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• CF Montreal v Chicago Fire: Klopas aiming for improvements away from home

  Chicago Fire head coach Frank Klopas was left to rue missed opportunities in their 1-0 defeat to Nashville SC in their last MLS encounter.

  The Fire travel to face an in-form CF Montreal side at the Stade Saputo this weekend, a ground they have found relative success at over the past couple of seasons.

  Klopas’ side currently occupy 14th place in the Eastern Conference standings but are four points from the playoffs.

  Sam Surridge’s only goal compounded Chicago to a 15th loss of the season, and Klopas explained how his side’s lacklustre approach cost them in midweek.

  “They scored the goal, but we still had a whole second half where we dominated the ball, but the speed of play had to be better,” said Klopas.

  “When you have 10 guys behind the ball you have to move the ball quicker. They needed to do it in those moments, and we needed to get crosses in but we didn’t.

  “It’s always difficult on the road but look who the first goal came. I think we could have done better all round as a team. We had our moments but didn’t take advantage of them.”

  Montreal, meanwhile, came from two goals down to salvage a point in their 2-2 draw with the New England Revolution last time out, leaving them a place ahead of this weekend’s opponents.

  One of Montreal’s scorers was new arrival Tom Pearce after making the move to the MLS in July from League One side Wigan Athletic.

  The 26-year-old’s first career goal in the division saw him become the first player from the United Kingdom to score a regular season goal in MLS for Montreal.

  And Pearce believes that despite Montreal being two points behind the playoffs, they can make it to the right side of the line in the final five games of the campaign.

  “Playoffs are the goal. Maybe it wasn't in the best form, but in the end, we are picking up a point," Pearce said.

  "We came into this game confident, ready to play our own game.

  "Everyone tries their best, whenever the players are called on, we are always ready, and we are always giving it our best.”

  PLAYERS TO WATCH

  CF Montreal – Josef Martinez

  After returning from a knee injury with three goals in his last 10 appearances, Martinez will be keen to strike against a side he has enjoyed recent fixtures against.

  The Venezuelan has eight goal contributions (six goals and two assists) against the Fire, a total he has only bettered against four other sides in the MLS.

  Chicago Fire – Tobias Salquist

  Salquist completed 104 passes in the Fire’s defeat at Nashville SC, the second-most by a Fire player in an MLS match since Opta began detailed data collection of the league in 2010 (Bastian Schweinsteiger – 117 vs. Orlando City in June 2017).

  MATCH PREDICTION: CF MONTREAL WIN

  Montreal has lost only two of their last 11 home matches in all competitions (W5 D4), including winning three of the last five. Montreal have not won consecutive home matches in a single season since an eight-match home winning streak from April to June last year.

  Chicago was held scoreless in their loss to Nashville, the Fire’s ninth time being shutout in an MLS game this season. The only team to be held without a goal in more MLS matches in 2024 is the Coyotes (10).

  However, the Fire have lost only two of their 14 all-time visits to Montreal (W9 D3), including winning four of the last five trips. Chicago have not lost in Montreal since a 1-0 defeat in 2017.

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  CF Montreal – 45.9%

  Draw – 26.7%

  Chicago Fire – 27.4%

• No love lost for Conte ahead of 'emotional' Juventus reunion

  Antonio Conte is relishing Napoli's upcoming clash that will see him return to Juventus, a club he both played for and managed. 

  Conte has started his career in Naples in fine form, leading Napoli to three wins from their first four league games and to second in the Serie A standings. 

  But this weekend sees him return to the club he made 419 appearances for as a player, winning 12 titles, which included the Champions League in 1995-96. 

  Having started his managerial journey at Arezzo in 2006, the Italian returned to Juventus in 2011, replacing Luigi Delneri as their new head coach. 

  Conte led Juventus to three consecutive Scudetto titles, winning 90 of his 133 games in charge (D30 L13) before becoming the Italy national team head coach. 

  The last time the 55-year-old travelled to Turin as the opposing team's manager was in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, with his Inter side losing 3-2 having already won the title. 

  "My past is clear, 13 years at Juve as a player, I was captain for several years, winning practically everything," Conte said.  

  "I had the opportunity to coach for three years, starting a series of nine Scudetti.

  "I am part of Juve's history because of what I've done and given them. It's easier to stay at one club your entire career.

  "But as a coach it's impossible to decide your own career. I coached Juve for three years, my career took me to different places.

  "Today I have the true pleasure of coaching a team like Napoli. For me, being someone from the south, it is a proud and satisfying feeling.

  "There will be lots of emotions returning to that stadium, because last time I returned during COVID."

  Conte comes up against a man he knows well in Juventus head coach Thiago Motta, having managed him during his time with the Italian national team. 

  Motta has collected eight points from his four games in charge of his new club after leading Bologna to Champions League qualification last term. 

  The 42-year-old marked his first game as a head coach in the Champions League with a comfortable 3-1 win over PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday. 

  Conte wished Motta well for the season, but not at the expense of his Napoli side. 

  "Thiago Motta takes on a heavy legacy... It's not a trivial thing to coach there, there is a demand for victory, like at Milan or Inter," Conte said.

  "He was a player of mine with the national team at the European Championships. He makes me smile, but it also saddens me a bit because I'm getting old.

  "He did very well in Bologna and so I wish him the best from a human point of view, but not in the games against us." 

• Women's Champions League roundup: Real Madrid snatch first leg lead

  A late goal from Melanie Leupolz gave Real Madrid a 2-1 first-leg aggregate advantage over Sporting CP in their Champions League qualifier.

  The away side took the lead after just 11 minutes as Athenea del Castillo capitalised on a poor mistake from Sporting keeper Hannah Seabert and slotted the ball into an empty net.

  Despite Madrid's dominance, they were pegged back on the stroke of half-time after a foul by keeper Misa Rodriguez in the box, with Andreia Bravo making no mistake from the spot.

  Madrid continued to dominate in the second half, with Alba Redondo going close, but it looked as if Sporting would hang for a draw to take to Madrid next week.

  But that was before Leupolz headed the ball into the net in injury-time after Olga Carmona's cross could only be parried out.

  Meanwhile, Galatasaray squandered a two-goal advantage to draw their home-leg encounter with Slavia Prague.

  A second-half brace from Andrea Staskova looked to have given the Turkish side a healthy lead to take to the Czech Republic, but Slavia Prague responded late on, with Benan Altintas scoring an own goal 15 minutes from time, before Kristina Kosikova's 98th minute equaliser.

  St Polten, meanwhile, hold a healthy first leg lead after defeating Musa 3-0 at home.

  The first half produced no goals, but the Austrian side showed their class in the second half, with Kamila Dubcova, Melike Pekel and Izabela Krizaj all getting on the scoresheet.