With a victory over the Chicago Fire on Saturday at Chase Stadium, Inter Miami can maintain their narrow lead atop the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer.
A 3-1 victory for the Herons on Wednesday against Toronto, combined with a 1-0 triumph by the Fire over FC Cincinnati, has Miami back in the Supporters' Shield lead, with the Fire two points below the Eastern Conference playoff line.
Match preview
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Things in this league can shift quickly, as Miami discovered in midweek, regaining their first overall status 11 days after dropping down to second with a 6-1 loss to Cincinnati.
Due to the international tournaments this summer and a long list of injuries, Tata Martino has had to do his share of squad rotation, but the Miami boss has rarely got his selections wrong.
The Herons have points in six of their previous seven league contests, five of which were victories, giving them 50 points on the year, surpassing their best mark in a single MLS regular-season from 2022 (48).
With seven wins from 12 domestic home games, Miami lead the Eastern Conference in that department, boasting one more victory at Chase Stadium than they had a season ago.
Up until matchday 17, Inter Miami were the comeback kings of Major League Soccer, claiming 20 points when conceding the opening goal, but they are winless in three of their previous four league contests when trailing 1-0.
Miami are the only side in the league this season to reach the 50-goal mark (54), finding the back of the net in 22 of their 24 fixtures in this competition, while they have never been held off the scoresheet at Chase Stadium in 2024.
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The Fire did Miami a favour on Wednesday and also put themselves back in the Eastern Conference playoff race, ending a two-match winless run along the way.
Coming into this weekend, Frank Klopas's men are 13th in the East but could move above the post-season line with a win and a lot of help, as they are within a victory of surpassing Atlanta United, DC United, Nashville SC, CF Montreal and Toronto.
Their matchday 24 triumph also ended a two-game goalless run for them in this competition, while they have posted consecutive MLS clean sheets for the first time all season.
Scoring goals has been a big problem for them throughout the year, netting the third-fewest in the East (29), failing to find the mark in eight regular-season encounters in 2024, three away from home.
In 2024, Chicago have the joint-fewest away victories in MLS (two), but this weekend, they can win consecutive domestic fixtures as the visitors for the first time all year.
They boast an impressive record versus the Herons, winning their last three games against them, suffering just one defeat in their six all-time meetings, 3-2 in Fort Lauderdale in 2021.
Team News
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Lionel Messi was the most notable absentee for Miami on Wednesday as he suffered an ankle injury with Argentina at the Copa America, while Nicolas Freire and Facundo Farias sat out with ACL issues.
On Saturday, Sergio Busquets and Marcelo Weigandt are eligible to return from suspension, while Benjamin Cremaschi has joined the United States squad ahead of the Paris Olympics.
Diego Gomez scored two minutes before the interval against Toronto, with Federico Redondo netting an early second-half brace, the first two of the campaign for the latter.
On Wednesday, the Fire were missing Wyatt Omsberg because of a minor knock, Carlos Teran and Federico Navarro were sidelined with leg issues, while Andrew Gutman and Chase Gasper were unavailable because of hamstring strains.
Xherdan Shaqiri has yet to report back to the team since representing Switzerland at the Euros earlier this summer, while Fabian Herbers became the first German player to make 100 starts for this club in midweek.
A 69th-minute strike by Brian Gutierrez enabled them to claim all three points against the Orange and Blue, his fifth of the MLS campaign.
Inter Miami possible starting lineup:
Callender; Fray, Aviles, Kryvtsov, Alba; Redondo, Busquets, Ruiz; Taylor, Suarez, Gomez
Chicago Fire possible starting lineup:
Brady; Souquet, Omsberg, Czichos; Gutierrez, Acosta, Gimenez, Dean; Mueller, Haile-Selassie; Koutsias
We say: Inter Miami 2-1 Chicago Fire
This game may be closer than many might think, but Miami are more than comfortable in these kind of matches, winning seven times this year by a single goal.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
