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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%

• Greenwood 'making a difference' for ambitious Marseille, says Longoria

  Mason Greenwood is "making a difference" for Roberto De Zerbi's Marseille amid their strong start to the Ligue 1 season, says the club's chief executive, Pablo Longoria.

  Greenwood joined Marseille on a permanent deal from Manchester United in July, having spent the 2023-24 season on loan at Getafe.

  Greenwood had not appeared for United since he was arrested and suspended by the club in January 2022. The forward was later charged with attempted rape and assault, which he denied, with the charges dropped in early 2023 following the withdrawal of key witnesses.

  He has scored five times in his first three Ligue 1 appearances for Marseille, becoming just the second player to achieve that feat in the last 50 seasons of the French top flight, after Nice's Mario Balotelli in 2016.

  He scored an 81-second brace in the first half of a 3-1 win at Toulouse prior to the international break, lifting Marseille to seven points from their first three games.

  While Marseille's move for the 22-year-old drew criticism from many onlookers, Longoria has been impressed by his impact on the pitch.

  Speaking at the Thinking Football Summit organised by Liga Portugal, Longoria told Stats Perform: "He's a great player. He's making a difference. 

  "If you're asking all the players, all the people that are in the day-to-day with the team, they can tell you that his level is amazing and we are really happy having him. 

  "We are really happy about the start of the season he is doing and the behaviour he's having with us in Marseille."

  Marseille pulled off what many saw as a coup to appoint De Zerbi as their new head coach ahead of this season, following his surprise exit from Brighton.

  Longoria believes the Italian has been a seamless fit at the Stade Velodrome, saying: "What I appreciated was the firmness of Roberto de Zerbi in all the conversations and the connection that he has created with us since the first day. 

  "This is the biggest satisfaction that I can say, and I'm very thankful to the coach for how he's adapting himself to the project."

  Marseille are currently second in the Ligue 1 standings, two points behind champions Paris Saint-Germain, who lost Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid ahead of the new campaign.

  While Longoria believes Marseille's project is one for the medium-to-long term, he refuses to put a limit on their ambitions for 2024-25.

  "They are having a great start to the season as well, to be honest. Our objective is to build a project over three years. That is the number one," he said of PSG.

  "Second, we are really happy with how we started this season. Our goal has to be in the Champions League and improve our level. 

  "After that, let's see what the competition will put on us. We need to be ambitious, but at the same time, we need to be realistic as well. I'm not saying that we cannot compete. 

  "I'm asking for a bit of patience because this is a three-year project, and we really want to improve each day, each week, and each game day. We need to improve our level."

• The Numbers Game: Can Arsenal handle Rice absence in derby clash with Tottenham?

  The Premier League is back following the first international break of the season, and Sunday's headline fixture looks to be worth the wait as Tottenham host Arsenal.

  The first North London Derby of the campaign comes after disappointing results for both sides on matchday three, with Arsenal losing early ground on Manchester City and Liverpool as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Brighton.

  Ange Postecoglou's Spurs, meanwhile, were beaten 2-1 at Newcastle United, leaving them three points behind their rivals in the early-season standings.

  What can we expect as these North London heavyweights go head-to-head for local bragging rights at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium?

  By diving into the Opta data, we can bring you all the best pre-match facts, figures and storylines.

  What's expected?

  Arsenal have had the upper hand in the North London Derbies of late, and the Opta supercomputer makes them slight favourites despite the absence of home advantage.

  They were victorious in 40% of the supercomputer's 10,000 pre-match simulations, with Tottenham triumphing in 34.1% and the remaining 26% finishing all square. 

  Arsenal have won their last two Premier League away games against Tottenham, as many as in their previous 17 such visits (six draws and nine defeats). They last won three consecutive away North London Derbies between January 1987 and September 1988.

  Draws have been a rarity at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which has seen the lowest percentage of draws (9%, 9/101) of any ground in Premier League history, so perhaps we should not expect the spoils to be shared. 

  When will Tottenham stop being Spursy?

  The adjective 'Spursy' is not one any team wishes to be tagged with, coming to denote a side that flatters to deceive and ultimately falls short of expectations.

  Postecoglou has made no secret of his desire to cast that perception aside and make Tottenham true contenders, but their start to 2024-25 has thrown up several familiar themes.

  Spurs were utterly dominant on matchday one but could not hold onto a 1-0 lead at newly promoted Leicester City, starting their second straight season under Postecoglou with an underwhelming draw.

  After routing hapless Everton, they were then beaten 2-1 at Newcastle despite firing off 20 shots to the hosts' nine, also enjoying 65.7% possession and playing almost as many passes in the final third (235) as Newcastle did overall (261). 'Spursy' indeed.

   

  The North London Derby is a fixture in which Tottenham have struggled lately, losing five of their last seven Premier League meetings with Arsenal (one win and one draw).

  That is more defeats than they suffered in their previous 16 against their rivals (six wins, six draws and four defeats).

  These fixtures have so often been an acid test of Spurs' resilience, and they must improve their defending for a matchup that has not featured many clean sheets lately. 

  Arsenal versus Tottenham has seen both teams score more often than any other fixture in Premier League history (43 times), while it is also the fixture to see the team who scored first fail to win more often than any other (29 times, 19 draws and 10 losses).

  Can Gunners replace Rice?

  There was much for Mikel Arteta to be frustrated about as Arsenal dropped their first points of the campaign last time out, squandering a 1-0 lead in a 1-1 draw with Brighton.

  But it could be that the sending-off of Rice, who received a second yellow card for kicking the ball away early in the second half, proves more of an inconvenience than the result.

  The first red card of Rice's Premier League career – coming on his 245th appearance in the competition – has handed Arteta a major selection dilemma in the engine room.

   

  Rice started 37 of the Gunners' 38 Premier League games last season, appearing as a substitute in the other. It is often said that availability is the best ability, and Rice's 3,230 Premier League minutes in 2023-24 were only bettered by eight other outfielders – team-mate William Saliba (with a full 3,420) among them.

  With Rice patrolling the midfield, Arsenal were a picture of control last season, giving up the joint-fourth fewest fast breaks in the Premier League (23) and the joint-fifth fewest shots from fast breaks (20).

  Thomas Partey and Jorginho, the men likely to be tasked with holding the fort, will come up against a Spurs side with plenty of pace in transition, and the likes of Son Heung-min, Wilson Odobert and Brennan Johnson will be desperate to exploit his absence.

  Tottenham scored three goals from 25 fast breaks in Premier League action last term, finding the net every 8.3 fast breaks on average – only eight teams netted from such situations at a greater frequency.

  Rice did much to help Arsenal build the Premier League's most fearsome defence last term, and they approach Sunday's game with eight shutout victories in their last 10 away league games (nine wins, one draw).

  Elsewhere, captain Martin Odegaard is a doubt after sustaining an injury on international duty with Norway, with their absences potentially handing Spurs a golden opportunity.

  PLAYERS TO WATCH 

  Tottenham – Son Heung-min

  Tottenham skipper Son has scored eight goals against Arsenal in all competitions. In the history of the fixture, only Harry Kane (14), Emmanuel Adebayor (10) and Bobby Smith (10) have netted more North London Derby goals than the South Korean.

  Seven of Son's North London Derby goals have come in the Premier League, with no other current Spurs player boasting more than two strikes against the Gunners in the competition.

  Arsenal – Bukayo Saka

  Saka scored home and away goals against Tottenham in the Premier League last season. The only previous Arsenal players to score in three or more consecutive North London Derby appearances in the competition are Emmanuel Adebayor (five between 2006 and 2008) and Robert Pires (four between 2002 and 2004).

  Saka has also been involved in more attacking sequences than any other Arsenal player in the Premier League this term (22 – 10 shots, seven chances created and five build-up involvements), scoring once against Wolves on matchday one.