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• Smith calls for intense and aggressive Charlotte approach in playoff decider
  

  Dean Smith is hoping Charlotte FC can replicate their aggressive approach from game 2 when they travel to Orlando City in their MLS playoff decider.

  Charlotte forced a third match in their best-of-three series against Orlando, winning 3-1 on penalties after a 0-0 draw on Thursday.

  However, they lost the first game 2-0 when they travelled to Inter & Co Stadium and have not had much luck on the road against the Lions, failing to win there since March 2023.

  Smith was proud of how his side took the game to Orlando on home soil and is urging his players for more of the same when they return to Florida.

  "There's still a job to be done. We think we can go to Orlando and put in a performance that will put us through to the Conference semi-finals," Smith said.

  "We have to take our intensity in. That's what gave us that performance, our aggressiveness.

  "We forced them into mistakes, and we restricted them to almost no chances, so we were doing something right. We need to make sure we're on the front foot again and take it to them."

  Meanwhile, Orlando are hoping their home advantage will provide a much-needed boost as they look to put that shoot-out defeat behind them.

  They only managed one shot on target in that match and then netted just one of the four penalties that they took, but Oscar Pareja is confident they are in a strong position to go through.

  "We're good. We're aiming for the same intensity, the same intentions, the same plans and the same positive essence that we have.

  "When things get tight you've got to use the advantage, and we have that by being at home. We're going to be faithful to the tactics that have got us to this point.

  "We have to be confident and be ourselves. Have full belief in what to do. We have a team that plays very well and one that has earned this ride, so we plan to use our advantages."

  PLAYERS TO WATCH

  Orlando City – Duncan McGuire

  Orlando attempted just three shots in their game 2 draw and penalty shoot-out defeat to Charlotte, their fewest in any MLS match this season, while hitting just one on target.

  Duncan McGuire was responsible for one of those, generating 0.25 expected goals with that effort. The substitute also had the most touches in the box (three) of any Orlando player.

  Charlotte FC – Kristijan Kahlina

  Charlotte have won both of their penalty shootouts, beating Orlando City 4-1 on Friday after recording a 3-1 shootout win in the 2023 Leagues Cup group stage.

  Charlotte have converted all seven of their penalties in shootouts while Kristijan Kahlina allowed goals on just two of the seven spot-kicks he faced.

  MATCH PREDICTION: ORLANDO CITY WIN

  Orlando have won eight of their last 10 home matches against MLS opposition in all competitions (D1 L1), including a 2-0 victory over Charlotte in Game 1 on October 27. The Lions scored multiple goals in all eight wins over that time.

  While Charlotte stayed alive with a penalty shoot-out win after a scoreless draw against Orlando in Game 2 on Saturday, the Lions have now kept clean sheets in three straight matches against them after not doing so in any of the first six meetings in all competitions.

  Charlotte's only defeat in their last seven matches in all competitions was their Game 1 loss at Orlando on October 27. In fact, Charlotte’s last loss prior to this run of seven games (W4 D2 L1) also came in Orlando (on September 18), with the omens not looking good going into their final match.

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  Orlando City – 53.7%

  Draw – 23.7%

  Charlotte FC – 22.5%

• Napoli not going to San Siro to 'wave the white flag', says Conte

  Antonio Conte has no intention of holding anything back when he returns to San Siro, as the top two face off in Serie A on Sunday.

  The Italian revived Inter and helped them break Juventus's nine-year stranglehold on the Scudetto, stopping their run in the 2020-21 season to win the title for the first time since their treble-winning campaign in 2009-10.

  Now at Napoli, a club that is looking to return to the heights of their 2022-23 title win, Conte's side sit top of Serie A with 25 points after 11 games - a point above Inter ahead of their upcoming clash.

  "It's definitely nice to return to where I worked and won. Yes, two happy years," Conte told reporters.

  "It was a wonderful experience that I carry within me, like all the past ones that I lived to the fullest."

  Napoli's winning run in Serie A came to a grinding halt against Atalanta last weekend when Conte's side were beaten 3-0, and they have a poor recent record against Inter, having won just one of their last 10 Serie A matches against them.

  Napoli are looking to avoid suffering two consecutive top-flight losses for the first time since last December, and Conte says he is in no mood to drop three points again.

  "The three points is always important, it is inevitable that we face a team that today, for everything they have shown, is the strongest team," Conte added.

  "We are not going to San Siro to wave the white flag before starting, but convinced to play our cards. Then we will see what happens. We are preparing in a major way, as we always do.

  "It will be an important test, we will measure ourselves against the best, and it will be important to understand our progress. Do not forget that we arrive at the top of the table... and the objective is to remain at the top."

  Napoli striker Romelu Lukaku has scored only one goal in his last four games, but when asked about his form, Conte said he was tired of questions about the Belgian striker.

  "At every blessed conference, there is always the question about Lukaku. It becomes a bit - not annoying - but we are talking about the team. Lukaku's growth depends on the growth of the team," Conte said.

  "But I am confident because I see them every day, they want to work and improve. I see a lot of commitment and I would not reduce it to a single player. It is not fair to the others."

• Cleverley: Watford 'deserved to win' after improved second half

  Tom Cleverley believes Watford "deserved the three points" after an improved second-half display saw them beat Oxford United 1-0.

  Vakoun Bayo scored the only goal of the match in the 54th minute after he turned in the rebound of his own saved shot.

  It is the fifth goal he has scored in three games, having also netted four times in the Hornets' 6-2 victory over Sheffield Wednesday last weekend.

  The hosts registered 12 shots, seven of which were on target, as they upped the pressure after the break. They only had four attempts in the first half, though Ciaron Brown had to clear an in-swinging Watford corner off his own goal line on the stroke of half-time.

  The three points lift Watford up to fourth in the Championship table ahead of the rest of the weekend's fixtures, and Cleverley was pleased with the marked improvement he saw in the second 45 minutes.

  "I thought the second-half performance was really good until the last five minutes really," he told Sky Sports.

  "I thought we didn't manage the game as well as we could do and a few refereeing decisions - dubious one that went against us - meant they could get the ball in our box.

  "So, it felt a bit hands to the pump at the end, but I thought for the first 35 minutes of the second half, we were absolutely fantastic and were unlucky not to make it two, three.

  "Understandably flat performance in the first half, probably from both teams with it being such a demanding week.

  "But I thought our second-half performance in the main deserved the three points and our supporters helped us through."

  Meanwhile, Oxford remain 16th and have now won just one of their last 10 matches in the Championship.

  They failed to register a single shot on target in the first half, and are yet to win a game when conceding the opening goal in the league this season, with this the fifth such match they have gone behind.

  It was Oxford's sixth defeat of the season and while manager Des Buckingham said there were positives to take, he was left frustrated by their lack of a clinical edge.

  "I'm extremely proud but extremely frustrated," he said.

  "I'm disappointed we haven't come away with something. I felt we created enough, we just haven't taken them. If we keep playing that way, we will be fine.

  "We speak about being a together group. We did well, but Watford took their chance."