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%
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%
Toronto FC v FC Cincinnati: Noonan puts record-equalling run down to new chemistry
Pat Noonan says it was always just a matter of time before FC Cincinnati found their feet, as they look to set a new club record for successive MLS wins against Toronto FC at BMO Field.
Last year's Supporters' Shield champions have won their last six matches, equalling the best streak in their league history, which they achieved last campaign.
They trail Eastern Conference leaders Inter Miami by just one point with a game in hand, having turned their season around after a slow start.
Noonan believes time spent on the training ground, particularly with offseason arrivals, has been the major factor.
"I think it's just about the understanding of some of the roles. With new faces, that always takes time," Noonan said.
"We've had 13 or 14 games together now and with games and with time, there's better chemistry, better understanding of relationships."
On Toronto, he added: "It's been a good week for them, and I think in terms of structure and personnel, there's a lot of things that are similar."
Toronto are fifth in the Eastern standings after crushing rivals CF Montreal 5-1 in their last league game.
They followed up that win by beating Saint-Laurent 8-1 in the Canadian Championship on Tuesday, and boss John Herdman is delighted to see their forwards enjoying themselves.
"They're just enjoying their football at the minute, really enjoying it," Herdman said. "I've got to tip my hat to the lads. I just can't wait to see this whole team playing together.
"I think there are more levels here and I can't wait to keep pushing for them in the next three or four weeks."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Toronto FC – Lorenzo Insigne
Federico Bernardeschi scored his first career hat-trick in Toronto's derby win last week, but then picked up a late booking that will cause him to be suspended for this game.
Six of the eight hat-tricks scored by Toronto players in MLS have now been scored by Italians, with Sebastian Giovinco netting five. With Bernardeschi out, Insigne must step up.
FC Cincinnati – Luciano Acosta
Acosta has contributed to at least one goal in a club-record eight straight matches, after recording a goal and two assists in a 3-1 win over St. Louis City last week.
The only longer streak in MLS since the start of last season was a nine-game run by the Columbus Crew's Cucho Hernandez, from April to June 2023.
MATCH PREDICTION – FC CINCINNATI WIN
Toronto ended a four-match losing streak against Cincinnati on February 25 with a scoreless draw on the road.
Cincinnati had won six of the previous seven meetings between the teams, in a run dating back to the start of the 2021 season (one defeat).
The Orange and Blue are favourites for this battle between Eastern Conference contenders, having won 30 of their last 49 regular-season games dating back to October 2022. No team in the post-shootout era has ever won 31 times in a span of 50 matches.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Toronto FC – 22.7%
FC Cincinnati – 56.4%
Draw – 20.9%
Charlotte FC v Philadelphia Union: Glass half full for Byrne
Nathan Byrne says Dean Smith's initiative of gifting players bottles of wine when they keep a clean sheet has provided him with plenty of motivation, as the Crown target a fifth successive shutout against the Philadelphia Union.
Charlotte have kept four straight clean sheets in MLS play, playing out a goalless draw with the LA Galaxy last time out after wins over the Portland Timbers (2-0), Nashville SC and the Chicago Fire (both 1-0).
Smith has been rewarding his players for each shutout with a bottle of wine, and Byrne hopes there is plenty more forthcoming.
"It depends if you like wine or not, but for me it's definitely an added incentive. He's behind on his payments," Byrne joked. "We've got enough as it is.
"It helps when there's consistency and the same players learning each other's games every week. We have less individual duels as we can back each other up.
"If you play consistently, you're going to grow in confidence, especially when you're keeping clean sheets and getting good results."
Charlotte are sixth in the Eastern Conference standings, four points clear of eighth-placed Philadelphia.
The Union ended a six-game winless streak by beating the New England Revolution 3-0 last time out, and coach Jim Curtin hopes that result will be a turning point for his side.
Curtin said: "It's a justification for how hard these guys have been working, because we're still the same group right?
"I'm still the same coach, these are still the same players. When they get confident and they get going, we can beat anybody."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Charlotte FC – Kristijan Kahlina
Charlotte have kept four straight clean sheets for the first time in club.
They are the only team to keep clean sheets in four straight matches in MLS this season, and goalkeeper Kahlina will be desperate to keep that run going.
Philadelphia Union – Jack McGlynn
McGlynn (two goals, three assists) has contributed to at least one goal in five straight matches for the Union, equalling the longest streak in club history.
He is the fourth player in Union history to contribute to a goal in five straight games, after Daniel Gazdag (twice), C.J. Sapong and Mikael Uhre.
MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW
The home side has never lost a match between Charlotte and the Union, with the Crown registering a win and a draw in the teams' two meetings at Bank of America Stadium.
Charlotte have only lost two of their last 26 home matches in all competitions, winning 14 and drawing 10 in a run dating back to late March 2023.
The Union, meanwhile, are unbeaten in their first seven away matches this season (three wins, four draws), the longest unbeaten streak on the road in their history.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Charlotte FC – 35.5%
Philadelphia Union – 39.3%
Draw – 25.2%
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
