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• Sporting Kansas City v Minnesota United: Ramsay aiming to regain momentum after 'dent'

  Eric Ramsay is hopeful Minnesota United's latest defeat has not dented their momentum as they prepare to travel to Sporting Kansas City in MLS.

  Minnesota have won two and lost two of their last four MLS matches, with those two victories both coming on the road.

  They are ninth in the Western Conference after losing to FC Cincinnati in their last outing, failing to mount a comeback after two first-half goals from their visitors.

  Ramsay was slightly disappointed by the result but is determined to take the positives from that game as they continue their playoff push.

  "We showed some naivety [against Cincinnati] with the goals we conceded, but the game as a whole was largely very good," he said.

  "We went toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the whole division. We have to take that as a positive and use that as a step forward, as a continuation of the momentum that we've built so far and not let it dent what we've already done."

  Meanwhile, Sporting are 12th in the league, having lost just one of their last five league matches.

  They beat Colorado Rapids 4-1 last time out, with Alan Pulido netting a brace, and head coach Peter Vermes was delighted to see him getting in on the goals.

  "Alan has this level in him and has great form over the past two months, but we're playing him in better places on the field," Vermes said. "We haven't found enough chances to get him in on goal, and we need to keep improving that.

  "The good thing is that we have options, we're not stuck. We're limitless right now, we have a lot of different ways in which we can put different combinations of players on the field."

  PLAYERS TO WATCH

  Sporting KC – Alan Pulido

  Pulido scored twice in Kansas City's win over Colorado on Wednesday, his seventh multi-goal game for Sporting.

  The only two players in club history with more multi-goal regular season games are Dom Dwyer (10) and Digital Takawira (eight).

  Minnesota United – Kelvin Yeboah

  Kelvin Yeboah scored from the penalty spot on Wednesday, with three of his four goals this season have been via penalty kicks.

  Yeboah is the fourth player to have 3+ penalty kick goals in a season for Minnesota, with Darwin Quintero being the only Loons player with more (four in 2019).

  MATCH PREDICTION: SPORTING KANSAS CITY WIN

  Sporting KC have won 10 of their 11 all-time home matches against Minnesota, including the last four in a row. Minnesota's lone result at Sporting was a 3-0 victory in the 2020 playoffs.

  Indeed, Kansas City have won three straight home matches across all competitions, with all three victories coming by multiple goals. This is the first time Sporting have won three straight home games, all by 2+ goals, since a four-game run to start the 2019 season.

  However, after going winless in eight straight on the road (D2 L6), Minnesota have recorded back-to-back wins away from home. The longest road winning streak in club history in all competitions is three matches, achieved in both 2022 and 2023.

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  Sporting KC – 46.8%

  Draw – 26.4%

  Minnesota United – 26.8%

• San Jose Earthquakes v St. Louis City: Hackworth wary of hosts' 'fight'

  St. Louis City interim head coach John Hackworth says they will treat San Jose Earthquakes with respect as he is wary of their fighting spirit.

  St. Louis sit 13th in the Western Conference, one place above Saturday's opponents, but are 10 points better off than San Jose on 28.

  Their four-match unbeaten streak came to an end last weekend, as they failed to defend their early lead in a 3-1 defeat to Minnesota United.

  Hackworth is still without an away win since stepping into the hot seat, and he expects a big challenge as he attempts to change that weekend.

  "[San Jose] have a lot of consistency, and I've been really impressed by their spirit," Hackworth said.

  "They don't look like a team that should be last in the west right now. They have a lot of fight left in them.

  "They are not a team that we can take lightly, we need to give them our full respect, but focus on us because we believe we are a much better team than our record shows."

  Meanwhile, San Jose returned to MLS after the Leagues Cup with a shock win over Real Salt Lake but are winless in three since.

  They snatched a late 2-2 draw against Seattle Sounders on Wednesday, and interim head coach Ian Russell is targeting a strong finish to the season.

  "We always come out and plan to try and push the game," Russell said. "As a coach, I want to be on the front foot and I want to attack, but you have to understand that being pressed is part of it.

  "But you also have to hurt them as well. We always want to start fast. We've never had a gameplan where we're set up to absorb pressure, that's not part of it."

  PLAYERS TO WATCH

  San Jose Earthquakes – Cristian Espinoza

  Cristian Espinoza delivered his 11th and 12th assists of the regular season on Wednesday against Seattle Sounders.

  This is Espinoza's fourth regular season with more than 10 assists for San Jose (also 2019, 2022, 2023), with no other player in team history having more than two such seasons.

  St. Louis City – Cedric Teuchert

  Cedric Teuchert's fourth-minute goal for St. Louis on Saturday was the club’s sixth goal in the opening five minutes of matches.

  The only team with more goals in the first five minutes of matches since St. Louis City joined MLS in 2023 is the Vancouver Whitecaps (seven).

  MATCH PREDICTION: ST. LOUIS CITY WIN

  St. Louis have won all three meetings with San Jose, outscoring them 7-1 over the three games. The Earthquakes are the only team St. Louis have faced more than once and won every match.

  However, St. Louis are winless in 17 straight away matches in all competitions (D8 L9) dating back to the end of last season, though their last three on the road have all been drawn. They have never gone unbeaten in four straight away matches in all competitions before.

  Meanwhile, San Jose came from behind to earn a 2-2 draw at Seattle on Wednesday. It marked the first time the Earthquakes had earned a point from a losing position since a come-from-behind 3-2 win over the Colorado Rapids in May, after losing their previous 13 regular-season matches when going behind.

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  San Jose Earthquakes – 34.3%

  Draw – 25.8%

  St. Louis City – 39.9%

• Al-Ettifaq 0-3 Al-Nassr: Ronaldo scores as Pioli earns first win

  Stefano Pioli won his first game in charge of Al-Nassr, with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Al-Ettifaq on Friday.

  Cristiano Ronaldo netted the first goal of Pioli's reign as Al-Nassr picked up just their second win in the Saudi Pro League this season.

  It was a fairly even first half until Abdullah Madu fouled Sultan Al Ghannam in the box, and Ronaldo made no mistake from 12 yards to put the visitors in front.

  Angelo and Talisca were both denied by the goalkeeper before half-time, but Al-Nassr doubled their lead with the first shot of the second half, as Salem Al Najdi scored a delightful chip from a tight angle in the 56th minute.

  Talisca did get his goal in the 70th minute, beating Marek Rodak for power with his low drive after being picked out by Sadio Mane.

  Ronaldo almost got a second late on, but with just one minute remaining, he struck the woodwork with a long-range strike. 

  Data Debrief: Pioli inspires total dominance

  Al-Ettifaq were unbeaten coming into this game, but they offered little in terms of fight, mustering just six shots, two of which were on target, and created just 0.44 expected goals. 

  Al-Nassr on the other hand, tested Rodak with half of their 14 shots on target (1.83 xG) - Talisca had the most (five) and was rewarded for it with his late goal.

  It was Mane who pulled the strings though, creating four chances, and claiming two assists, while his 18 passes into the final third were the most of anyone on the pitch.