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• FC Cincinnati v Atlanta United: Noonan demands in-form hosts stay humble

  Pat Noonan will not let his FC Cincinnati team get too high following Saturday's memorable win over their rivals Columbus Crew, warning Atlanta United will offer them a stern test on Wednesday.

  Cincinnati recorded a huge 2-1 road win over the MLS Cup holders last time out, with Kevin Kelsy and Luciano Acosta on target.

  That victory – their fourth in a row – kept them three points behind Inter Miami at the Eastern Conference summit, but Noonan says any drop-off in midweek will be punished.

  "The sign of a good team is when you have a poor performance or result, how do you respond to it and come back and have a better performance, or have a better result?" Noonan said.

  "On the other side, when you have a good performance, how do you respond to that? Obviously, we have a short turnaround against a difficult opponent who we've just seen.

  "If we don't turn it around the right way and if we're not prepared for Atlanta, we'll get humbled very quickly. Just like we can't get too low with bad performances, we can't get too high."

  Atlanta, meanwhile, are 12 points behind Cincinnati in 10 th place, having been beaten 3-2 by D.C. United on Saturday.

  They also lost 2-1 to Cincinnati when the sides last met in April, with two goals in two second-half minutes handing the Orange and Blue a comeback victory.

  Asked what he would look to change ahead of Wednesday's rematch, boss Gonzalo Pineda said: "Simplify the message. It's about putting the players in a position to succeed, giving them tools, and the message that sometimes less is more."

  PLAYERS TO WATCH

  FC Cincinnati – Luciano Acosta

  Acosta has scored in four consecutive games, tied for the longest goalscoring streak in MLS play in Cincinnati's history.

  He also had a four-game streak last June while Brandon Vazquez did so between July and August in 2022. Will he break new ground on Wednesday?

  Atlanta United – Thiago Almada

  Almada scored from the penalty spot against D.C. last time out, with one of his five shots in the game.

  He has recorded five MLS games this year with at least five attempts at goal, with only Denis Bouanga (eight) and Lionel Messi (six) having more. He also netted his team's only goal when they last faced Cincinnati on April 20.

  MATCH PREDICTION – FC CINCINNATI WIN

  Atlanta are unbeaten in five all-time trips to Cincinnati in MLS, recording two wins and three draws there. Cincinnati are the only team the Five Stripes have visited more than twice without ever losing in MLS play.

  However, Atlanta have only won two of their last 23 away games in all competitions (10 draws, 11 defeats) in a run dating back to late March 2023. No MLS team has fewer away wins in all competitions in that time.

  Cincinnati have won their last four games and could set a new team record for successive victories here. With home advantage on their side, they are favourites to do so.

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  FC Cincinnati: 45.4%
  Atlanta United: 26.9%
  Draw: 27.7%

• Postecoglou rues missed chances against City as Son squanders decisive opportunity

  Ange Postecoglou was left to rue missed chances as Tottenham's Champions League hopes were ended after Tuesday's 2-0 defeat to Manchester City.

  Spurs needed three points to take the Premier League's top-four race to the final day but were undone by Pep Guardiola's side, who moved within touching distance of another top-flight title.

  Erling Haaland's routine tap-in from Kevin De Bruyne's brilliance after 51 minutes proved a cruel blow before the City striker's stoppage-time penalty sealed a decisive three points.

  It could have been a different story, though, if Stefan Ortega – on as a second-half substitute for Ederson – did not deny Heung-min Son's gilt-edged chance following Manuel Akanji's error.

  The City goalkeeper denied the onrushing Spurs forward when one-on-one with the visitors 1-0 up, and Postecoglou acknowledged his side failed to seize their opportunities.

  "We lost the game so it was a missed chance for three points," the frustrated Tottenham manager told Sky Sports.

  "We had the opportunities and we had to punish them. It was a tight game and in the big moments we were not able to capitalise and they were.

  "I thought we were in the game the whole time, even at 1-0 we had a great chance to go level.

  "In the second half we were chasing the game so they got a little more space but I thought we were well in it up until that point [the second goal]."

  Spurs' loss proved Aston Villa's gain as Unai Emery's side qualified for the Champions League for the first time in their history, ending a 41-year absence after last featuring in the European Cup in 1982-83.

  Postecoglou found it hard to seek the immediate positives, having watched Tottenham fall short and inadvertently damage rivals Arsenal's title hopes in the process.

  "We lost the game so I am disappointed," the Australian added, before responding to whether any pride could be taken. 

  "Not right now because we have lost. We will assess the season, still one more game to go, one more game against Sheffield United and we need to make sure we win.

  "I think wherever you finish is a fair reflection of where you are at."

  Tottenham will finish outside the top four for the fourth time in the last five seasons, after finishing in the Champions League spots in Mauricio Pochettino’s final four full campaigns in charge (2015-16 to 2018-19).

  Postecoglou acknowledged there is still work to do to catch up with England's perennial champions City.

  Asked how his side measure up to Guardiola's men, he said: Nothing earth-shattering that I didn't know before the game. We still have some work to do. We need to do some work to catch up."

• 'One more game, and we can change history' – Rodri knows Man City have one more step to take

  Manchester City know they cannot let complacency set in as they aim to make Premier League history, so says Rodri.

  City beat Tottenham 2-0 on Tuesday, taking a huge stride towards winning an unprecedented fourth straight Premier League title.

  Erling Haaland scored twice, with his second – a calmly taken spot-kick in stoppage time – came after a string of fine stops from Stefan Ortega.

  City's stand-in goalkeeper replaced the injured Ederson just after the hour mark, and twice denied Dejan Kulusevski before making an exceptional save to prevent Son Heung-min scoring in a one-v-one.

  With one game left, City are two points above Arsenal, and Rodri knows the job must now be done against West Ham on Sunday.

  "It's unbelievable. For us, it gives us the chance to fight again in the last game," he told Sky Sports.

  "We know it's one more game, but you saw the character of the team, of course it wasn't our best performance, but we came here to win – that's what we do. It's the mentality of these guys, the substitutions, Stefan saved us, Jeremy was unbelievable, every player that came in was exceptional.

  "This is football. We have the best striker in the world and today he made the difference, but today, Stefan was simply incredible. We were 1-0 up and he made three outstanding saves. I have no words. We want to make history again, but we have one more to come.

  "We have the experience from against Aston Villa [in 2022]. We know it's not done. We know it's going to be tough, but if we do it, we can change history."

  Kyle Walker echoed the sentiment.

  "We know it's not done, but we've taken it down to the last game, in front of our fans," he said. "You have to take each game as it comes."

  City are now unbeaten in 22 consecutive Premier League games (W18 D4), including all 18 in 2024 (W15 D3); however, the last two teams to make as long an unbeaten start to a calendar year have failed to go on to win the title in that same year (Liverpool in 2022 – second and Chelsea in 2008 – second).

  Pep Guardiola's team will sit top of the Premier League table heading into the final day of the season for the sixth time in the last seven seasons, having gone on to win the title in each of those previous campaigns.