Enzo Maresca says he has urged Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to score more goals after he netted twice in Leicester’s comeback win over Coventry in his first Sky Bet Championship game in charge.
The former Manchester City coach was satisfied with the result, which saw Dewsbury-Hall score twice in 10 minutes late on to seal victory after Coventry captain Kyle McFadzean had put Mark Robins’ side ahead early in the second half.
Maresca revealed he had urged Dewsbury-Hall to get into the opponents’ area more.
The 24-year-old midfielder only scored twice as the Foxes were relegated from the Premier League last season.
The result was a headed equaliser and a spectacular winner with three minutes to go.
Maresca said: “At the beginning when I came in, I checked the numbers of the players and I told him he has better quality to be able to score more and make more assists.
“The only way to do it is to arrive more often in the box. Kiernan scored here because he was there in the area.
“We are happy because he scored and we won and that’s the most important thing.”
Maresca also pointed to the fact that his team maintained momentum until the latter stages, despite Coventry’s constant threat.
The Italian coach said: “I told the players that Coventry was a team that almost won promotion in May. We needed to be mentally strong.
“So to be 1-0 down and then win the game, the guys showed a lot of great effort.
“We conceded a lot of goals from set pieces last season, I knew this before I came. We conceded again here and it was not easy to come back for us.”
Asked if he was concerned about the number of chances Coventry created, Maresca responded: ‘I’m always concerned. The feeling of winning was unbelievable, but we have to improve.”
Coventry manager Mark Robins predicted that Dewsbury-Hall will will be one of the top players in the Championship this season.
But he admitted there was a feeling of what might have been had his side taken more than one chance after creating so many openings.
Robins said: “If we’d taken one more, we might have won by two or three. We’re trying to be on the front foot and carrying a threat is something that’s really important to us.
“We had chances to score, but such is life, we’ve not taken them.
“I think Dewsbury-Hall is going to be one of the best players at this level. Someone also told me Leicester had £100million worth of talent on the bench – which is nice.
“It’s always disappointing to lose especially from a winning position but when you look at the quality of Leicester, there’s a lot of Manchester City in the movements.”
Nashville SC v CF Montreal: Smith knows strugglers must make home comforts count
Nashville SC coach Gary Smith knows his struggling side must make the most of their home games as they look to snap a five-match winless run against CF Montreal on Saturday.
Nashville sit a lowly 14th in the Eastern Conference standings with just eight points from nine matches, their only league victory of 2024 coming against Charlotte FC in mid-March.
They were pegged back in a 1-1 draw with the San Jose Earthquakes last time out as the pressure on Smith intensified further, and he knows they are running out of time to turn things around.
"We're all very appreciative and understanding of the fact the home games represent the very best opportunity to earn points," Smith said.
"But I wouldn't say that I feel any more pressure than I have done for any other home game or any other fixture."
Montreal, meanwhile, have seen their preparations overshadowed by reports that star midfielder Mathieu Choiniere has requested a transfer after entering the last year of his contract.
While boss Laurent Courtois is none the wiser as to Choiniere's intentions, he is keen to see the homegrown talent stay put.
"Everyone loves Mathieu, everyone wants him to be valued, everyone wants him to stay here," Courtois said.
"Everyone wants him here to lift the club as high as possible, for as long as possible.
"There will be discussions between players and the club to improve their contractual situations everywhere, and it doesn't always need to be in the public eye.
"I don't know the accuracy of the rumour that came out. The club hasn't told me anything."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Nashville SC – Hany Mukhtar
Mukhtar scored with one of his six shots against San Jose last time out.
He has taken a total of 388 shots since joining MLS in 2020, 100 more than any other player in the league in that time.
CF Montreal – Bryce Duke
Montreal managed just eight shots in their scoreless draw with the Columbus Crew last time out. Only Austin FC (7.8) have averaged fewer shots per match than Montreal (9.6) in MLS this season.
Duke has created nine chances for team-mates this campaign, a tally only matched by Choiniere among Montreal players. If they are to improve their attacking output, he will have a key role to play.
MATCH PREDICTION – NASHVILLE SC
Nashville have only managed three wins in 21 MLS matches since the end of the Leagues Cup last August (10 draws, eight losses, including playoffs).
They are also winless in their last five, drawing two and losing three, but the visit of a Montreal team who do not travel well could be a boost for Smith's men.
Montreal have gone four away games without a victory, failing to score in any of their last three and conceding 10 goals throughout that run. This game may just come at a good time for the hosts.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Nashville SC – 49.4%
CF Montreal – 23%
Draw – 27.6%
Houston Dynamo v St. Louis City: Carnell eager to get going after extended break
Bradley Carnell is eager to get going again when St. Louis City return to MLS action against the Houston Dynamo on Saturday, two weeks on from their last game.
St. Louis were last in action on April 21, when Tomas Totland's last-gasp equaliser saw them claim a 3-3 draw against rivals Sporting Kansas City.
Carnell's team have only lost one of their last eight MLS games, though five of those have finished level to leave them ninth in the Western Conference standings, one point behind the Dynamo.
Speaking about the challenges of their long wait for a game, Carnell said: "The week off was nice, it gave us some time to plan and prep for the next few weeks and where we're going.
"There's going to be a ton of games so it's really important for us to do that. We can't change the calendar and it is what it is.
"We're excited about the games coming up, there's a lot of good teams among our opponents in the next couple of weeks."
Houston, meanwhile, have lost three of their last four league games including each of their last two, both of which came against Texas rivals in Austin FC (0-1) and FC Dallas (0-2).
Despite their downturn, boss Ben Olsen is choosing to remain upbeat and is certain things will turn, saying: "I can take a loss and I will say the guys gave everything, they continue to fight.
"We'll get back to work and try to make the fans proud next week.
"We prepare for St. Louis the same way we prepared for Dallas. We'll just get back to work and keep going.
"It's very early in the season. The last two games didn't go the way we want so we have to learn from it."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Houston Dynamo – Ibrahim Aliyu
Aliyu is the only Houston player with more than one goal to his name in MLS this year, netting three times. However, he has failed to score in their last three games, so he will be desperate to end that mini-drought here.
St. Louis City – Joao Klauss
Klauss is St. Louis' joint-leading scorer this season, his three goals only matched by Celio Pompeu after both players were on target against Sporting KC last time out.
The Brazilian has attempted a team-high 29 shots this term as well as creating 12 chances for team-mates, a tally only bettered by Pompeu (17).
MATCH PREDICTION – HOUSTON DYNAMO WIN
The Dynamo's first victory over St. Louis came in the second leg of this year's CONCACAF Champions Cup first round, a 1-0 home win that saw Houston into the round of 16.
St. Louis had previously gone unbeaten in the first three meetings between the teams (two wins, one draw), including winning both matches in Missouri.
After winning their first three away matches in club history last year, St. Louis have only managed three wins in 22 road trips (six draws, 13 defeats). Houston, meanwhile, have won two of their last three at Shell Energy Stadium so enter Saturday's game as favourites.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Houston Dynamo – 42%
St. Louis City – 29.7%
Draw – 28.3%
Chicago Fire v New England Revolution: Acosta says composure key for misfiring hosts
Kellyn Acosta says the Chicago Fire need to be more precise with their ball progression if they are to end their barren run and begin to climb the MLS standings.
Frank Klopas' team sit 12th in the Eastern Conference and have failed to win – or even find the net – in three matches ahead of Saturday's clash with the New England Revolution.
Chicago scored nine goals in their first five MLS matches in 2024 but have since netted two in their last five, and midfielder Acosta says composure is the key to improving their attacking output.
"It's a combination of moving the ball back to front and finding our forwards," Acosta said.
"I feel like we've got to get them the ball in dangerous areas where they are bringing out their qualities, and I think we have not done a good job of progressing the ball to them."
The Revs, meanwhile, sit bottom of the East with just four points through their first nine matches under Caleb Porter, being thrashed 4-1 by a Lionel Messi-inspired Inter Miami side last time out.
Nacho Gil has joined several other New England players on a lengthy injury list, and Porter says the team must be cautious as they navigate a route through a testing spell.
"If we're good with our planning… you can't avoid some injuries, but with soft tissue injuries, you can avoid a mistake," Porter said.
"The medical staff, the sports science staff, they'll have a plan to reintegrate these guys where they can hit the ground running."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Chicago Fire – Brian Gutierrez
The Fire failed to record a shot on target in last week's goalless draw at home to Atlanta United, the third time they have done so since the start of the 2022 campaign. No other team has done so more than once in that time.
Gutierrez was limited to the role of substitute for that game, but as Chicago's leading scorer with three league goals this year, he will surely come in to start this one.
New England Revolution – Carles Gil
Carles Gil leads all Revs players for goals (three) and chances created (27) so far this season. None of his team-mates have laid on more than 11 chances this term (Tomas Chancalay).
MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW
New England are winless in 17 MLS away matches (five draws, 12 defeats, including playoffs), in a run dating back to May 2023. Their longest ever winless run on the road in MLS is 18 matches between September 2016 to September 2017.
However, they may fancy their chances of taking something from Saturday's match, with Chicago only having two wins through their first 10 games of the season.
This is the sixth straight season in which they have failed to win at least three of their first 10 games of an MLS campaign. No other team in MLS history has done so in more than three straight years.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Chicago Fire – 37.7%
New England Revolution – 33.4%
Draw – 28.9%
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