Recent regular season meetings
<u>Date</u> |
<u>Score</u> |
<u>Result</u> |
<u>Location</u> |
10/24/2012 |
2-1 |
W |
Sporting Park |
03/02/2013 |
3-1 |
W |
PPL Park |
09/27/2013 |
1-0 |
L |
Sporting Park |
10/26/2013 |
2-1 |
W |
PPL Park |
