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• St. Louis City v Houston Dynamo: Hosts are better than recent showings suggest, says Hackworth

  John Hackworth has challenged St. Louis City to do better against Houston Dynamo after a disappointing loss to LA Galaxy last time out in MLS.

  St. Louis had won back-to-back games before losing 1-0 to the Galaxy last time out in a game where they did not register a single shot on target.

  They cannot make the playoffs, sitting 12th in the Western Conference on 34 points with just two games left, and Hackworth is looking to learn from their mistakes in the last game to end their final home match of the season on a positive note.

  "We didn't play as well as we're capable of [against LA Galaxy], but I think that can be a good thing for us going forward," he said.

  "I don't want anybody to accept that it was anything other than a loss. We can look at ourselves knowing we're much better than that."

  Meanwhile, Houston bounced back from a defeat to Seattle Sounders with a 2-1 victory over New England Revolution.

  With their playoff place already secure, their aim is to finish as high up the table as they can, currently sitting in fifth, with only four points separating them and Los Angeles FC in second.

  Ben Olsen was particularly pleased with his defense against the Revs and believes that will be the key for them in the postseason.

  "Our defense is what we hang our hat on," Olsen said. "Sometimes we get some credit for some of the build-up, but really we're a defensive team, and we can defend with the ball, but we've got a great back four.

  "It's a collective effort, everybody's doing their part, but we're going to keep working so they know when they're good or when they're not up to snuff."

  PLAYERS TO WATCH

  St. Louis City – Cedric Teuchert

  Cedric Teuchert has scored in each of his first three home appearances for St. Louis City, the only player in club history to do so.

  Only one player in the last 20 years has scored in each of his first four career MLS home games: Federico Bernardeschi with Toronto FC in 2022 (first five).

  Houston Dynamo – Adalberto Carrasquilla

  The Dynamo have won a club-record eight away matches this season. Houston's 26 road points (W8 D2 L6) are the most they have ever collected in a single regular season in club history.

  Adalberto Carrasquilla secured the record-breaking win for them against Austin on September 22 and added two more assists to his tally in the win over New England last time out.

  MATCH PREDICTION: HOUSTON DYNAMO WIN

  The home side have not lost any of the five meetings between St. Louis City and Houston, with St. Louis recording wins in both of its home matches against the Dynamo, including a 2-1 win in the first round of this season's Concacaf Champions Cup in February.

  That bodes well for St. Louis, who have won 21 of their first 40 home matches in all competitions (D8 L11), scoring 75 total goals. They have won four of their last six at home in all competitions (D1 L1) after winning one of their previous seven at home (D2 L4).

  However, Houston's 2-1 win over New England on Wednesday took them to 51 points for the season, equaling their total from last year. A win over St. Louis City would set a new club points record for the Dynamo, surpassing the 53 they earned in the 2012 campaign.

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  St. Louis City – 32.9%

  Draw – 25.6%

  Houston Dynamo – 41.5%

• Rudiger lauds 'ridiculous' Yamal after sensational LaLiga start

  Real Madrid's Antonio Rudiger has lauded Barcelona's Lamine Yamal as 'ridiculous' following the teenager's rapid rise to stardom for their fierce LaLiga rivals. 

  Yamal broke into Barca's first-team last term, making 50 appearances in all competitions before announcing himself on the international stage for Spain at Euro 2024. 

  He became the first Spanish player to register four assists in a single European Championship tournament.

  It was also the joint most that any player has ever assisted at a single edition of the tournament that Opta has on record (1980 onwards).

  Yamal also broke Pele's record from the 1958 World Cup final for Brazil against Sweden by becoming the youngest player to feature in a major international tournament final at the age of 17 years and 249 days in Spain's 2-1 win over England. 

  And the teenager has picked up where he left off in Germany, already notching 10 goal involvements (five goals and five assists) in 10 appearances in all competitions this season.

  The 17-year-old has also completed the joint-most dribbles alongside Sevilla's Chidera Ejuke (23) in LaLiga this season, while only Raphinha (26) has created more chances for Barcelona in the league this season than Yamal (17). 

  "You have to give credit where credit is due," Rudiger told The Inside Scoop podcast when asked about Yamal.

  "He is 17, it's ridiculous. The player he is already for them [Barca] at 17, it's quite scary. What he did in the Euros, you have to give kudos to him. He has a great future ahead.

  "I think they [Barca] have a player who has a [big] career and hopefully, he will stay healthy."

• Conte embracing Napoli improvements after Como triumph

  Antonio Conte is embracing Napoli's recent run of form after they extended their lead at the Serie A summit to four points ahead of the international break. 

  Scott McTominay's early opener was cancelled out by Gabriel Strefezza, only for star man Romelu Lukaku and substitute David Neres to seal the win after the break. 

  Conte is now the sixth manager to have won each of his first four home games as Napoli head coach in Serie A, after Paolo Iodice, Luis Vinicio, Alberto Bigon, Carlo Ancelotti and Luciano Spalletti.

  The Italian, however, started his Napoli reign with a shock 3-0 defeat to Hellas Verona on the opening day, but his team have since gone seven games unbeaten, scoring 19 goals during that run. 

  Conte acknowledged that his side may not deserve to be at the top of the table, but felt quietly optimistic about his players' progression during the early stages of his tenure.

  "I don't know if this is currently a Napoli that deserves to be in first place in the standings, but we are first and that is a fact," Conte said to DAZN.

  "If someone had told me this three months ago, it would have been difficult to believe.

  "We're growing in terms of temperament, and in our ability to adapt—playing good football, but also willing to get our hands dirty when we need to.

  "That's a great sign, and we have to embrace it fully."

  But the encounter against Como was far from comfortable for Conte's side, with the visitors registering 11 shots compared to Napoli's nine, while Cesc Fabregas' men also ended the contest with 59.3% possession. 

  Napoli, though, created the better chances, ending the encounter with an expected goals (xG) total of 2.02 from their six efforts on target, with Lukaku continuing to flourish under Conte's stewardship. 

  McTominay's opening goal after 26 seconds was the third-quickest for Napoli in the three-points-per-game era, while the former Manchester United midfielder also became the first Scottish player to score for Gli Azzurri in Serie A. 

  "We started well in the first half, scoring a great goal, the result of our hard work," Conte said.

  "Then we changed things tactically in the second half, and they were no longer in the game.

  "We lost too many duels, but that's part of the process of rebuilding confidence and self-esteem."

  Conte also showered praise on the home supporters inside the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. 

  "Playing in Naples, at the Maradona, with a full stadium means that the players can really feel the crowd's emotions," he said. 

  If you make mistakes, you can feel the disappointment, and that can chip away at your confidence.

  "Napoli has a deep passion for football. We try to feed that passion by giving our all, like we did today. In the second half, we improved from every point of view."