By The Numbers presented by KDOT: #SKCvSEA | May 26, 2019

"By The Numbers" is a season-long series sponsored by The Kansas Department of Transportation, giving a statistical preview of every Sporting KC match.
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69  Alcohol-related injury crashes in Kansas during the Memorial Day holiday from 2012-2016.

A national audience will be treated to a high-profile Western Conference clash on Sunday as Sporting Kansas City (2-4-5, 11 points) welcomes second-place Seattle Sounders FC (7-1-5, 26 points) to Children's Mercy Park. Tickets for the match are on sale at SeatGeek.com with live coverage on FS1, FOX Deportes, Sports Radio 810 WHB, SiriusXM FC and ESPN Deportes KC 1480 AM.

Manager Peter Vermes' men will begin a pivotal stretch of three games in seven days this weekend and will use the opportunity to climb the standings where they currently occupy 11th place. Battles between Sporting and Seattle haven't lacked for drama in the past, making Sunday's fixture all the more compelling. We take a statistical look at the contest in our By The Numbers preview.

Head-to-Head

• Sporting went 4-0-2 against Seattle from May 2015 to May 2017, but the Sounders have earned two wins and a draw in the last three head-to-head meetings.
• Before 2015, Sporting had just one win in their first nine regular season matches against the Sounders (1-7-1).
• Sporting are 3-2-2 against Seattle in regular season matches at Children's Mercy Park, going 2-0-1 in the last three meetings at the stadium with eight goals scored and two conceded.
• In 18 regular season meetings, Sporting and Seattle have combined for more than three goals just three times. Two of them took place last season, as a 2-2 draw in Kansas City was followed by a 3-1 Seattle home win.
• Sporting goalkeeper Tim Melia has a 4-2-2 regular season record against Seattle with five shutouts and a 0.75 goals against average.
• Seattle leads the regular season series with a 9-5-4 record.
• When the sides last met at Children's Mercy Park in April 2018, Sporting struck first on an Ilie Sanchez penalty kick before Seattle surged ahead on goals from Will Bruin and Cristian Roldan. Graham Zusi then bagged a late equalizer to split the points.

Seattle Sounders FC

• 2019 MLS record: 7-1-5 (26 points, 2nd in Western Conference)
• 2019 MLS away record: 1-1-3 (6 GF, 7 GA)
• Last MLS match: T 0-0 at Philadelphia Union on May 18
• Last 5 MLS matches: 2-0-3, 9 points (T-T-W-W-T)
• Seattle's one loss is tied for the fewest in MLS. Their current six-game unbeaten run is tied for the second-longest active streak in the league.
• Seattle have played eight of their first 13 matches at home, where they hold a 6-0-2 record. The club has one win in five away games (1-1-3).
• Seattle has scored 10 goals in the first 30 minutes of matches this season, three more than any other team.
• Seattle is a perfect 4-0 in one-goal games.
• Seattle leads MLS with a shot conversion rate of 13.9%.
• Seattle is one of two MLS clubs (Orlando) that has yet to concede a penalty kick this season.
• Midfielder Nicolas Lodeiro is tied for the MLS lead with seven assists. He also ranks first in fouls suffered (49) and third in fouls committed (27).
• Defender Kim Kee-hee ranks third in MLS with 28 interceptions.
• Goalkeeper Stefan Frei ranks second in MLS in saves (45) and save percentage (76.3%).

Sporting Kansas City

• 2019 MLS record: 2-4-5, 11 points (11th in Western Conference)
• 2019 MLS home record: 2-1-3 (16 GF, 11 GA)
• Last MLS match: T 1-1 vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC on May 18
• Last 5 MLS matches: 0-3-2, 2 points (L-T-L-L-T)
• Sporting rank second in MLS with 16 home goals through six games at Children's Mercy Park.
• Sporting are tied for third in MLS with 1.82 goals per game.
• A total of 23 players have started an MLS match this season for Sporting, third most in the league behind the New York Red Bulls (26) and Orlando City SC (25).
• Sporting are winless in nine straight matches across all competitions, recording four draws and five losses since April 4. Their seven-game winless run in MLS is the club's longest since May 2016.
• Forward Johnny Russell is one of eight players with at least four goals and three assists this season. He is tied for the MLS lead with two goals from outside the box.
• Midfielder Felipe Gutierrez leads Sporting in duels won (51) and tackles won (16) while ranking second on the team in chances created (17).
• Goalkeeper Tim Melia has saved both of the penalties he has faced this season in MLS play.
• Forward Krisztian Nemeth is tied for third in MLS with seven league goals and has scored 11 times this season in all competitions. He will serve a one-game red card suspension on Sunday.

Recent #SKCvSEA regular season meetings

• Regular season record vs. Seattle: 5-9-4 (18 GF, 19 GA)
• Regular season home record vs. Seattle: 3-4-2 (14 GF, 11 GA)

Team stats (2019 regular season)

MLS rank in parenthesis (source: Opta)