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• D.C. United v New York Red Bulls: Lesesne fortunate to work with 'incredible' Benteke

  D.C. United coach Troy Lesesne feels fortunate to work with Christian Benteke, who is battling the likes of Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi for the MLS Golden Boot after a flying start to 2024.

  Benteke has been in incredible form this year, scoring 11 goals in 10 MLS appearances to join Suarez and Cristian Arango at the top of the scoring charts, with Messi one behind that trio.

  The former Liverpool and Aston Villa man scored a hat-trick of headers last time out, helping D.C. recover from behind for a 3-2 win over Atlanta United. 

  With Lesesne's former employers the New York Red Bulls visiting Audi Field on Wednesday, the D.C. boss will be hoping for more of the same.   

  "He's incredible," Lesesne said of Benteke. "He's got two hat-tricks this year, he's on 11 goals now and he's just such an incredible presence in our team, even beyond scoring.

  "He deserves to be talked about first. He is a handful, and he allows other players to come into the match and have dangerous opportunities themselves. I'm very lucky to work with him."

  Benteke's form has helped put D.C. in the playoff picture early on this campaign, but the Red Bulls are three points clear of them, sitting third in the Eastern Conference.

  They also came out on top in a thriller last week, with two late goals helping them overcome the New England Revolution 4-2.

  One of their goalscorers, Elias Manoel, says the Red Bulls' ability to pick up results when not at their best will take them far this term.

  "It was really important to keep the consistency because even though we had some unfavourable results, in some games we didn't lose as well," Manoel said.

  "This consistency is going to be really good at the end of the competition."

  PLAYERS TO WATCH

  D.C. United – Christian Benteke

  Against Atlanta last week, Benteke became just the second player since 2010 to score three headed goals in a single MLS game, alongside the Five Stripes' Juan Purata in 2022 (versus Toronto FC).

  New York Red Bulls – Elias Manoel 

  Manoel recorded both a goal and an assist as a substitute in New York's win over the Revolution last week. 

  He joined Cameron Harper and Bradley Wright-Phillips as the only Red Bulls players over the last 10 seasons to come off the bench and record both a goal and assist. Will he be rewarded with a start?

  MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW

  This will be the 107th meeting between D.C. and the Red Bulls in all competitions – it is the most-played match between two MLS teams. The Red Bulls, winners of the last three meetings, have never won four straight against D.C.

  D.C. have gone unbeaten through their last three games, winning two and drawing one, while scoring multiple goals in each match. An entertaining draw could be on the cards here… 

  The Red Bulls are coming off a 4-2 win over New England in which they only had 33.1 per cent of possession. They have had four games with less than a third of possession and four or more goals in the last three seasons, more than every other MLS team combined.

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  D.C. United – 39.1%
  New York Red Bulls – 32%
  Draw – 28.9% 

• Passion, mentality and drive make 'champion' Mbappe special, says Henry

  Kylian Mbappe's passion, mentality and drive are the fundamental factors that make him so special, according to France legend Thierry Henry. 

  Les Bleus' skipper is heavily linked with a blockbuster move to Real Madrid after it was officially announced last week that he will depart Paris Saint-Germain at the end of this campaign.

  Mbappe leaves Parc des Princes as the club's all-time leading scorer, while he has just been named Ligue 1's Player of the Year for a fifth successive season, and is set to top the goalscoring charts for a sixth year running.

  Still only 25 years old, he has already played in two World Cup finals - lifting the trophy in 2018 and scoring a hat-trick in the 2022 showpiece as France lost out to Argentina on penalties - and won six domestic titles. 

  Mbappe has also scored 46 goals in 77 caps for Les Bleus, trailing only Henry (51) and Olivier Giroud (57) on their all-time list, and will look to add the European Championship to his list of honours when he leads his country into the 2024 tournament next month.

  Saluting the forward in a new BBC documentary entitled 'Mbappe', Henry said: "The great champions have something in them that I cannot describe.

  "When you're a champion, you have to bring something to the table, something extra that is not normal, and that he has. The higher you go, the less normal you are.

  "When it comes to this mentality and will, champions do have something that is a bit different to others.

  "What I can see in this guy is passion, the will and the love of the game. If you do what needs to be done with those tools, then you're unstoppable.

  "What he has achieved already, some people didn't do that in their careers, and they were outstanding players."

  There are many similarities between Henry and Mbappe, most notably their styles of play with explosive attacking flair and electric speed. Both grew up in the Paris suburbs, started their senior careers at Monaco and went on to win the World Cup with France.

  And the 46-year-old offered a closer insight into what makes the PSG forward on another level to his contemporaries.

  "What I see is the same will of wanting to succeed," he analysed. "I don't care about anything else if you don't have that will, that drive - and Kylian has that in abundance. What makes him so special for me is easy; he thinks.

  "People always talk about his speed. I know a lot of players that are fast, but can they play football at that level? No. Can they score? Can they run as fast as he does with the ball?

  "Can you still see the game when you're running at full speed? You need to have a lot of tools in order to do that, and he's also clever.

  "Of course, he has to work on stuff, he's still young and people forget that. He's not yet a finished article. Are you ever a finished article, whether it's in life or football?"

• ​Austin FC v Houston Dynamo: Olsen reveals 'tough conversations' as derby looms

  Ben Olsen had to hold a few "tough conversations" to get the Houston Dynamo out of their slump, with Saturday's Texas derby at Austin FC offering them the chance for back-to-back wins.

  The Dynamo approached Saturday's trip to Sporting Kansas City both winless and goalless in three MLS matches (one draw, two defeats), while they were also dumped out of the U.S. Open Cup by Detroit City FC.

  However, goals from Hector Herrera and Ibrahim Aliyu handed them a 2-1 road win and lifted them into the top seven of the Western Conference – above Austin by a single point. 

  Speaking ahead of Wednesday's grudge match against a team that won the reverse fixture less than a month ago, Olsen credited his players for coming through a tough patch. 

  "I think some people were questioning us, and we've had a few tough conversations, particularly with the U.S. Open cup knockout. This was just a really good response," he said.

  "We have to figure out when we are at our best, to think, 'who are we, at our best?'

  "It was our defensive effort that we hung our hat on last year, so it's a bit of a renewed feeling of that being there."

  Austin, by contrast, were on a run of four wins in six games before they were beaten 2-1 by another Texas rival in FC Dallas on Saturday.

  Despite that reverse, centre-back Julio Cascante has praised the defensive work done by coach Josh Wolff, with Austin looking far more competitive than was the case in their dismal 2023 season.

  "Despite everything, we've worked very hard on the defensive side," Cascante said.

  "Emphasis has been placed on the defensive side, but defending is done as an entire team. It starts with the number nine. I think that makes the difference."

  PLAYERS TO WATCH 

  Austin FC – Sebastian Driussi

  Driussi scored a consolation from the penalty spot at Dallas on Saturday, his third goal of the season in eight MLS starts. 

  Only Diego Rubio, who has started three additional games, has matched that tally for Austin this year. The Argentine will be looking to carry his team's attacking hopes again here.

  Houston Dynamo – Amine Bassi 

  Bassi recorded his third assist of the season by teeing up Hector Herrera's 31st-minute strike against Sporting on Saturday. 

  All three of Bassi's assists have come on goals from outside the box this season – Houston's only three strikes from outside the penalty area.

  MATCH PREDICTION – AUSTIN FC WIN

  Houston have won three of their first five road matches this year, having only recorded more than three regular-season away wins in one of the last 10 campaigns, winning four times on their travels in 2022.

  However, Austin have won all four of their previous home matches against Houston, netting multiple goals in each contest. The Dynamo are one of two teams – alongside Kansas City – that Austin have hosted more than once while posting a 100 per cent record.

  Austin have also won three straight at home after only winning once in their previous 10 outings at Q2 Stadium. Back on home soil after Saturday's derby loss, they will expect a different result. 

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  Austin FC – 44.9%
  Houston Dynamo – 26.9%
  Draw – 28.2%