Related items

• Jorginho: Arsenal players laughing at Haaland form for Man City

  Jorginho has said the form of Manchester City striker Erling Haaland is making him and his Arsenal team-mates laugh ahead of next weekend's meeting.

  Haaland netted two more goals for City in Saturday's 2-1 comeback win over Brentford at the Etihad Stadium to maintain his side's perfect start.

  That took the striker to nine goals across City's first four Premier League games this season - the most any player has scored in the competition's history at this stage.

  Arsenal are the next side tasked with attempting to keep Haaland quiet in next weekend's showdown between the division's top-two sides.

  Despite Haaland's superb form to begin the campaign, Jorginho insists Arsenal are unfazed heading into Sunday's battle in Manchester.

  "Erling scoring again... it is starting to make us laugh," he said. "We look because we watch all the games and we love the Premier League.

  "We watch [City] as well, which is normal. It doesn't get to our head. We need to focus on us and that is what we are trying to do."

  Last season's runners-up Arsenal are two points behind early pacesetters City after winning three and drawing one of their opening four matches.

  Mikel Arteta's men managed to grind out a 1-0 win in their North London derby with Tottenham at the weekend thanks to a Gabriel header.

  Arsenal were without key midfield pair Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard, owing to suspension and injury respectively, but still got the job done.

  "You learn more about each other," said Jorginho, who replaced Rice in midfield. "Everyone wants to improve and wants the best for the team. 

  "When you put the team in first place I think just good things can happen. Keep believing in what you are doing. I think we are on the right way."

  Arsenal travel to Atalanta for their opening Champions League game on Thursday, but one eye is undoubtedly on the trip to City three days later.

  "If you want to achieve big things you need to have the mentality of trying to win every single game," Jorginho said. 

  "That is what we need to do and that is what we want to do. That is what we are trying to do. You need to keep in this way. 

  "Keep believing in what you're doing. We are believing in what we are doing and we keep working hard to improve on what we need to improve."

• Minnesota United v FC Cincinnati: Consistency the key for playoffs, says Noonan

  FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan is striving for consistency from his players after confirming their place in the MLS playoffs.

  Noonan’s side were held to a goalless draw against Leagues Cup champions Columbus Crew but have now gone two home games without a victory or scoring a goal.

  While securing their spot in the playoffs was something Orange and Blue could have only dreamed of a few years ago, Noonan’s future ambitions for his team overshadowed any celebrations.

  “It's hard to do, and we strive for consistency, and consistency for our group and our expectations is to be a playoff team and then be a top seed and be playing games at home in the playoffs,” Pat Noonan said.

  “I think we go into this next game as healthy and with as many options as we have had. The goal for us needs to be to maintain that over this final stretch so that we can have consistency with our selection and with our starting 11.

  “But I think if we want to have a strong end to the season and have a strong playoff run, it needs to be with players available in depth and competition in our squad. Certainly, that'll be important.”

  Minnesota, meanwhile, did their chances of reaching the playoffs the world of good with an impressive 3-1 victory over in-form St. Louis City in their last MLS fixture.

  The Loons overcame Cedric Teuchert’s third minute opener to remain ninth in the Western Conference table, bridging the gap between themselves and FC Dallas one place below them.

  Head coach Eric Ramsay lauded his side’s display in breaking down St. Louis’ resolute defence, and detailed how his players plan to attack the final games of the season to remain in the playoff picture.

  “We want to be a team that can shift between a number of shapes according to the situations we anticipate coming, according to the players that we’ve got in form and available,” Ramsay said.

  “We want to be, ultimately, an aggressive team, we want to be a team that can press, can have more of the ball, can steal the ball higher up [the field].

  “When you are playing in a back five, that isn’t as easy as it looks sometimes on paper.”

  PLAYERS TO WATCH

  Minnesota United – Bongokuhle Hlongwane

  Hlongwane’s goal against St. Louis last time out was his 10th goal of the season for Minnesota.

  In doing so, he became the fifth different Loons player to record a double-digit scoring season and the third in the last three years.

  FC Cincinnati – Luciano Acosta

  Having struggled in front of goal in their recent MLS fixtures, top scorer and captain Acosta will be key for Cincinnati at Allianz Field. 

  But the Argentine comes up against a side he has struggled against in his MLS career, with Minnesota one of only seven teams he is yet to score past.

  MATCH PREDICTION: FC CINCINNATI WIN

  Cincinnati won their last match against the Loons in May. But Minnesota were unbeaten in the first four meetings between the sides (W3 D1), outscoring Cincinnati, 10-1, in those games.

  However, Cincinnati have now lost consecutive regular season away matches after losing only one of their previous 16 on the road in league play (W12 D3). This is Cincinnati’s first set of back-to-back regular season away losses since the start of the 2022 campaign.

  But the Loons have struggled at Allianz Field, losing four of their last five regular-season home matches. Prior to this run, they had lost just four of their previous 27 games on home soil dating back to April 2023.

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  Minnesota United – 31.9%

  Draw – 25.4%

  FC Cincinnati – 42.7%

• Emery focused on 'new mentality' in Aston Villa's Champions League debut

  Unai Emery is focusing on a new mentality for his Aston Villa side as they embark on their Champions League journey against Young Boys.

  Villa are making their first appearance in Europe's top competition since 1982 on Tuesday, having previously won the competition 42 years ago. 

  Emery's side will become the 11th different English club to compete in the Champions League, and the first English newcomer since Leicester in 2016-17. 

  But the Spaniard has made a name for himself on the European stage, having won the Europa League on four occasions with Sevilla and Villarreal. 

  However, Emery's last game in the competition came back in 2022, with his Villarreal side eliminated by Liverpool in the semi-finals of the competition. 

  That particular run was the Villa head coach's best run in the tournament, and he is dreaming of going one step further with the Villains. 

  "I had dreams when I arrived here to play in the Champions League and be competitive in this competition," Emery told TNT Sports, in an exclusive interview.

  "But we are going to set our new mentality, our new objective. Because we are now not comfortable playing in the Premier League and being in the middle.

  "We want to be competitive, get in Europe, and be consistent.

  "But of course, being consistent and getting into Europe is very difficult in England because it is the hardest league in the world."

   

  While reaching the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League last season, Tuesday's match against the Swiss champions will be many of the Villa squad's first taste of Champions League football. 

  However, Emery has strengthened his squad with European experience in recent years. 

  Pau Torres was part of Emery's side that reached the semi-finals in 2022, while Ian Maatsen played the duration of Borussia Dortmund's defeat to Real Madrid in last year's final. 

  And the Spaniard is looking to those two players in particular to help his side navigate the encounter. 

  "We have players with experience; Ian Maatsen played last year and he is with us now," Emery continued. 

  "Other players played, Pau Torres played in a semi-final three years ago. And I am playing [coaching] in Europe for 16 years in a row.

  "My experiences are very important, but the better experience we are trying to use and get is with Aston Villa, with Aston Villa players, with Aston Villa supporters.

  "We are always remembering how amazing it was when they won the Champions League [European Cup] in 1982, and for us, it is very important."

  One of the talking points ahead of the clash is the artificial surface at the Wankdorf Stadium.

  But Emery is resolute that his players will not be using that as an excuse and will adapt to what they encounter.

  "We have to accept and we have to adapt to the pitches we are playing," Emery concluded.  

  "Of course, usually we are playing on normal pitches, here it is synthetic. But we are going to try to adapt quickly and know what the difference is with the pitch."