Chicago Fire Frank Klopas is pleased with the impact his attacking players have been working together this season and is looking forward to seeing how they fare against Orlando City.
The Fire are level on points with their hosts heading into the game on Saturday but sit above them due to their superior goal difference.
Chicago are currently on a four-match unbeaten streak, winning each of their last two matches, with Klopas praising his players for finding their attacking groove in recent weeks.
"Going to Orlando, especially in this heat, we have to be good on the ball, it's so important, and we've worked hard on that," Klopas said. "The team is in a good moment, and they're also working extremely hard and that's very important to me.
"We've been dangerous in games when we work as a unit and quickly transition.
"It's been a big focus of ours from the beginning of the season to get more opportunities, and we've done a much better job with that, and we're showing our ability to finish chances."
Orlando are in 14th but will leapfrog their opponents with a win. However, they will need to snap a five-match winless streak in order to do that.
Head coach Oscar Pareja was once again left to lament late lapses of concentration in their 2-2 draw with Charlotte FC and is hoping to improve that against the Fire.
"It has happened in recent games where we dominate possession that we concede late goals," the head coach said.
"I think our vigilance is getting better, but [against Charlotte] we lost two duels, and they found a way to hurt us. We need to get better about controlling possession."
PLAYER TO WATCH
Orlando City – Facundo Torres
Torres, who scored Orlando's equalizer on Wednesday against Charlotte, has scored four goals in five career MLS matches against the Fire, tied for his most against any opponent (also four vs the New York Red Bulls).
Chicago Fire – Hugo Cuypers
Cuypers has recorded a goal contribution in each of his last four appearances for the Fire, the first player to do so for the club since Robert Beric in 2020 (five straight).
Chicago has posted a record of W3 D3 L1 in matches in which Cuypers has been involved in a goal this season and W1 D3 L7 when he has not.
MATCH PREDICTION: ORLANDO CITY WIN
Orlando are unbeaten in six straight matches against the Fire (W4 D2), though Chicago did manage a home draw when the sides met on May 29. The Lions have just one longer regular-season unbeaten run against a single opponent, going eight straight without defeat vs. Toronto FC from 2019-23.
However, Orlando have lost four of their last five home matches, including each of the last two. They had suffered just one defeat in their previous 16 regular-season home matches (W9 D6) before this run.
Meanwhile, Chicago have recorded back-to-back wins after winning just two of their first 16 matches this season (D6 L8). The Fire have netted six times over the two wins after scoring six total goals in their previous 11 games.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Orlando City – 54%
Draw – 23.6%
Chicago Fire – 22.4%
St Johnstone 0-6 Celtic: Defending champions continue perfect start
Celtic stormed to the top of the Scottish Premiership with a thumping 6-0 win away at St Johnstone.
The defending champions thought they had taken the lead early on through Daizen Maeda, but VAR intervened due to a foul in the build-up.
Nevertheless, a brace from Kyogo Furuhashi and Paulo Bernardo's sumptuous strike virtually ended the contest at half-time.
There was to be no mercy in the second half though, as captain Callum McGregor added a fourth for Celtic shortly after the restart.
Maeda and substitute Adam Idah added further gloss to the scoreline to make it six league wins out of six for Brendan Rodgers' side so far this campaign and take them top, ahead of Aberdeen on goal difference.
St Johnstone are now just a point above second bottom in the table.
Data Debrief: Defence first
Celtic have kept a clean sheet in each of their last six games in the league.
Their last longer run of games without conceding a goal in the competition was a run of seven games from 26 April 2015 to 9 August 2015, so as well as their rampant attack, Rodgers' team have a mean defence, with St Johnston accumulating only 0.29 expected goals (xG) on Saturday.
With two assists in this match, meanwhile, Nicolas Kuhn now has four in total for the season, which is two more than any other player in the Scottish Premiership.
Bayern Munich 1-1 Bayer Leverkusen: Andrich and Pavlovic stunners ensure spoils are shared
Bundesliga heavyweights Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen played out an enthralling 1-1 draw at the Allianz Arena.
Two long-range strikes, one from Robert Andrich and another from Aleksandar Pavlovic, ensured a share of the spoils on Saturday.
Defending champions Leverkusen scored with their first chance in the 31st minute when Granit Xhaka controlled a corner with his chest and set up Andrich outside the box, with the Germany international's sweeping low shot drilled through a crowd of players into the bottom corner.
Their lead did not last long, however, as a poor clearance fell to Pavlovic and the midfielder pulled the trigger from 25 yards with a half-volley that brushed the fingertips of goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky as it sailed into the top corner.
With Serge Gnabry having hit the post and then crossbar in quick succession, Bayern dominated proceedings in the second half, with Leverkusen pegged back. The hosts boasted an expected goals (xG) total of 1.32 at full-time compared to their opponent's meagre 0.07xG.
But despite their 18 shots, Bayern could not clinch a decisive second goal.
Bayern stay top with 13 points, while Xabi Alonso's Leverkusen are third with 10 points, a point behind RB Leipzig, who thrashed Augsburg 4-0.
Data Debrief: Wonderstrikes and fine margins
Bayern hit the woodwork twice through Gnabry in a matter of seconds, but ultimately only managed to get three attempts on target, while Pavlovic's stunning equaliser came with an xG value of just 0.02.
That being said, Leverkusen - who hammered Bayern 3-0 in their last meeting - hardly offered much going the other way, having just three attempts in total.
This top-of-the-table clash also marked the first time in three years that Harry Kane has not attempted a single shot after starting a league match. The last time was when he represented Tottenham against Crystal Palace in September 2021.
Their one goal, however, does mean Bayern have scored in their last 12 games in the Bundesliga, scoring 33 goals in that run.
Genoa 0-3 Juventus: Vlahovic double ends goal-drought to send visitors top of Serie A
Dusan Vlahovic scored twice to help Juventus to a 3-0 win at Genoa in Serie A as Thiago Motta's side moved top of the standings.
Vlahovic scored Juventus' first goal in four league games when he converted from the spot after they were awarded a penalty for a handball following half-time.
He added his second in the 55th minute from a tight angle after Teun Koopmeiners found the Serbian striker on the edge of the box with a deep cross-field pass.
Substitute Francisco Conceicao then sealed the win with a low, one-touch finish late on.
The game in Genoa was played behind closed doors after crowd violence during their Coppa Italia fixture against Serie B side Sampdoria left more than 50 people injured.
Juventus, who drew each of their last three league games 0-0, top the table with 12 points from six games, one point ahead of second-placed Torino who host Lazio on Sunday.
Data Debrief: Vlahovic gets Juventus firing
Vlahovic broke the deadlock on Saturday and is now only one of the two players to score at least two braces in Serie A this season, level with Marcus Thuram.
The Serbian was bound to score from the sport having converted 18 of his 22 penalties taken in Serie A, including his last three in 2024.
Fellow goalscorer Conceicao scored 8,252 days after his father, Sergio, last bagged in Serie A on 24 February 2002, meanwhile, for Inter against Udinese.
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