Minnesota United boss Eric Ramsay feels his team are a match for anyone at Allianz Field, ahead of welcoming St. Louis City to the venue for Saturday's regular-season finale.
The Loons are guaranteed a place in the MLS Cup Playoffs, sitting seventh in the Eastern Conference standings.
Should they beat St. Louis, they will avoid a play-in fixture by preventing the eighth-placed Vancouver Whitecaps from leapfrogging them at the last opportunity.
Speaking ahead of the game, Ramsay said he had enjoyed the opportunity to work with some of his players for an extended period during the international break.
"We've wanted to make sure that we train properly and get some real intensity into the sessions, I feel like you can be lulled into a false sense of security in two weeks," he said.
"Everyone is absolutely raring to go on Saturday, I think we've achieved that. Hopefully the internationals come back with the bit between their teeth and ready to add to that energy.
"If I was an opposition coach analysing us, I'd be worried in the sense that we can score on the counterattack, we can score from organised play, we're a threat on set-pieces.
"We'll come good in that sense. If we're a good version of ourselves we're more than a match for anyone that comes here."
St. Louis are unable to make the postseason, sitting 12th in the West and nine points adrift of the playoff picture.
Asked what he wanted to get out of the game, interim head coach John Hackworth said: "Just a good performance. We have been in good form.
"One of the only teams in the league that has been in better form than us is Minnesota. Kudos to them, they've gone a fantastic job."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Minnesota United – Kelvin Yeboah
Yeboah has hit 17 shots on target for Minnesota this season, with only Bongokuhle Hlongwane (26) registering more despite Yeboah not appearing in his first match for the Loons until late August.
St. Louis City – Cedric Teuchert
Teuchert has recorded a team-high nine goal contributions (five goals, four assists) despite playing in just nine matches this season.
The fewest games played by a player who led a team in goal contributions for a season is 10 (Clint Mathis for the MetroStars in 2001 and Danny Koevermans for Toronto FC in 2011).
MATCH PREDICTION – MINNESOTA UNITED
The visiting side has won all three meetings between Minnesota and St. Louis, including a 3-1 win for the Loons on September 14. However, a home victory could be in the offing this time.
St. Louis have only won one of their last 20 away matches in all competitions (eight draws, 11 defeats), while Minnesota have won three of their last five on home soil.
The Loons enter the final match of the season with 49 points and are looking to cross the 50-point mark for the second time in club history (53 in 2019). A victory would be their 15th for the season, equalling their club record also set in 2019.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Minnesota United – 48.8%
St. Louis City – 25.5%
Draw – 25.7%
Liverpool 'put things right' against Chelsea after Forest loss, says Robertson
Andy Robertson believes Liverpool "put things right" after their defeat to Nottingham Forest by beating Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday.
Liverpool faced Forest after the last international break and suffered their only defeat under Arne Slot so far, as they were beaten 1-0 at Anfield.
However, they avoided a similar stumble this time around as Mohamed Salah and Curtis Jones scored the goals for the Reds on either side of Nicolas Jackson's equaliser, sending them back to the top of the league table.
Chelsea had won each of their last three away games coming into this contest, and Robertson was particularly impressed by how Liverpool dug in to preserve the win.
"It is always like that - two good teams going at it. We have had good games over the years against them. It is always difficult," he told BBC Match of the Day.
"It took us a little time to get going, but once we did, I think we were quite comfortable in the first half. In the second, we defended really well and limited them.
"After the last international break, we let ourselves down against Nottingham Forest, and we were determined to put that right and I think we did that.
"There are different ways to win, and today was one we had to grind out. We have played better this season, but we got two crucial goals and defended well for the most part."
Meanwhile, Jones was instrumental to the victory as he won the penalty that Salah scored and thought he had won a second after being upended by Robert Sanchez, but it was overturned by a VAR review, before netting what turned out to be the winner in the 51st minute.
"The win is the most important thing. I was involved a lot, but I'm happy that we won," he told Sky Sports.
"There have been times when I have arrived in the box, and it is a first-time finish. As soon as Mo had the ball, I made the run, but it bounced, so I had to have a touch, and then thankfully it went in."
He also played a key role by keeping Chelsea playmaker Cole Palmer quiet throughout the game, limiting him to no shots on target, and just one chance created.
"We know how important [Palmer] is and how many goals he scores, so I had it in my mind to keep him quiet, and it is a huge part of their game gone," he added.
Chelsea 5-2 Tottenham: Rytting Kaneryd stars as Bompastor's side stay perfect in WSL
Johanna Rytting Kaneryd scored twice as Chelsea overcame Tottenham 5-2 at Kingsmeadow to make it four wins from four in the Women's Super League.
Maika Hamano and Sandy Baltimore were also on target for Sonia Bompastor's side, who maintained their perfect start to the league season and moved to within a point of leaders Manchester City.
Rytting Kaneryd was involved as the Blues broke through in the 10th minute, racing into the area before pulling the ball back for Hamano to tuck away.
Spurs levelled in controversial fashion 11 minutes later when Hannah Hampton was adjudged to have palmed the ball over her own goal-line while attempting to retrieve Amanda Nilden's wayward cross.
The hosts regained the lead when Nilden put through her own net just before half-time, while Rytting Kaneryd's magnificent volley put them two goals to the good in the 70th minute.
Baltimore made it 4-1 four minutes later, slotting home a rebound after Guro Reiten's penalty came back off the post following a Clare Hunt handball.
Spurs pulled one back through Eveliina Summanen's neat free-kick, but Rytting Kaneryd had the final say with a wonderful individual goal in stoppage time, putting the icing on the cake.
Data Debrief: Bompastor continues perfect start
Bompastor appears to have made a seamless transition into the Chelsea dugout since taking over the reins from Emma Hayes.
The Frenchwoman has become only the third manager to win her first four WSL matches in charge, along with David Parker (with Birmingham City in 2011) and Jonas Eidevall (in 2021 with Arsenal).
Tottenham, meanwhile, are without a win since the opening day of the season and have now conceded a league-high three penalties in five games.
Hull receive apology from referee after Sunderland defeat
Tim Walter says referee Robert Madley apologised to him following Hull City's defeat by Sunderland.
The Black Cats returned to the Championship summit, with Wilson Isidor's third goal in four games enough to seal all three points at the MKM Stadium.
The winning goal came in the 63rd minute, though Hull felt it should not have stood.
From a Tigers corner, referee Madley appeared to obstruct the view of Marvin Mehlem, who was subsequently dispossessed before Dan Neil sent Isidor clear, with the Zenit loanee outmuscling Cody Drameh before lifting over Hull goalkeeper Ivor Pandur.
Walter later confirmed he had received an apology from the official for the incident, but acknowledged his side were ultimately made to pay for not taking their chances.
"The referee invited me in [to the official's room] to apologise, but it doesn't help me," he told BBC Radio Humberside. "But we had a lot of situations in the first half and a lot of counter situations, but our last decision wasn't the best.
"We created many chances, but we weren't clinical enough and, maybe, lost our heads in the last five minutes. We had more courage in the second half, and we showed we can maybe be on the same page as them."
As for Sunderland, who leapfrogged Burnley back to the top of the table, that is now seven wins from their opening 10 games.
"It's difficult to win away, especially at Hull," said head coach Regis le Bris. "In the first half, we dominated the ball but failed to break into the final third.
"The scenario in the second half was different. They kept the ball, and it was not easy to deal with the way they built up their attacks, and we did well.
"We were prepared to use our counter-attacks as we had that strength, and Wilson made the difference."
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