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• 'Exceptional' Fernandes can thrive under Amorim, says former Man Utd coach Meulensteen

  Ruben Amorim's impending appointment as Manchester United boss will benefit skipper Bruno Fernandes, former Red Devils coach Rene Meulensteen believes.

  United confirmed on Friday, four days after they sacked Ten Hag, that Amorim would be coming in as their new head coach.

  The 39-year-old, who has won the Portuguese title twice in the space of three years, will join the Red Devils officially from November 11, after serving a notice period with Sporting CP.

  United have agreed to pay Sporting around £9.2million (€11m) in compensation, with Amorim signing a contract that will keep him at Old Trafford until June 2027.

  He will link up with compatriot Fernandes, who also swapped the Portuguese capital for Manchester back in January 2020.

  The skipper has been directly involved in 151 goals since his debut, the most of any midfielder across Europe's top five leagues during that time.

  And Meulensteen, who spent 12 years on the coaching staff at Old Trafford, thinks Fernandes will thrive under Amorim, and hopefully cut out some bad habits.

  "It's always important, but all managers expect certain things, have certain expectations from Bruno," he told Stats Perform. 

  "I do think Bruno is an exceptional player. He's been so important in so many goals, in terms of his assists and contributing goals himself. 

  "Although, there's also another side that we've seen in Bruno - which you don't like to see as a club captain - a little bit of petulant behaviour, like throwing the toys out of the pram if things are not going well. 

  "Obviously, they're both Portuguese, so that helps them in terms of speaking in their native language. 

  "It's going to be interesting. The way that he sets up his teams, he doesn't play with out-and-out wingers. He plays far more with people in between the pockets, which [the likes of Bruno] are suited to. 

  "As soon as he steps over that line and steps through the door, we will see very, very quickly how he's going to shape up the team."

• Mutual respect deceives Frank and Silva's desire to deliver 'special' London derby win

  The mutual respect shared between the dugouts in west London belies the desire both managers feel to deliver a “special” derby win in west London as Brentford visit Fulham on Monday night.

  It is a derby unlikely to disappoint with Brentford’s affinity for goals setting up a potential thriller. There have been a league-high 36 goals scored in Brentford’s nine league matches, while three of the last five league meetings between these two sides have finished 3-2.

  Both clubs have established themselves in the English top flight over the past few seasons, with their managers also securing stable tenures, leading to a shared admiration in west London.

  Though, with just one point separating the sides in ninth and tenth, both Thomas Frank and Marco Silva will be just as intent on delivering a memorable result for their fans under the lights on Monday.

  “A London derby, local derby, is always more special, probably more intense, and it’s always a tough game. Away or at home against them, it’s always a tough game, like it’s always the same for them to play against us,” said Fulham’s Silva.

  “We want to give a great feeling to our fans, that is to win a local derby. We know what we are going to face, we know that it’s a little bit more special to the fans, and what we want to give what they deserve from the Monday Night Football.”

  Silva can see parallels between his own journey in west London and that of Brentford, who have fared well despite facing their first season without former talisman Ivan Toney.

  “You can compare the same story to us as well, losing important players, selling important players, [but] being able to rebuild again,” he explained.

  “There are similar things between both sides in that aspect, to sometimes sell their best players and to go again, to try to rebuild, to try to put some young players and fresh players inside. [Frank] is a top person, his job speaks for itself.”

  While their similarity in mindset might lead to a shared story, it also means both are just as determined to deliver the three points to their borough of west London.

  “In recent years, it has been very tight between the two teams - we have had some fantastic games against each other,” added Frank.

  “Now, we're going to play Monday night, under the floodlights, Craven Cottage - a historic stadium - we're bringing 3,000 fans, and we'll do everything we can for them to get the win. I'm really looking forward to it."

  PLAYERS TO WATCH

  Fulham – Andreas Pereira

  Only Bukayo Saka (27) has created more chances in the Premier League this season than Fulham’s Andreas Pereira (26), although none of those chances have been converted by his teammates yet.

  He’s set up 11 different players, with only Tottenham’s Dejan Kulusevski creating a chance for more different team-mates (12).

  Brentford – Bryan Mbeumo

  Mbeumo has netted eight goals in the Premier League this season, with only Erling Haaland scoring more (11). He has scored 11 goals in his last 13 London derbies, including two goals at Craven Cottage in a 3-0 win last campaign.

  He has been integral to Brentford’s attacking efforts, having taken the most shots (16) and provided the joint-most key passes (17) in the squad.

  MATCH PREDICTION: FULHAM WIN

  Fulham are unbeaten in their last five Premier League London derbies (W2 D3), last having a longer unbeaten run against fellow sides from the capital during the 2006-07 season (seven in a row).

  They will also be looking to punish the Bees' leaky defence. Brentford have conceded 18 goals in their opening nine Premier League games this season, their most after nine league matches since 1961-62 (19). It’s the first time they haven’t kept a clean sheet at this stage since 2015-16.

  Only West Ham (275) have seen more shots in the league than Brentford’s nine games this term (268). The Bees have faced 56 more shots than they’ve had themselves (106 for, 162 against), the third-worst differential behind only Leicester City (-81) and Southampton (-67).

  That being said, Brentford have still managed to secure wins despite such a worrying defensive record. While they have shipped eight goals in their last three Premier League games, they have won both of the matches in which they’ve conceded three goals in that time.

  Brentford have only lost one of their last 11 away league games against Fulham (W5 D5), failing to score just once at Craven Cottage in that run.

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  Fulham – 46%

  Draw – 24.3%

  Brentford – 29.7%

• Puig brace sends Galaxy through, Charlotte level series on penalties

  LA Galaxy were the first team to book their place in the MLS Cup playoff semi-finals after sweeping aside the Colorado Rapids 4-1 to seal their best-of-three series. 

  Gabriel Pec handed the Galaxy the lead in unusual fashion when Zack Steffen's clearance deflected off the Brazilian and into the net with just eight minutes on the clock. 

  But parity was restored in stunning fashion when Oliver Larraz took aim from distance and fired home the leveller with a curled effort beyond the grasp of John McCarthy. 

  Greg Vanney's side would, however, restore their advantage in the third minute of first-half stoppage time with another fine strike, this time Joseph Paintsil curled a strike in off the post.

  The Galaxy's passage was sealed late on with a brace from Riqui Puig, his second double against the Rapids in their two games in the postseason.

  Puig poked the ball through Steffen's legs, before racing through from the halfway line and rounding the Rapids goalkeeper to seal a memorable win at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. 

  The visitors' display shows they mean business in the playoffs. They had 13 shots to Colorado's eight, ending the contest with a 1.76 expected goals (xG), limiting their opponents to just a 0.52 xG in the process. 

  In the other playoff game, Kristijan Kahlina's heroics helped Charlotte FC to a 3-1 victory in a penalty shootout against Orlando City. 

  Kahlina saved two spot-kicks to deny Nicolas Lodeiro and Duncan McGuire in the shootout, levelling up their best-of-three series heading into the final game. 

  In a game that lacked clear-cut chances, Charlotte's Adilson Malanda came closest to opening the scoring, seeing his effort strike the woodwork in the 19th minute.

  The Crown were ultimately worthy winners, though, given they had 12 shots to Orlando's three, with the visitors mustering just 0.29 expected goals (xG) before penalties were required. 

  And Charlotte held their nerve in the shootout, converting all three of their penalties and helped by Kahlina, who kept a division-high 13 clean sheets in the Eastern Conference during the regular season. 

  “It was a wonderful game for me,” Kahlina said. “I didn’t have so much to do in 90 minutes, but I showed myself in penalties and helped my team.”