Inter Miami can qualify for the last 16 of the CONCACAF Champions Cup for a second successive season by avoiding defeat against Sporting Kansas City on Tuesday at Chase Stadium.
A 1-0 victory by the Herons in leg one of this tie last Wednesday has put KC in a must-win situation heading into this decisive game.
Match preview
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On a cold evening in Kansas City, Miami were able to rely on their individual quality to get by, scoring on their only targeted effort.
That victory ended a two-match losing run for them in this tournament, while they are still unbeaten in 2025 since Javier Mascherano took charge.
As they did many times last season, Miami snatched a point from the jaws of defeat in their opening match of the new MLS campaign on Saturday, scoring in the 10th minute of stoppage time to claim a 2-2 draw with New York City FC.
Their only Champions Cup victory came at Chase Stadium a year ago, when they defeated MLS side Nashville SC 3-1 to win that tie 5-3 on aggregate.
Miami equalled an MLS record for regular season victories in the non-shootout era last year (22), though they have only triumphed in one of their previous five matches against a league opponent, counting friendlies and playoffs (versus SKC last week).
Since their 2-1 victory in game one of their best-of-three series with Atlanta United last year, the Herons are winless at Chase Stadium, losing the decisive encounter of that series (3-2) and playing to a 2-2 draw with NYCFC last weekend.
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Once again, it was close, but no cigar for Peter Vermes and his Sporting Kansas City team last week, as they were holding court against a superior Miami side but could not find that moment of brilliance.
Narrow one-goal defeats were quite common for them in 2024, as they lost 12 regular season contests by a single goal, and they enter this upcoming fixture with back-to-back 1-0 losses, after Austin FC beat them thanks to a late goal on Saturday.
Sporting scored twice in a 3-2 pre-season defeat to Charlotte FC late last month but have failed to find the back of the net in any of their last five matches played.
To keep their Champions Cup hopes alive, they will need to win an away match in this competition, something they have not done since February 2019 in their round of 16 tie with Toluca (2-0).
They are winless in their previous six competitive fixtures against MLS opposition dating back to the previous regular season, suffering five defeats over that span.
In their only prior visit to Chase Stadium, SKC took the lead after nine minutes before conceding three straight goals and losing 3-2.
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Team News
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First-choice Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender has not played since sustaining a muscle injury while on international duty with the USA in January, David Martinez is a question mark on Tuesday due to a sore ankle, as is Yannick Bright because of a thigh injury.
Veteran left-back Jordi Alba missed the first leg of this tie with a leg issue but took the place of Noah Allen in their regular-season opener on Saturday, while Tomas Aviles is eligible to play despite his red card this past weekend.
Lionel Messi had the only goal in the opening leg last week, while Oscar Ustari stopped the three shots that he faced to collect a clean sheet.
Last week, Kansas City were missing Jansen Miller who is recovering from a back injury, while Khiry Shelton is unlikely to see the field on Tuesday as he is dealing with a hamstring strain.
Vermes had three new faces in his starting 11 this weekend versus Austin, including Joaquin Fernandez, Logan Ndenbe and Willy Agada.
Dejan Joveljic, their big off-season signing made his SKC debut in MLS play off the bench this weekend after beginning as the lone striker up top last week.
Inter Miami possible starting lineup:
Ustari; Weigandt, Aviles, Lujan, Alba; Cremaschi, Redondo, Busquets, Picault; Messi; Suarez
Sporting Kansas City possible starting lineup:
Pulskamp; Davis, Rosero, Voloder, Leibold; Garcia, Radoja, Rodriguez; Salloi, Joveljic, Thommy
We say: Inter Miami 2-0 Sporting Kansas City (Inter Miami advances 3-0 on aggregate)
Miami only need one half-chance to make it count, while Sporting have not shown much decisiveness in the attacking third, which we believe will make the difference on Tuesday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
