“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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An intriguing cross-conference battle beckons Wednesday night as Sporting Kansas City (6-4-2, 20 points) hosts Eastern Conference contenders Orlando City SC at 6:30 p.m. CT. Children’s Mercy Park will play host to a national audience on FS1, FOX Deportes and the FOX Sports app, while the game will also air locally on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM.

Tickets for the contest are available at SeatGeek.com as Sporting aims to keep pace in the West and bottle up an increasingly dynamic and explosive Orlando side. With plenty to play for on Wednesday, we take a statistical look at the fixture in the newest edition of By the Numbers, presented by the Kansas Department of Transportation.

Head-to-Head

• Sporting are 2-2-1 against Orlando in MLS play, including a 2-0-0 record at Children’s Mercy Park.
• The most recent regular season meeting took place on Aug. 14, 2019, when Tesho Akindele scored the lone goal in Orlando’s 1-0 home win.
• The most recent meeting at Children’s Mercy Park took place on Sept. 8, 2018, when Felipe Gutierrez scored the lone goal in Sporting’s 1-0 home win.
• Sporting has outshot Orlando 50-15 in the previous two meetings at Children’s Mercy Park.

Orlando City SC

• MLS record: 6-2-4, 22 points (3rd in Eastern Conference)
• MLS away record: 1-2-1 (7 GF, 7 GA)
• Last five regular season matches: 3-0-2, 11 points (W-T-T-W-W)
• Last Match: W 4-1 vs. Chicago Fire on Saturday, Sept. 19
• Orlando are 4-0-2 in their last six matches, tied for the longest active unbeaten run in MLS alongside New York City FC.
• Including the MLS is Back Tournament, Orlando are 8-2-4 in their last 14 MLS matches since the season resumed in July.
• Like Sporting, Orlando are tied for fourth in MLS with 1.92 goals per game. The Lions lead the Eastern Conference with 23 goals scored, having scored 14 of them during their six-game unbeaten streak.
• Orlando have scored seven goals after the 75th minute, tied for the second-most in MLS.
• Orlando have two wins when conceding the first goal this season, tied for the most in MLS (2-2-1 record in such games).
• Orlando’s 22 points are their most through 12 matches in club history. The team is seeking its first postseason appearance since joining MLS in 2015.
• Orlando have trailed at halftime just once in 12 regular season matches.
• Forward Chris Mueller is tied for fourth in MLS with seven goals, including one in Orlando’s 4-1 win over Chicago on Saturday. He is the only MLS player with at least seven goals and five assists this season and is tied for third in the league with six big chances created.
• Forward Daryl Dike has three goals and three assists in Orlando’s last seven matches.
• Winger Nani led Orlando in goals (12) and assists (10) last season and has four goals and three assists in regular season play this year. He also leads the side with 19 chances created.
• Defenders Antonio Carlos and Robin Jansson have started all but one match for Orlando this season.
• Goalkeeper Pedro Gallese is tied for second in MLS with six wins.

Sporting Kansas City

• MLS record: 6-4-2, 20 points (2nd in Western Conference)
• MLS home record: 2-2-1 (10 GF, 9 GA)
• Last five regular season matches: 1-2-2, 5 points (T-T-L-W-L)
• Last Match: Lost 2-3 vs. FC Dallas on Saturday, Sept. 19
• Sporting ranks fourth in MLS with 1.92 goals per game and is the only MLS team yet to be shut out this season.
• Sporting’s 12-game scoring streak to start the regular season has tied the club record previously set in 2003 and 2008.
• Sporting has conceded nine goals in the club’s last four home matches, going 1-2-1 during that stretch.
• Sporting ranks second in MLS in both shots per game (15.4) and fewest shots faced per game (8.9).
• Forward Johnny Russell has three goals in his last two games and leads Sporting with five goals on the season.
• Midfielder Gadi Kinda and forward Khiry Shelton are tied for second on the team with four goals apiece.
• Russell ranks fourth in MLS with 59 touches in the opponent’s box.
• Kinda’s four goals are tied for fourth among MLS midfielders, while Shelton leads the team with 18 chances created.
• Shelton is one of two MLS players (Cristian Pavon) with at least four goals, 15 chances created, 40 recoveries and 60 duels won.
• Gianluca Busio has played every minute of Sporting’s last seven matches at the holding midfield position but will miss Wednesday due to caution accumulation.
• Graham Zusi leads MLS defenders with 170 successful passes ending in the final third.

Milestones and Miscellany

• Sporting manager Peter Vermes is one shy of his 150th regular season coaching win. He would become the fifth head coach in league history to reach the milestone behind Sigi Schmid (240), Bruce Arena (213), Dom Kinnear (169) and Bob Bradley (165).
• Sporting is one shy of its 250th home win in club history across all competitions.
• In Saturday’s 3-2 loss to Dallas, forward Johnny Russell became the eighth player in Kansas City history to hit at least 25 goals and 25 assists in all competitions.
• Defender Graham Zusi has 28 career game-winning assists in the regular season, one shy of tying Kyle Beckerman for the most among active MLS players.

#SKCvORL meetings

• Regular season record vs. Orlando: 2-2-1 (6 GF, 7 GA)
• Regular season home record vs. Orlando: 2-0-0 (3 GF, 1 GA)

Team Stats (2020 regular season)

(Per Opta; MLS rank in parenthesis)