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• Toronto FC v CF Montreal: Courtois accepts blame amid ongoing winless streak

  Laurent Courtois has accepted that it is on him to find a winning formula as CF Montreal look to snap their winless run against Toronto FC.

  Montreal were beaten 3-1 by Columbus Crew in midweek and are now without a victory in six games in all competitions.

  That includes a three-game losing streak in MLS, leaving them 13th in the Eastern Conference, and Courtois is eager to get back on track.

  "It's up to me to find the winning formulas and discern the phases of the game," head coach Courtois said after the loss to Columbus.

  "We have to grit our teeth and find solutions. The difficult times we are going through help me identify my group. I want to know the players better. 

  "From all the negative aspects we can observe, I can identify a few individual aspects to improve the game or the team itself."

  Monreal's rivals Toronto have themselves lost back-to-back games ahead of Saturday's Canadian Classique at BMO Field.

  Nashville SC scored twice late on to snatch a 2-0 win in the Reds' most recent match, but acting head coach Jason deVos admits there can be no excuses.

  "The last ten minutes, two mistakes cost us and that's the cruelty of football sometimes - that it's a 90-minute match and you need to put in a 90-minute performance in," he said. 

  "The players are aware of that. They know where the growth areas are for us as a team."

  PLAYERS TO WATCH

  Toronto - Federico Bernardeschi

  Bernardeschi missed the loss to Nashville but will hope to start this weekend in a fixture he has fond memories of. 

  The Italian has scored in each of his two home games against Montreal, making him the third Toronto player to score in two successive home games against them after Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley.

  Montreal - Joel Waterman

  Montreal have conceded three or more goals five times across their 12 MLS games this season, which is tied with San Jose Earthquakes for the most in MLS.

  They quite simply need to sharpen up at the back, with Joel Waterman needing to step up and hope others around him also do so.. The centre-back led the way for interceptions (three) and clearances (four) against Columbus, yet it was still not enough.

  MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW

  Montreal have won five successive matches against Toronto, following a run of neither side ever winning more than three on the spin in this fixture.

  Toronto have won seven and drawn one of their eight matches in which they have held opponents under two goals since September, while they have lost all 13 in which they have shipped two or more.

  Keeping the opposition quiet is therefore key, and this could present a chance to do just that against a Montreal side with fewer points (five) than any side in MLS since mid-March.

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  Toronto - 39.6%
  Draw - 28.5%
  Montreal - 31.9%

• Jarry defeats Paul to set up Zverev showdown in Italian Open final

  Nicolas Jarry defeated Tommy Paul in three sets on Friday to set up a showdown with Alexander Zverev in the Italian Open final.

  The men's world number 24 prevailed 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 in a little under three hours in Rome to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 final.

  Jarry earned the only break of serve in the eighth game of the opening set, but Paul - who dropped just one set in four matches en route to this stage - hit back in the second.

  Birthday boy Paul lost serve to trail 4-2 at one stage, but he produced one of the shots of the tournament at the ideal moment and soon dragged it back to 4-4.

  A gruelling set concluded with Paul taking the tie-break 7-3, but Jarry was unperturbed and won the deciding set with his fifth match point to see off Paul in a gruelling contest.

  Data Debrief: 

  Jarry is the third male Chilean in the Open Era to reach the singles final of the Italian Open after Marcelo Rios (1997-98) and Fernando Gonzalez (2007).

  The 28-year-old registered 13 aces against Paul to his opponent's seven and hit 35 winners to 19 in a deserved victory.

• Zverev ends Tabilo's dream run to reach Italian Open final

  Alexander Zverev fought back from the brink to reach the Italian Open final on Friday, overcoming Alejandro Tabilo by a 1-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 scoreline in the last four.

  Zverev was punished for a slow start as Tabilo took the opener within 32 minutes, but the German fought back in a one-hour, 15-minute slog of a second set.

  The 2017 Italian Open champion put his foot down from 3-3 in the second-set tie-break, with Tabilo potentially feeling the effects of a fine run that included a last-32 upset of Novak Djokovic.

  Zverev upped the intensity in the final set and won a huge 94 per cent of points behind his first serve as his opponent wilted, the third seed reaching the Rome final for a third time. 

  Data Debrief: Zverev draws level with Becker

  Zverev will now face either Nicolas Jarry or Tommy Paul in Sunday's final, which will be his 11th at ATP 1000 Masters level.

  That tally pulls him level with Boris Becker for most such finals by a German player since the format's 1990 introduction.