Oscar Pareja has admitted Orlando City's lack of goals in recent weeks is a cause for concern as they aim to change that against the Chicago Fire on Wednesday.
The Lions have won two of their last five matches but alternated between hitting the back of the net and failing to score during that run, getting shut out by Columbus Crew on Saturday.
Orlando are currently 10th in the Eastern Conference, two points off the playoffs, and Pareja hopes his side can add a more clinical edge against Chicago to close that gap.
"[Not scoring] is a concern, especially when you don't have the accuracy to cross or to find somebody in the box. Or if somebody is in the box but isn't precise to finish it off," Pareja said.
"The concern in the week is how can we polish them. But we have scored before, and we were collecting some games where the strikers start scoring. It's day by day, but today we need to be worried about it."
Chicago sit second from the bottom with just 11 points after only winning two games this season.
The Fire have failed to win any of their previous eight matches but snapped a four-game losing streak with their 1-1 draw against D.C. United at the weekend.
"It's about consistency now to keep going," Frank Klopas said. "We have the level, we've shown it.
"We've got to do it consistently, but [Saturday] was a step in the right direction with the attitude, the mentality, the fight with the group and playing really good football and creating good chances.
"[One] step at a time, we take it, we regroup, and now we need to come out with even more energy on Wednesday."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Chicago Fire – Kellyn Acosta
Acosta scored his second goal for the Fire on Saturday, with both coming from outside the box. The American has scored eight goals from outside the box in his regular-season MLS career, with four coming from his right foot and four from his left.
Orlando City – Nicolas Lodeiro
Orlando have scored nine goals on the road this season, with Lodeiro recording assists on five of them. Lodeiro has 38 career regular-season assists on the road, the most among active MLS players and seventh-most in MLS history.
MATCH PREDICTION – ORLANDO CITY WIN
Orlando have won four of their last five meetings with the Fire (one draw), including the last three in a row. Prior to this run, Orlando had won just three of 14 matches against Chicago (five draws, six losses) in all competitions since joining MLS in 2015.
Orlando have also won three of their last four regular-season road games (one draw), including back-to-back wins over the Philadelphia Union and San Jose Earthquakes. This is the Lions' ninth set of consecutive away wins in MLS league play, though they've never won three in a row on the road before.
Meanwhile, Chicago ended a four-match losing streak with a 1-1 draw against D.C. United on Saturday. Still, the Fire have a club record-low 11 points after 15 matches, a total only one team since 2000 has overcome to reach the playoffs: Inter Miami in the extended playoffs of 2020.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Chicago Fire – 32.1%
Draw – 27.9%
Orlando City – 40%
Columbus Crew v Philadelphia Union: Curtin still looking to improve road record
Despite boasting a strong road record this season, Jim Curtin still believes Philadelphia Union can do better in their final away match against Columbus Crew.
The Union lost their most recent road outing, falling 2-1 to Orlando City in midweek, but had only lost one of their previous three such games before that.
They are one of three teams currently on 37 points in the Eastern Conference, but sit 10th, below Toronto FC due to winning fewer games.
Curtin knows they need to win their last two matches and hopes they can improve on Wednesday's performance.
"I think our road record has been good enough this year," Curtin said. "Overall, at this stage of the year, as you know, the margins are razor-thin.
"We have to do a better job in the attacking end and also defending our box because the goals we concede, we could just do a lot better on it.
"Obviously, we'll look at it, try and get ready, regroup, and go against Columbus very quickly."
Meanwhile, Columbus had a four-match unbeaten streak snapped by their 3-2 defeat to Supporters’ Shield winners Inter Miami.
With three games left, they are looking to secure second in the table to give themselves a stronger playoff position.
Wilfried Nancy was disappointed by the defeat to Miami but hopes they can show their fighting spirit in what he expects to be another tough game.
"We know we're able to compete against top teams, and we showed that against Miami. The next game is going to be another story," he said.
"They may not have [Lionel] Messi, but they have good players. We have no problem with competing, and even with 10 men in the last game, we were still proactive, we were brave and courageous."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Columbus Crew – Diego Rossi
Diego Rossi scored his 12th goal of the season for the Crew on Wednesday, his fourth MLS season with 12 or more goals.
Only six players in league history have more seasons with 12 or more goals than Rossi.
Philadelphia Union – Mikael Uhre
Mikael Uhre has four goals and four assists in his last nine MLS appearances, including an assist on the Union’s lone goal on Wednesday.
Uhre has contributed to at least one goal in seven of those nine matches.
MATCH PREDICTION: COLUMBUS CREW WIN
Columbus are unbeaten in 10 straight home matches against the Union in all competitions (W6 D4), including a 3-1 win in the Leagues Cup semifinals on August 21. The Union's last win at Columbus was a 2-1 victory at Historic Crew Stadium in August 2016.
However, Columbus have lost two of their last three regular-season home matches (W1) after losing just one of their previous 24 at Lower.com Field in league play. The Crew have allowed 10 goals over the three games after letting in nine goals in its first 12 home matches this season.
Meanwhile, Philadelphia's defeat to Orlando City on Wednesday was their 13th loss of the campaign to go along with only nine wins. This will be the first time since 2017 that Philadelphia will have more losses than wins over a single regular season.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Columbus Crew – 58%
Draw – 21.8%
Philadelphia Union – 20.2%
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%
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."
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