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• Atlanta United v Nashville SC: Miranchuk key to reaching playoffs, says Valentino

  Atlanta United interim head coach Rob Valentino has backed Alexey Miranchuk to aid the Five Stripes’ push for the playoffs after his impressive showing against Charlotte FC.

  Miranchuk, signed from Atalanta in July, showcased his individual qualities last time out, playing more passes into the final third (29) than any on the pitch at the Bank of America Stadium.

  Atlanta currently sit 10th in the Eastern Conference table, a point behind D.C. United with a game in hand, with Valentino confident the Russian can propel his side into the playoff positions.

  "It was fantastic, it was good to get him integrated into the team as quickly as possible," said Valentino. "He’s going to help us a lot down the stretch.

  “His teammates getting used to him, him getting used to his teammates, he pushes himself to a whole different level.”

  Their success against Charlotte was also their first win in five away games, something goalkeeper Brad Guzan emphasised the importance of for the remaining league fixtures.

  “It was a good result, I’m sure, as Rob probably said, there are times when in the game we had to suffer, we had to defend, we had to do a lot of dirty work tonight and that’s part of going on the road and finding a way to get a result," Guzan said.

  For Nashville, however, their woeful run of results continued, with their 3-0 defeat to Orlando City last time out their eighth consecutive loss in the MLS.

  Their recent form saw BJ Callaghan replace Gary Smith as the Coyotes' new head coach in July, but those losses have resulted in Nashville dropping to the foot of the Eastern Conference table.

  But a 2-0 win against their reserve team, Huntsville City FC, last week, featuring a number of upcoming young talent, handed Callaghan an insight into the future of the club.

  “A lot of times we can get focused on our week-to-week, our Saturday to Saturday. And we know that the most important thing in the first team is those Saturday performances,” Callaghan said.

  “But tonight is the night that you get to step back. And we talked about celebrating the club and showcasing that young talent and understanding that we have a week-to-week responsibility.

  “But the club also has a long-term vision and a long-term responsibility to the city of Nashville and the city of Huntsville, two cities that we’ve invested heavily in.”

  PLAYERS TO WATCH

  Atlanta United – Saba Lobjanidze

  Lobjanidze has recorded at least one assist in each of his last three regular season home appearances, including recording two against Columbus Crew in July. 

  Nine of Georgian’s 12 goal contributions this season have also come at home, including all six assists.

  Nashville – Sam Surridge

  With Nashville scoring just three goals in their last eight MLS fixtures, they will need top scorer Surridge fit and firing for their trip to Atlanta. 

  The Englishman has 11 goals from 25 appearances in all competitions this season but faces an opponent he is yet to win or find the net against this weekend.

  MATCH PREDICTION: ATLANTA UNITED WIN

  Atlanta won their first two meetings with Nashville in 2020, but since, the Coyotes have lost only on of their last nine matches with the Five Stripes in all competitions (W4 D4).

  The hosts, however, have only won two of their last 10 regular season home matches (D3 L5) dating back to April. But they have gone four games unbeaten in four consecutive games on home soil since (W2 D2).

  Nashville come into the encounter in a wretched run of form having lost a club record eight matches in a row, failing to score in their last four. The only longer losing streak in MLS since the start of the 2019 season was FC Cincinnati’s league-record 14 straight defeats from September 2021 to March 2022.

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  Atlanta United – 50.4%

  Draw – 25.1%

  Nashville – 24.5%

• Ronaldo: 'You cannot rebuild Man United without knowledge'

  Cristiano Ronaldo believes Manchester United "cannot rebuild without knowledge" as he urged Erik ten Hag to take advice from assistant coach - and former Red Devils striker - Ruud van Nistelrooy.

  United opened the Premier League season with a 1-0 win over Fulham, but then suffered back-to-back defeats against Brighton and Hove Albion and Liverpool.

  It is the second time under Ten Hag the Red Devils have lost as many as two of their first three league games in a season (also 2022-23); as many times as in their previous 29 campaigns combined.

  United have also scored three goals fewer than their xG suggests they should have so far this term (two goals, 5.2 xG), the biggest such difference for any team in the Premier League.

  Ten Hag was recently joined in the dugout by compatriot Van Nistelrooy, who scored 150 in 219 appearances at Old Trafford between 2001 and 2006.

  And Ronaldo - the scorer of 145 in 346 games across his two spells - thinks the Red Devils will benefit from the wisdom of people with prior experience and knowledge of the club.

  "[As the] Man United manager; you cannot say that you're not going to fight to win the Premier League or Champions League," he told former team-mate Rio Ferdinand on FiveUK.

  "You've to say: 'maybe we've not got the potential, but we're going to try'. You have to try!

  "If Ten Hag listens to Ruud van Nistelrooy, maybe he can help. He knows the club and the club should listen to the guys who were there [like] Rio, Roy Keane, [Paul] Scholes, Gary Neville, Alex Ferguson. You cannot rebuild a club without knowledge."

  United return to action this weekend away at pointless Southampton, against whom they are unbeaten in their last 12 Premier League visits since a 1-0 defeat in August 2003.

  The Red Devils have also lost just one of their last 30 Premier League matches against promoted sides, winning 15 of their last 17 such games.

• Nagelsmann pleased with Germany development after Euro 2024 disappointment

  Julian Nagelsmann believes Germany have taken the next step in their development after sharing the spoils in an entertaining clash with the Netherlands on Tuesday. 

  Tijjani Reijnders handed the hosts the lead with just a minute and 39 seconds on the clock, only for Deniz Undav and Joshua Kimmich to respond before the break. 

  The Netherlands drew level five minutes into the second half through Denzel Dumfries, leaving the pair joint-top of Group A3 after the opening round of fixtures. 

  But with German ambitions of being strong contenders at the next World Cup after their Euro 2024 disappointment, Nagelsmann is looking to see improvements in every match despite the tournament being just under two years away. 

  “There is an awareness that every game is important,” Naglesmann said. 

  “We have the Nations League now, the qualifiers next year and then hopefully off to the World Cup. We have 18 games left until then - if all goes well.

  “The team believes in itself and that is the key. That is what we all want to see. Today we saw a team that wanted to win."

  But in an enthralling encounter, Nagelsmann acknowledged that improvements need to be made at both ends of the pitch. 

  Germany managed just five shots on target from the 21 they attempted, registering an expected goals total (xG) of 2.94 during the contest. 

  While only restricting the Netherlands to 11 shots, their opponents created four big chances to Germany's three, with the Oranje also winning 53.1% of their duels compared to 46.9% for Nagelsmann's side. 

  “Both defences were too vulnerable but offensively, we were stronger, tried to create more and took a bit more risk," Nagelsmann said. 

  “In the early stages of the second half, we tried a little too hard and were maybe a bit too aggressive in the tackles.”

  The Germany head coach was particularly pleased with his side's response to falling behind early on Reijnders' finish. 

  “The way we came back was very good. It took us five or six minutes, but then we were well in the game," Nagelsmann concluded.

  Germany continue their Nations League campaign with two away fixtures next month, starting with Bosnia and Herzegovina, followed by a reunion with the Dutch on October 14.