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• Girona aim to end on a high as Dovbyk eyes Golden Boot

  Girona are hoping to round off their most successful campaign in LaLiga with victory against Granada on Friday, while Artem Dovbyk is in the hunt to finish as the league's top scorer.

  Michel's team, the surprise package of the season, already know they will finish third in the standings behind champions Real Madrid and runners-up Barcelona.

  Girona, whose previous best finish was 10th in 2017-18 and 2022-23, have clinched their place in next season's Champions League and simply want to enjoy their outing on Friday.

  "Tomorrow the stadium will be full and afterwards we want to celebrate with our fans," Michel said on Thursday. 

  "The best way to end the season is to win and make the fans proud, that's what we're playing for. We have to end the season in the best way possible, which is to win. 

  "If we do it with two goals from Dovbyk, that's even better. We have a chance for him to finish as top scorer and for us to surpass 80 points. We will try to win for him."

  Dovbyk, who has netted 21 times this season, is two goals behind Villareal's Alexander Sorloth and two ahead of Madrid's Jude Bellingham.

  After enjoying such highs this season, their 24 league wins including thumping home and away victories over Barcelona, Michel has already turned his attention to the future.

  "It worries me because we need to build a competitive squad for the big year ahead. I would like to keep a lot of people, but I know there are players who are not ours and who have to go back to their teams," he said.

  "However, I think we will do things right and I am convinced that we will have a top squad that will be able to compete in all three competitions."

• D.C. United v Chicago Fire: Klopas adopting 'relegation battle' approach

  Frank Klopas and the Chicago Fire may not have to worry about demotion from MLS, but he wants them to adopt a "relegation battle" mentality ahead of Saturday's visit to D.C. United.

  The Fire sit 14th in the Eastern Conference standings after losing four straight games, with three of those defeats coming at home including last week's 3-1 reverse against the Columbus Crew. 

  Their current losing run is their fifth streak or four or more regular-season defeats since the start of 2021, though they have not lost five in a row in league play since 2018.

  "The thing is trying to simplify things in practice, I think that's the most important thing with teams going through a difficult moment," Klopas said.

  "The mental state of the team is obviously down. I think that's expected when you don't get results, when performances are not going your way.

  "Even though there's no relegation battle in this league, we have to approach every game right now like it's a relegation fight until we can get out of this situation we're in."

  D.C. are also looking to respond after back-to-back losses to the New York Red Bulls (1-4) and Inter Miami (0-1), with those results leaving them ninth in the East.

  Troy Lesesne's team have won praise for their counter-pressing approach this year, but he says they still have plenty of room for improvement when playing on the break.

  "No matter who the opponent is, we want to be difficult to play against and to break down, but we're also doing that so we can create," Lesesne said.

  "We're top in the league for expected goals on the counterattack, but we have to finalise those situations.

  "We're going to keep working on that, keep gaining those moments and keep improving." 

  PLAYERS TO WATCH 

  D.C. United – Christian Benteke 

  Benteke has scored 11 of D.C.'s 20 goals this season, with no other team-mate netting more than once in MLS play.

  D.C. United are one of two MLS teams (also the Houston Dynamo) to only have one player with multiple goals this season.

  Chicago Fire – Carlos Teran 

  Teran scored the Fire's only goal against the Crew last week and has now netted once for them in each of the last four seasons, making him the only player to score in each of the last four campaigns for Chicago.

  The Colombian defender is hardly a goal machine, but Chicago will hope he can have an impact at both ends here.

  MATCH PREDICTION – D.C. UNITED WIN 

  Chicago's tally of 10 points through 14 matches in 2024 is their worst total at this stage of a season in club history.

  Things may not get any better for them on Saturday against a team known for employing an energetic approach.

  D.C. United recorded a 4-0 home win over Chicago in the teams' last meeting last September, and they are looking to post back-to-back victories over the Fire for the first time since a four-game winning run against them between 2014 and 2016.

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  D.C. United – 47.7%

  Chicago Fire – 26.6% 

  Draw – 25.7% 

• Al-Riyadh 2-2 Al-Nassr: Laporte sent off for punch as Al-Nemer salvages point

  Former Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte was sent off for punching Mohammed Al-Aqel on the arm as Al-Nassr played out a 2-2 draw with Al-Riyadh in the Saudi Pro League.

  Meshari Al-Nemer's 97th-minute strike salvaged a point for Al-Nassr, who had trailed for over half the game and played with a one-man disadvantage for over half an hour.

  Otavio had put Al-Nassr ahead only for Andre Gray to drag the hosts level, before Al-Aqel gave David Ospina no chance with a terrific overhead kick to make it 2-1.

  Al-Nassr's position was put in further jeopardy when Laporte was sent off following a bizarre off-the-ball incident which saw him grab and punch Al-Aqel on the elbow, while Cristiano Ronaldo came up with a glaring miss from Sadio Mane's pass across the six-yard box.

  Al-Nemer levelled at the death for Al-Nassr, though they still sit some 14 points adrift of champions Al-Hilal, who could complete an unbeaten season against Al-Wehda on Monday.

  Data Debrief: Laporte's horror show

  It was a game to forget for Laporte, whose bizarre punch on Al-Aqel put Al-Nassr up against it versus a team still in danger of relegation.

  Laporte did not attempt a single tackle in the game while his four duels contested were the joint-fewest of every outfield starter (alongside Khalid Al-Shuwayyi). He was also sent off in Al-Nassr's AFC Champions League quarter-final tie against Al Ain in March.