Houston Dynamo head coach Ben Olsen has urged his team to find their clinical edge in a tough test against Los Angeles FC on Saturday.
The Dynamo had lost just one of their last 10 MLS matches before the Leagues Cup break, winning four and drawing five of the other games in that streak.
However, they returned to league action with a 1-0 defeat to Toronto FC last time out and sit eighth in the Western Conference.
And Olsen has challenged his team to improve their end product against the Leagues Cup finalists.
"The last game was not the result we wanted, that's for sure," he said.
"I'm starting to sound like a broken record: we play well, we have a lot of chances. We can do all that stuff, but we don't make the play.
"If we're going to be the team we want to be, we need to be killers, be way more cut-throat in the final third. We can't keep expecting our defence to get shutouts in every game."
Meanwhile, LAFC bounced back from Leagues Cup final heartbreak by reaching the US Open Cup final with a 1-0 victory over Seattle Sounders.
In MLS, they are five points behind leaders LA Galaxy, having lost their last league match 3-1 to San Jose Earthquakes, but head coach Steve Cherundolo has confidence in his team.
"Our LAFC players are monsters," he said. "They show great heart and skill, and their physical side of the game is great.
"Simple mentality gives them the edge. I've also been happy with the control and managing of the minutes in recent matches."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
LAFC – Denis Bouanga
Denis Bouanga has not been involved in a goal in any of his four meetings with the Dynamo (incl. playoffs).
They are the only MLS opponent he has faced more than twice and not recorded at least one goal involvement against.
Houston Dynamo – Hector Herrera
Hector Herrera completed 101 passes against Toronto FC on Saturday, his sixth match with at least 100 completed passes in regular season MLS play.
He is tied with Riqui Puig for the most such games to complete 100+ passes since making his MLS debut in July 2022.
MATCH PREDICTION: LOS ANGELES FC WIN
This will be the first meeting between Los Angeles and Houston since LAFC's 2-0 win in last season's Western Conference Final. That win was their only clean sheet against the Dynamo (14 meetings).
However, LAFC's last two regular-season home matches were a loss to Columbus Crew and a draw with Real Salt Lake. They have gone three such matches without a win only twice since the start of the 2019 season but have not done so since 2021.
Meanwhile, the Dynamo won their final two regular-season road matches before the Leagues Cup break, winning at San Jose and Vancouver Whitecaps. However, they have not won three consecutive such games since a four-match run spanning the 2011 and 2012 seasons.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
LAFC – 61.8%
Draw – 20.2%
Houston Dynamo – 18%
Sporting Kansas City v Los Angeles FC: Cherundolo taking pride in staunch defence
Steve Cherundolo stated his pride in Los Angeles FC's defence and hopes they can put in another big performance against Sporting Kansas City on Saturday.
LAFC have won their last three games in all competitions, starting with their US Open Cup win over Sporting KC before getting back on track in MLS.
They are second in the Western Conference with three games left, with their 1-0 win over St. Louis City, in which they did not concede a single shot on target, closing the gap to LA Galaxy.
Cherundolo lauded his defenders for that performance and is pleased to see their training sessions paying off.
"It's great to see we're growing and learning in certain situations and putting all the pieces together," Cherundolo said.
"The defensive side of the game is something we train a lot and take pride in. When our defenders have enough minutes together and continuity, we're quite good.
"They've done extremely well and adapted amazingly by applying their lessons from training into the matches."
Meanwhile, Kansas City will not be playing in the postseason as they sit 13th after just one win in their last five, losing 3-1 to St. Louis last time out.
However, head coach Peter Vermes has challenged his side to finish the regular season on a high.
"I'd like to win both games. This isn't like handing out free passes to go and play," Vermes said.
"Being in this spot isn't normal for our club, but I'm not changing the way I pick the team. We've still got two games to play, and we'll give it everything we have to make it tough."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Sporting Kansas City – Stephen Afrifa
Despite dominating against St. Louis last time out, Kansas City failed to get a win, though Stephen Afrifa ensured they did not fire a blank.
He scored their only goal after having six shots, four of which were on target, while also having nine touches in the opposition box, more than anyone else on the pitch.
LAFC – Denis Bouanga
There is no doubt who has been one of the star performers for LAFC this season, with Denis Bouanga scoring 19 goals in MLS so far.
He does not just score goals though, as he can also dictate play – his five chances created against St. Louis last time out were the most of any player in the game.
MATCH PREDICTION: LOS ANGELES FC WIN
Kansas City have failed to win any of the six meetings with LAFC since September 2021 in MLS regular season and have only won four of their 12 matches overall against the club.
This will be the third meeting between the sides this season, with their previous MLS meeting ending in a 0-0 draw, before LAFC beat them 3-1 in extra time to clinch the US Open Cup final last month.
That win over Sporting in the final started a three-match winning streak for LAFC, who were winless in their five games prior to that run.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Sporting Kansas City – 28.8%
Draw – 24.5%
LAFC – 46.8%
LA Galaxy v Austin FC: Vanney targeting more success for hosts
Greg Vanney has his eyes on finishing top of the Western Conference with LA Galaxy this season, with Austin FC one of the teams in their way of the title.
The Galaxy are currently six points clear in the table with two games left and have won their last two matches against Vancouver Whitecaps and Colorado Rapids.
They are in fine form at home too, winning six in a row, with their last such 'home' defeat coming at the Rose Bowl against Los Angeles FC.
Vanney is enjoying life at the Galaxy this season and hopes they can extend their impressive recent run on Saturday.
"It's a great group of players and this whole season has been helping to read our guys and mould them into the group that can be the best they can be," Vanney said.
"We want them to be a contender for championships, and hopefully we can close this thing out in the West.
"When you're winning everything is better than when you're not, but things with this group are good. They're hungry and want to be successful, it's fun to coach them."
Meanwhile, Austin are mathematically still in with a chance of the playoffs, sitting six points behind Portland Timbers in ninth, though their chances are slim.
They snapped a five-match winless streak with a 1-0 victory over Portland last time out, and Josh Wolff is hopeful they can show the same mentality against the Galaxy.
"I talk to these guys about it all the time," Wolff said. "If there's a collective willingness, we've shown we can beat anybody.
"It has to be extremely committed by the group, and you've got to take care of your opportunities at the other end too."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
LA Galaxy – Gabriel Pec
Gabriel Pec (28) and Riqui Puig (27) each have recorded at least 27 goal contributions this season.
They are only the second pair of teammates to reach that mark in a single season in the last 20 years after Robbie Keane (33) and Landon Donovan (29), also for the Galaxy, in 2014.
Austin FC – Daniel Pereira
On Wednesday against Portland, Daniel Pereira scored his first goal for Austin since June 2022, giving him three goals for his MLS career.
All three of Pereira's MLS goals have come in one-goal victories.
MATCH PREDICTION: LA GALAXY WIN
Austin ended a four-match winless run against LA Galaxy on April 27 with a 2-0 home win. The Galaxy have won all three meetings between the sides in Carson, however, outscoring Austin 8-1 in those games.
Austin have kept a clean sheet on the road in six regular-season matches in 2024, including Wednesday's 1-0 win at Portland. Entering this season, the team had six road shutouts total in their three MLS seasons (two in 2021, four in 2022, none in 2023).
Meanwhile, the Galaxy have won 10 consecutive regular-season matches at Dignity Health Sports Park dating back to late May, scoring multiple goals in all of those matches. The Galaxy have lost only one of their last 25 regular-season matches in Carson, dating back to June 2023.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
LA Galaxy – 55.2%
Draw – 23.1%
Austin FC – 21.7%
Rangers 1-4 Lyon: Lacazette and Fofana at the double as Clement's men outclassed
Malick Fofana and Alexandre Lacazette each scored twice as Lyon outclassed Rangers 4-1 in the Europa League at Ibrox on Thursday.
Former Arsenal striker Lacazette scored twice before the break after Tom Lawrence had earlier cancelled out Fofana's opener in Glasgow, with the latter also netting again in the second half.
Vaclav Cerny was punished for woefully blazing over the bar when Fofana bent home on the rebound from the hugely impressive Rayan Cherki's shot after 10 minutes.
Lawrence quickly prodded home the equaliser when Cyriel Dessers was denied, but an awful error from Connor Barron led to Fofana laying on a simple finish for Lacazette.
The Frenchman then made it 3-1 with a whipped 25-yard stunner before the break and Fofana poked home Cherki's low cross at the back post to add more gloss shortly after the restart.
Duje Caleta-Car saw a header thunder off the crossbar and Corentin Tolisso had a shot cleared off the line, while substitute Said Benrahma was also denied as Lyon pushed to really emphasise their dominance of proceedings.
Data Debrief: Lyon forwards tormentors in chief
Rangers, who won impressively at Malmo on MD1, just had no answer for the dynamism of a Lyon side who are now two from two and second in the table.
Lacazette was playing his 50th game in the Europa League and scored his 23rd and 24th goals in the competition. Only Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (34) and Aritz Aduriz (26) have scored more since his first appearance in September 2012.
Cherki set up both of Fofana's goals in an excellent display and has six goal involvements in only five Europa League starts (three goals, three assists), while Fofana scored and assisted in the same game for the first time for Lyon.
Rangers have a night to forget and this represented only the first time in the Europa League/UEFA Cup they have conceded four goals at home, and only the third time overall.
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