Austin FC may have suffered a disappointing loss last time out, but Josh Wolff is aiming to bounce back against Los Angeles FC to give themselves a playoff chance.
The Black and Verde were beaten 2-1 by Toronto FC at the weekend after failing to find a late equaliser, condemning them to a second consecutive defeat.
Austin currently sit 11th in the Western Conference but are losing ground on the playoff spots as they are 10 points behind Houston Dynamo in seventh.
Wolff admitted that their task is now harder but is determined to make sure his team are still in the conversation come the end of the regular season.
"I think there's a points total that we have in mind," Wolff said, "but we need to work on things.
"We're going to be able to get chances, but the playoffs are still achievable. We have to pick up points and get to the last game with a chance of still getting in.
"We've got to take care of our chances in a better way, that's all."
Meanwhile, LAFC are winless in three MLS matches, giving up a 2-0 lead against rivals LA Galaxy last time out in a 4-2 defeat.
They still sit second in the table, but the teams below them have closed the gap.
Steve Cherundolo was quick to brush aside Saturday's defeat, with his sole focus now on picking up three points.
"We'll try to turn it around as fast as possible to get some points on Wednesday night," he said.
"We'll continue to go and hope fatigue doesn't play more of a part as players continue to get towards full fitness."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
LAFC – Denis Bouanga
Denis Bouanga has scored six career goals against Austin FC in all competitions, tied for the most of any player against them.
Austin FC – Alexander Ring
Austin failed to register a shot on target against Vancouver on August 31 but improved on that despite their loss to Toronto last time out.
While Owen Wolff got the goal at the weekend, Alexander Ring registered the most shots on target with two.
MATCH PREDICTION: LOS ANGELES FC WIN
Los Angeles have won seven of 10 all-time meetings with Austin (D1 L2), though the Verde and Black did manage to take a point when the sides met in league play in Austin on June 19. LAFC have won four of five home matches against Austin (L1), keeping clean sheets in all four wins.
However, LAFC suffered a 2-0 defeat to Houston Dynamo in their last home match. They have never lost two straight regular-season home matches and have failed to score in back-to-back home league matches only once, doing so against Atlanta United and Houston in June 2023.
Meanwhile, Austin have lost eight of their last 13 regular season matches (W3 D2) dating back to late May. Austin had lost only seven times in their previous 23 regular season matches dating back to September 2023 (W7 D9).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
LAFC – 66.3%
Draw – 18.4%
Austin FC – 15.3%
Real Salt Lake v FC Dallas: Mastroeni says hosts must go 'into the fire'
Pablo Mastroeni believes the best way for his Real Salt Lake side to improve is by "going into the fire" as the playoff battle heats up ahead of Wednesday's clash with FC Dallas.
Real Salt Lake have been among the Western Conference pacesetters all season, but they have lost two of their three games since returning from the Leagues Cup break, including a 4-1 defeat to the Houston Dynamo on Saturday.
They remain fourth in the West but just three points separate them from Houston in seventh, while their cushion to the wild-card spots stands at seven points.
"There are things we're working out, and it's one thing doing it in practice and another doing it when there are so many variables on the line," Mastroeni said this week.
"The only way we build real cohesion is by just going into the fire, playing these games, then going back to review them.
"With time, you expect that the guys will get a really clear understanding. You can make changes on gameday, you can tweak, but also you have to affect games with mentality.
"It's about mindset. I would rather make errors of effort than errors of overthinking."
Dallas are currently one place, but five points, outside the playoff picture, with a tough stretch seeing them face Los Angeles FC and Orlando City after their visit to RSL.
Interim boss Peter Luccin, though, feels the identity of their opponents is not important, saying: "Right now, for us playing versus a team in the top five or the top 10 is the same thing... the only thing we have to do is win.
"If we want to fight for the playoffs, which is the least the club deserves, we have to do that. One thing is for sure, we will fight until the end."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Real Salt Lake – Cristian Arango
Arango has scored six goals in 407 minutes over five career regular-season matches against Dallas.
His rate of 1.33 goals per 90 minutes in those games is the highest of any player that has played at least 300 minutes against Dallas in MLS history.
FC Dallas – Jesus Ferreira
Ferreira has scored seven times in 10 regular-season meetings with Real Salt Lake, more than he's scored against any other opponent in his MLS career.
The Dallas forward has also scored in four of his five matches at America First Field, including the last three in a row.
MATCH PREDICTION – REAL SALT LAKE WIN
Dallas have won at Real Salt Lake in each of the last two seasons, their first consecutive wins at RSL in regular-season play. Only two teams have won on three straight regular-season trips to Utah (LAFC – four straight from 2020-23, Portland – three straight from 2014-15).
They are also unbeaten in three straight regular-season away matches (one win, two draws). Dallas had lost eight of their first 11 away from home (three draws) in 2024.
They face a daunting task on Wednesday, though, against a Real Salt Lake side with 10 home wins already this season, reaching that mark for the first time since 2019 (13 home wins).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Real Salt Lake – 52.4%
FC Dallas – 23.3%
Draw – 24.3%
Kane makes English history after passing Rooney's Champions League mark
Harry Kane stretched to further record-breaking ground by surpassing Wayne Rooney for the most goals by an English player in Champions League history.
Bayern Munich forward Kane opened the scoring against Dinamo Zagreb with a penalty at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday.
That moved the England captain level with former Manchester United star Rooney on 30 Champions League strikes, the joint-most by any player from their country.
Kane later eased past Rooney's mark in the second half, powering home his 31st strike in the competition to take the outright English record.
Kane netted eight times in UEFA's top club competition last season, his most in a single edition, and has got off to a blistering start in the revamped 2024-25 format.
His second finish of the game helped Bayern to a 4-2 lead before Michael Olise's second goal extended the hosts' advantage further shortly after.
'Amazing' Villa boss Emery makes playing 'so easy', says former Sevilla star
Unai Emery makes life "so easy" for his players, according to the Aston Villa manager's Europa League-winning goalkeeper.
Beto played for Sevilla as they won three consecutive Europa Leagues under Emery, featuring in the first two title runs, including starring in a penalty shoot-out triumph against Benfica in the 2014 final.
And despite going on to endure slightly more testing spells in charge of Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal, Emery has continued to deliver on the European stage.
He guided Villarreal to another Europa League win, before returning Villa to European football and then the Champions League. Villa beat Young Boys 3-0 in their league phase opener on Tuesday.
Emery's success comes as no surprise to former Portugal international Beto, who explained the brilliance of his old boss while speaking at the Thinking Football Summit organised by Liga Portugal.
"Unai has many things that make him different," Beto told Stats Perform. "The passion that he has for football makes him different.
"The way that he studies every detail, not only in the opponent but in his team. He knows every player. He knows how to get the best out of each player in his team.
"For us, it was amazing, he knew what was going to happen in the 45th minute of the game. This is going to happen.
"If the picture is this one, we will act this way. If the game is like in another way, we're going to act this way.
"So, he had everything planned; every scenario, every situation he had planned. And for us, the players, we had all the information, we had everything. We just had to be ourselves and put our talent at the service of the team.
"And for us, it was so easy to play being coached by Unai. He was an amazing person.
"He respects football. And I think it's one of the secrets of Unai, he respects football. He gives everything for football.
"So, not only in Sevilla, I know he had some bad moments in Arsenal, but he came back in Villarreal. He won another Europa League in Villarreal.
"He brought back Aston Villa to the top. I have too much credit for Unai because I love him, respect him and he will be forever one of my best coaches and my best friends."
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