Manchester United are at their best when Anthony Martial is in the team, according to manager Erik ten Hag.
Martial's career at Old Trafford since signing from Monaco in 2015 has been plagued by injuries, with the forward loaned out to Sevilla for the second half of last season where he scored just once in 12 appearances.
A strong pre-season meant this campaign started with optimism, though he has again been in and out of the line-up because of his fitness with Marcus Rashford's goals proving crucial in his absence.
With Rashford ruled out for several games with a muscle injury and January loan signing Wout Weghorst struggling in front of goal, Ten Hag needs Martial to start firing if United are to add more silverware to the EFL Cup they lifted in February, which ended a six-year trophy drought.
Ten Hag is confident the 27-year-old will be a big help over the rest of the season, though he will not rush the forward back to the team before he is ready despite him scoring off the bench in the 2-0 victory over Everton at the weekend.
"We don't have to force things," Ten Hag told reporters. "We are careful. The front line against Everton worked really well.
"When he [Martial] is in the team, we play our best football and we have our best results as a team. The time he needs for a goal is less. I defend him because I point to the stats and see how he contributes."
Martial's first start since January could come against his former side Sevilla in the Europa League on Thursday as United meet the six-time winners in the first leg of their quarter-final clash at Old Trafford.
Ten Hag believes Martial is ready to play from the off for the first time since returning from a hip injury, saying: "I think he is ready to start.
"But the front line did very well against Brentford and we picked the same against Everton. The advantage was we could bring Martial back slowly, giving him minutes, but I think already against Everton he was ready to start the game."
United could also be boosted by Christian Eriksen being available for the starting XI for the first time in over three months, after his strong start with the Red Devils was hampered by an ankle injury suffered against Reading in the FA Cup fourth round back in January.
Ten Hag believes the Denmark international's return will improve United's midfield, explaining: "I think the balance in the midfield was good with Casemiro, Eriksen and Bruno [Fernandes].
"Casemiro is the balance player, Eriksen can support him but also go to the final part of the game, can create chances with key passes.
"So yeah, a really important player and I think he had seven or eight assists in the league, which tells the story."
Houston Dynamo v Real Salt Lake: Mastroeni relishes challenge of integrating new players
Real Salt Lake head coach Pablo Mastroeni is looking forward to seeing how his new players settle in, with Houston Dynamo next up in MLS.
RSL brought in five new faces in the transfer window, with some of those introduced during their 2-0 win over New England Revolution last time out.
They currently sit third in the Western Conference, five points behind leaders LA Galaxy, and with teams below them starting to close in.
And with only seven games left of the regular season, Mastroeni is eager to get the new players integrated as soon as possible.
"A lot of problems to solve, but it allows us to collaborate as a team and figure out on the fly quickly how these new players can bring their skill sets to make our team better," he told KSL Sports Zone.
"It completely changes the dynamic of everything up to this point, but if we play with the right mentality, aggressive on both sides of the ball, then the acclimation of the new players will be much easier as the players show what our standards are."
Meanwhile, Houston have lost just two of their last 13 MLS matches and sit seventh in the table.
They have a good record against RSL too, losing just one of their nine meetings, and Ben Olsen is excited to face off against them once more.
"They're fun games," Olsen said. "We continue to look at the schedule and Salt Lake keep popping up.
"They're a very good team, if not a little bit different. We'll have to be at our best and defensively sound like we were against LAFC, but a little sharper in and around the goal."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Houston Dynamo – Steve Clark
Houston Dynamo played Los Angeles FC in back-to-back MLS games, winning one and drawing the other without conceding a single goal.
It is the first time the Dynamo have kept a clean sheet in consecutive games since March this year, when they registered consecutive 1-0 wins over Portland Timbers and Colorado Rapids.
Real Salt Lake – Braian Ojeda
Braian Ojeda got his second assist of the MLS season last weekend in Real Salt Lake's 2-0 win over New England Revolution.
However, he also had the most touches (88), made the most passes (67), with more accurate passes than any of his team-mates.
MATCH PREDICTION: HOUSTON DYNAMO WIN
This will be the ninth meeting between the Dynamo and Real Salt Lake since the start of the 2023 season. Houston have won four of the nine meetings (D3 L1) with Real Salt Lake's only win coming in the first meeting of this year's regular season, a 3-2 home win on July 3.
However, Houston have won just three of their last 13 home matches in all competitions (D7 L3) dating back to late March. One of those three wins was a 3-0 victory over Real Salt Lake in the Leagues Cup on August 5.
Meanwhile, Real Salt Lake have won only one of their last 10 away matches in all competitions (D5 L4) dating back to the beginning of May, including losing two straight away from home for the first time in 2024, with the second of those the 3-0 loss at Houston in the Leagues Cup.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Houston Dynamo – 50.2%
Draw – 25.2%
Real Salt Lake – 24.6%
Guardiola 'happy' Man City hearing begins next week
Pep Guardiola says he is "happy" Manchester City's hearing into 115 charges for alleged breaches of the Premier League's financial rules begins on Monday.
Following a four-year investigation, the club were charged and referred to an independent commission in February 2023.
Man City strongly deny all charges.
The alleged breaches of the Premier League's financial rules relate to a period between 2009 and 2018, with the trial expected to run for 10 weeks and a verdict likely to come in early 2025.
While some are dubbing it sport's 'trial of the century', Guardiola is just pleased that it is now close to the start date.
"It starts soon and hopefully finishes soon," Guardiola said of the hearing. "An independent panel will decide, and I am looking forward to the decision.
"I'm happy it's starting on Monday. I know there will be more rumours, new specialists about the sentences. We're going to see.
"I know what people are looking forward to, what they expect, I know what I read for many, many years.
"Everyone is innocent until proven guilty. So, we'll see."
On the pitch, City are beginning a busy period that will see them play seven games before the October international break.
With the start of their Champions League campaign and their EFL Cup third-round tie scheduled between their Premier League matches, Guardiola said he would not be using the hectic calendar as an excuse.
"It is going to happen many times when teams play in all competitions," he added.
"We will do our job anyway because we love to do it. I'm not a specialist about the calendar. We follow it. Everyone knows the schedule will be tight this season, so you just have to accept it."
They will have to play those games without defender Nathan Ake, who was stretchered off during the Netherlands’ Nations League meeting with Germany.
"We are unlucky with Nathan - every time he goes there [to play for the Netherlands] he comes back injured," Guardiola said.
"I think it will be until the next international break."
City's next game is at home to Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday as they look to continue their perfect start to the campaign.
Future Netherlands coach Slot will be a Liverpool 'sensation', says Eredivisie CEO
Arne Slot is "something special" and can have a sensational impact as Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool replacement, believes Eredivisie chief executive Jan de Jong.
Speaking at the Thinking Football Summit organised by Liga Portugal, De Jong also backed Slot – alongside embattled Manchester United counterpart Erik ten Hag – to manage the Netherlands in the future.
Slot has enjoyed a fine start to life at Anfield after leaving Feyenoord, leading Liverpool to three straight Premier League wins, including an impressive 3-0 triumph over United.
The Reds have won all three of their Premier League games this term while keeping a clean sheet in each victory. When they host Nottingham Forest on Saturday, they could become just the fifth team in English top-flight history to start a season with four straight wins without conceding.
Manchester City last achieved that feat in 2015-16, following in the footsteps of Aston Villa (1900-01), Ipswich Town (1974-75) and Chelsea (2005-06).
Ten Hag has found things more difficult at Old Trafford, becoming the first United manager to start two Premier League seasons with the club by losing two of his first three matches.
However, De Jong expects both bosses to be successful in the long term, telling Stats Perform: "The Premier League is the highest goal you can reach. So if there are two Dutch coaches at such big clubs, we are very proud of it. It's the best we can do.
"We hope that in the near future, both will be the coach of the Dutch national team. I think Ten Hag started very well, but Louis van Gaal says Manchester United is a very difficult team to manage.
"So Erik is facing a lot of problems, but I think he's technical, a very good coach on a very high level and Arne Slot is something special.
"I think he will be a sensation. You never know, but he has everything in him to be one of the greatest coaches of his time. "
De Jong's primary concern for 2024-25 is ensuring the Eredivisie maintains its position as Europe's sixth league, pointing to the importance of Champions League revenue going to multiple Dutch clubs.
"To be honest, we want to be the sixth league. There's a huge gap and we cannot bridge it between the big five and the others," he said.
"A couple of years ago, in 2018, we were number 14 in the UEFA ranking and now we are number six. That's very important and we have at least two teams participating in the Champions League.
"That is crucial for us because the money the teams get out of Champions League football is much more than the local media rights. So this year is fully aimed at how we stay in sixth position."
The Eredivisie is one of several leagues to be threatened by the big-spending approach of Saudi Pro League clubs, with Steven Bergwijn swapping Ajax for Al-Ittihad in a €21million move earlier this month.
That switch led Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman to leave Bergwijn out of his squad for this month's Nations League fixtures, and De Jong admits the financial power of Saudi clubs is a real concern.
"When you make a step in your career, I hope that it's always out of an aim that you want to reach the highest level," he added.
"I'm a little bit naïve, but I hope winning prizes is more important than earning as much money as you can."
On Koeman's decision to exclude Bergwijn, he said: "He said that from his point of view, he would no longer take Bergwijn as a player of the Dutch national team.
"He did not say that the competition was not strong enough, but he was very surprised that he did it at the age of 26. That was the point Koeman was trying to make."
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