Steve Cherundolo has urged Los Angeles FC to control their emotions when they face the LA Galaxy in an El Trafico clash that could decide the top seed in the Western Conference.
LAFC sit four points adrift of the Galaxy at the top of the West with two games in hand to come, though they have only won one regular-season match since July 5.
Cherundolo's team did beat the Galaxy 2-1 when the sides last met in April, though, and he says his team must keep their cool at Dignity Health Sports Park if they are to take three points.
"It's another great setup and matchup and I'm looking forward to it," Cherundolo said. "There's always things going on in this game, there's always emotion spilling over.
"They're always tight matches and I hope that our ideas will be effective and implemented well by our players.
"That needs to happen over 90 minutes, not just for 45 minutes or 60 or 70. Then I think we could come away with something tangible."
The Galaxy, meanwhile, were beaten 2-1 at St. Louis City last time out, their first loss in MLS play since they went down by a 2-0 scoreline at FC Dallas in mid-July.
Head coach Greg Vanney believes Saturday's game will be decided by fine margins.
"This is a high, high level game, it's what it's all about. They're obviously a very good team and have different ways that they can catch you and beat you," Vanney said.
"They're a tough defensive team as well. When you're playing the highest level of games in our league it becomes about details and moments.
"That's what these games become about. You hope during the course of the season you get better and better and tighten up on some of those things, learning a bit about each other."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
LA Galaxy – Gabriel Pec
Nine of Pec's 11 goals and eight of his 11 assists in regular-season play in 2024 have come in home matches.
Only Lionel Messi (19) has more goal contributions in home matches than Pec's 17 in 2024.
Los Angeles FC – Denis Bouanga
Bouanga has scored six goals in six career matches against the Galaxy in all competitions.
No player has scored more against the Galaxy in all competitions since Bouanga made his LAFC debut in September 2022.
MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW
LAFC have won six of their last eight matches against the Galaxy in all competitions (two losses) including each of the last three.
LAFC had won just three of the first 15 editions of El Trafico (five draws, seven losses). They have, however, only won one of their last five regular-season matches, drawing two and losing two.
The Galaxy, meanwhile, have won 10 of their last 11 regular-season matches at Dignity Health Sports Park (one draw) including the last eight in a row. A point may be the best the visitors can hope for, even with their strong record in local derbies.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
LA Galaxy – 33.7%
Los Angeles FC – 40.6%
Draw – 25.7%
Houston Dynamo v Real Salt Lake: Mastroeni relishes challenge of integrating new players
Real Salt Lake head coach Pablo Mastroeni is looking forward to seeing how his new players settle in, with Houston Dynamo next up in MLS.
RSL brought in five new faces in the transfer window, with some of those introduced during their 2-0 win over New England Revolution last time out.
They currently sit third in the Western Conference, five points behind leaders LA Galaxy, and with teams below them starting to close in.
And with only seven games left of the regular season, Mastroeni is eager to get the new players integrated as soon as possible.
"A lot of problems to solve, but it allows us to collaborate as a team and figure out on the fly quickly how these new players can bring their skill sets to make our team better," he told KSL Sports Zone.
"It completely changes the dynamic of everything up to this point, but if we play with the right mentality, aggressive on both sides of the ball, then the acclimation of the new players will be much easier as the players show what our standards are."
Meanwhile, Houston have lost just two of their last 13 MLS matches and sit seventh in the table.
They have a good record against RSL too, losing just one of their nine meetings, and Ben Olsen is excited to face off against them once more.
"They're fun games," Olsen said. "We continue to look at the schedule and Salt Lake keep popping up.
"They're a very good team, if not a little bit different. We'll have to be at our best and defensively sound like we were against LAFC, but a little sharper in and around the goal."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Houston Dynamo – Steve Clark
Houston Dynamo played Los Angeles FC in back-to-back MLS games, winning one and drawing the other without conceding a single goal.
It is the first time the Dynamo have kept a clean sheet in consecutive games since March this year, when they registered consecutive 1-0 wins over Portland Timbers and Colorado Rapids.
Real Salt Lake – Braian Ojeda
Braian Ojeda got his second assist of the MLS season last weekend in Real Salt Lake's 2-0 win over New England Revolution.
However, he also had the most touches (88), made the most passes (67), with more accurate passes than any of his team-mates.
MATCH PREDICTION: HOUSTON DYNAMO WIN
This will be the ninth meeting between the Dynamo and Real Salt Lake since the start of the 2023 season. Houston have won four of the nine meetings (D3 L1) with Real Salt Lake's only win coming in the first meeting of this year's regular season, a 3-2 home win on July 3.
However, Houston have won just three of their last 13 home matches in all competitions (D7 L3) dating back to late March. One of those three wins was a 3-0 victory over Real Salt Lake in the Leagues Cup on August 5.
Meanwhile, Real Salt Lake have won only one of their last 10 away matches in all competitions (D5 L4) dating back to the beginning of May, including losing two straight away from home for the first time in 2024, with the second of those the 3-0 loss at Houston in the Leagues Cup.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Houston Dynamo – 50.2%
Draw – 25.2%
Real Salt Lake – 24.6%
PSG taking new Champions League format in their stride, says Luis Enrique
Paris Saint-Germain begin their latest quest for Champions League glory next week, but the extra workload required in the competition this season will not change Luis Enrique's approach.
PSG face Brest in Ligue 1 on Saturday, having made a perfect start to the season with three wins from three games to sit two points clear of Marseille, Nantes, Monaco and Lens.
They then face Girona in the first of eight matches in the Champions League's league phase on Wednesday, with the competition's new-look first round running until January.
However, Luis Enrique's approach to managing his squad's workload will remain the same.
He told reporters: "It's true, the schedule is a bit different but I don't think it is going to change the way I work as a coach.
"I have principles that I think are best for the team. It is always good to have around 20 players who think they can play, rather than 12 or 13. That is something that has always produced the best results for me.
"Now we are playing every three days with an intense schedule. I am still calm. Of course players can get injuries or suspensions but I am confident that we can manage all of that this season."
Midfielders Vitinha and Warren Zaire-Emery are unlikely to feature on Saturday after picking up injuries while representing Portugal and France during the international break.
PSG could also be without Gianluigi Donnarumma after the goalkeeper became a father and Luis Enrique has yet to make a decision on the Italian's involvement.
Bradley Barcola has excelled for PSG this term, netting as many goals in their first three league games (four) as he managed in the entirety of 2023-24.
He was also on target for France versus Italy last week, but Luis Enrique is keen to avoid putting pressure on the 22-year-old, saying: "It would be easy to protect the players without journalists.
"Right now everyone is talking about Barcola. People said he couldn't play in the past, that he wasn't ready for the Champions League. But we're lucky that he is very sensible, humble and hard-working.
"In the season there are highs and lows for everyone and we have to manage that. The press always want something black or white, but that is not how it is."
Vinicius backed to return to best form by Ancelotti
Carlo Ancelotti is unconcerned about Vinicius Junior's current form and fully expects him to bounce back quickly as they prepare to face Real Sociedad.
Vinicius has scored once and registered one assist in LaLiga so far this season, while he has created 15 chances, the most of any of his team-mates.
However, he has been criticised for a slow start to the season with Madrid, and for lacklustre performances for Brazil in a narrow win over Ecuador and a shock loss to Paraguay during the international break.
Ancelotti acknowledged that Vinicius has yet to hit the heights of his previous seasons, but stressed that the player needs support.
"He's not at his best, but he's still very important for us," Ancelotti told a press conference on Friday.
"We're in no hurry because the team has managed to score, and he has been important... and the last concern for me is Vinicius' condition, but we have to take good care of him.
"He always works well, and it's a matter of just time for him to reach his best level. I can't fool myself into thinking that I'll have all players at 100% at all times.
"I don't want to go into his problems in Brazil, but what I see is a more general issue, because they are not managing to bring out their best version as a group.
"Here we are delighted with Vinicius because although he is not at his best right now, no one can forget that with Vini, we have been able to win two Champions League titles... We have to be very fond of him at Madrid."
Ancelotti said that he will have to evaluate the fitness of Vinicius and his Brazil team-mates Rodrygo and Endrick after a long trip back from international duty, in order to minimise the risks of injury as his side gear up for a busy schedule with seven games in the next three weeks.
The Italian will face a selection headache ahead of Saturday's clash at La Real with defender David Alaba and midfielders Jude Bellingham, Eduardo Camavinga, Dani Ceballos and Aurelien Tchouameni still recovering from injuries.
"With the way the calendar is built, we will have injuries, it is just the way it is, so rotating is a good thing," Ancelotti added.
"We are used to playing that many games but need to be vigilant in monitoring the players' fatigue so they can rest when they need.
"The players who have just come back from the international break, like Vinicius, Rodrygo and Endrick, who had long travels with Brazil, are under observation because they haven't had time to rest or train.
"We have to try to avoid injuries. Last year we had a lot of injuries, but we managed to cope very well. With this schedule, it's normal to have injuries, and we have to face it."
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