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• St. Louis City v Minnesota United: Hackworth holding on to feint playoff hopes

  St. Louis City interim head coach John Hackworth is confident his side can make a late push for the playoffs after going unbeaten since their return from the Leagues Cup.

  St. Louis are building momentum at the right time, but remain six points adrift of this weekend’s opponents, Minnesota United, who sit on the right side of the playoff line.

  Hackworth’s side were forced to share the spoils in their last MLS encounter against New England Revolution, but the 54-year-old preached positivity for the business end of the campaign.

  “I personally believe that we're not out of time yet, you know, we still have control,” Hackworth said.

  “We have to fix this little moment where we take our foot off the gas, where we don't play with the same initiative that we do to start the game. That's something we can fix. We have fixed it.

  “We have gotten better. I'm going to say I'm blue in the face, but I believe in this group of guys. I still think we have a good chance.”

  Minnesota, meanwhile, overcame the San Jose Earthquakes in their last match, keeping the gap between the teams below them to just a point with the luxury of a game in hand over most.

  The Loons currently sit ninth in the Western Conference table and know a win is a must to keep their ambitions of remaining in that position alive.

  Head coach Eric Ramsay acknowledged the enormity of the task awaiting his players but challenged his squad to deal with the raucous atmosphere inside CITYPARK.

  “They have had a slight change in fortune over the last couple of games. They are fighting for their lives at the bottom in the same way that we are,” Ramsay said.

  “They are a team I am sure that are looking at this game as being crucial for the remainder of their season and their fortunes.

  “We have got to make sure we handle that situation well and that we understand the magnitude of the game for us and for them, because that will certainly play its part.”

  PLAYERS TO WATCH

  St. Louis City – Marcel Hartel

  Hartel has been involved in a goal in each of his first three MLS matches (one goal and three assists).

  Since the start of 2023, four players have begun their MLS careers with goal contributions in their first three regular season matches, with three of them doing so for St. Louis (Hartel, Joao Klauss and Eduard Lowen).

  Minnesota United – Robin Lod

  Despite only playing the final half an hour in Finland’s Nations League defeat to England, Lod returns to the MLS with a record in his sights.

  Lod has been involved in 54 regular season goals for Minnesota (28 goals and 26 assists), one away from equalling the club record of 55 held by Emanuel Reynoso (22 goals and 33 assists).

  MATCH PREDICTION: ST. LOUIS CITY WIN

  St. Louis City have not lost any of their last six matches against MLS teams in all competitions (W3 D3). This is their longest unbeaten run in the division during the club’s history.

  But Minnesota have won two of their last three regular season matches (L1) after winning just two of their previous 14 (D4 L8). Minnesota’s triumph against San Jose last time out also ended a seven-match winless run away from home (D2 L5).

  And it has often been the away side who have emerged victorious in this fixture. Both their MLS meetings last term ended with an away win, with Minnesota out to upset Opta’s data-led simulations at CITYPARK this time around.

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  St. Louis City – 46.4%

  Draw – 26.5%

  Minnesota United – 27%

• Ronaldo 'entitled to his opinion', says Ten Hag after Man United criticism

  Manchester United head coach Erik ten Hag has brushed aside Cristiano Ronaldo's latest comments as he continues to block out the criticism surrounding his tenure. 

  Ronaldo, who recently surpassed 900 career goals during the international break, returned to Old Trafford in 2021 for a second stint at the club he made his name at. 

  The Portugal international netted 27 goals in 55 appearances in all competitions across one and a half seasons but fell out of favour under Ten Hag before joining Al Nassr in December 2022.

  During the 2021-22 season, no one registered more goal contributions in the Premier League for United than Ronaldo (21, 18 goals and three assists), while he also produced an expected goals tally (xG) of 17.75, also the highest in the Red Devils squad. 

  And speaking to former United team-mate Rio Ferdinand on a podcast, Ronaldo said Ten Hag had been wrong to say in a pre-season interview that the club were "a long way away" from winning the Premier League. 

  When questioned about the veteran forward's comments, Ten Hag said: "No, he said this, if you read the article very well.

  "He is entitled to his opinion. It's OK. He is far away in Saudi, far away from Manchester."

  United headed into the international break off the back of successive defeats in the Premier League, the latest coming in a 3-0 humbling against arch rivals Liverpool. 

  The Red Devils have now lost as many as two of their first three league games in a season for the second time under the Dutchman's tenure (also 2022-23). 

  They last lost three of their first four back in 1986-87, when Ron Atkinson was sacked and replaced by Sir Alex Ferguson. 

  While United are unbeaten in their last 12 Premier League away games against the Saints, the encounter at St. Mary's seems a seismic one for Ten Hag's future at the club.

  The two-week break since the Liverpool defeat has seen Ten Hag's future widely discussed, but the Dutchman insisted that the outside noise did not bother him. 

  "It doesn't impact me. I know where we are in the process and what we have to do and where we are going," Ten Hag said.

  "I have said before we are still in a transition period.

  "We have to integrate a lot of young players in the team and still have to deal with injuries and bring players back into the team.

  "Before anyone thinks about excuses, no, we have to win every game. I know that. The team knows that. It doesn't matter who is available."

• Rooney, Barry, Crouch? Who are the ultimate Premier League 'Barclaysmen'?

  The international window is over, as Premier League football returns this weekend, but the two-week break had supporters reminiscing. 

  From 2004 to 2016, Barclays was the Premier League's sponsor.

  And in a trend that has taken over social media, "Barclaysmen" have been picked out as players synonymous with that 12-year period. 

  Here, we take a deep dive into Opta data to find out which players were the actual hallmarks of the Barclays Premier League. 

  410 - Gareth Barry led the way with 410 matches played for Aston Villa, Manchester City and Everton between 2004 and 2016 – he is, of course, also the Premier League's all-time record holder for appearances too, with a whopping 653 to his name.

  James Milner is set to overtake Barry this season, though, and 369 of his 637 matches came in this 12-year span.

  178 - Bursting onto the scene as a 16-year-old, Wayne Rooney would go on to become one of the greatest goalscorers the division has ever seen. 

  Starting his career with Everton, Rooney joined Manchester United in 2004, where he won five league titles during the Barclays era. 

  In that 12-year span, no player scored more goals than the mercurial forward, who netted 178 times, with his former United club-mate Robin van Persie (144) second, ahead of Chelsea's Frank Lampard (132).

   

  Rooney wasn't just a goalscorer. He also provided 88 assists in this era, taking his total goal contributions tally to 266, 54 more than the next-best, Lampard (212).

  1,430 - Naturally, being the top goalscorer from 2004 and 2016, Rooney also tops the rankings for the most shots taken during that period, with 1,430.

  Rooney's most prolific season came during the 2011-12 campaign, when he netted 27 Premier League goals, but it wasn't enough to stop rivals Manchester City from lifting their first top-flight title since 1968. 

  Midfielder Lampard (1,118) is next on the list for shots, with Van Persie (963), Jermain Defoe (939) and Steven Gerrard (919) next.

  95 - What about creativity?

  When it comes to assists, there were no better in this time span than Cesc Fabregas, who laid on 95 goals across spells at Arsenal and Chelsea.

  Interestingly, though, Gerrard (767) led the way for chances created, with Lampard (759) also coming in ahead of Fabregas, though it is worth noting the Spaniard spent time away from the Premier League after leaving Arsenal for Barcelona.

   

  43 - When it comes to headed goals, you won't be surprised to see that six-foot-seven-inch Peter Crouch led the way, with 43.

  Crouch represented Aston Villa, Southampton, Liverpool, Portsmouth, Spurs and Stoke during the Barclays era, becoming well-known for his lanky frame and ability in the air. 

  He 'heads' the list by 12 goals to former Everton forward Tim Cahill, who scored 31 goals with his head despite being three inches under six foot.

  30 - Having come close to having the most goals in the Barclays era, Lampard tops the list for the most goals scored from outside the box across its 12-year timeframe. 

  Known for his incredible knack of being in the right place at the right time, Lampard's ability both in and outside the box made him one of the deadliest midfielders the division has ever seen. 

  Strikes against Norwich City, Fulham and away at Goodison Park are standouts, with the Englishman often finding the back of the net when pulling back his cultured right foot. 

  11 - While James Ward-Prowse leads the way for the most free-kick goals scored in the Premier League, Sebastian Larsson might just be the true embodiment of a Barclaysman.

  The former Arsenal, Birmingham City and Sunderland midfielder scored 11 direct free-kick goals between 2004-05 and 2015-16, one more than five-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo and Morten Gamst Pederson, who must be another candidate for the ultimate Barclaysman.

  That being said, who had the most direct free-kick shots? It wasn't any of the above. Instead, it was Lampard, who tried his luck 173 times, scoring on nine occasions.

  486 - Charles N'Zogbia. Remember him?

   

  A star for Wigan Athletic, N'Zogbia completed 486 dribbles during his time in the division. Surprisingly, Glen Johnson, a full-back, was the next best with 481, ahead of Eden Hazard (463).

  Remarkably, though, Ronaldo comes in at fifth, and that is despite only playing in five of the Barclays seasons. He completed 449 dribbles in total, an average of 2.7 per game.

  1,107 - Jussi Jaaskelainen, the baby-faced Finn, made 1,107 saves in the Barclays era, which puts him ahead of Mark Schwarzer (1,018) and Tim Howard (1,014).

  Petr Cech, meanwhile, was the goalkeeper to keep the most clean sheets (178).

  48 - Now time for the unlucky statistics during the Barclays era. During his spells with Arsenal and Man United, no one struck the woodwork more than Robin van Persie. 

  Despite netting 144 goals in his 280 Premier League appearances, ranking 14th on the all-time list, the Dutchman could have been among the top 10 scorers to play in the division had it not been for the crossbar and posts.

  Van Persie also squandered the most big chances (80), though Sergio Aguero (78) was hot on his heels.

  910- Out on his own by three, former Aston Villa, Man City and QPR defender Richard Dunne is the unfortunate man to have scored the most own goals between 2001-02 and 2012-13, with 10.

  Across his time in the Premier League, the Republic of Ireland did manage to score more goals at the right end, finishing his career in 2015 with 11 top-flight strikes.