Two teams currently outside of the MLS playoff picture will battle for three critical points in the table as Inter Miami and Sporting Kansas City meet for the first time on Saturday at DRV PNK Stadium.
Miami are eight points behind the playoff line in the Eastern Conference following a 3-1 victory over Los Angeles FC, while KC came back to beat the top-seeded team in the West, St. Louis City 2-1, as they are now just two points behind Dallas for a postseason berth.
Match preview
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The new additions at Inter Miami continue to make a difference, but with nine matches remaining and five teams to catch, it may be too much for even Lionel Messi and company to overcome.
On the other hand, we are talking about Messi, who has performed superhuman feats since he first walked onto a football pitch and since his arrival in Fort Lauderdale, the Herons have already lifted a trophy (the Leagues Cup) and are unbeaten in their last 11 matches in all competitions.
Before starting their Leagues Cup campaign, Miami had gone winless in 11 successive MLS encounters, including a seven-match losing run from May 17 to June 24.
Given their current form and the difference that Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba have made since arriving, one has to wonder where this team would have been had those players been at Miami from the beginning of the season, especially knowing that the Herons had lost nine MLS matches this year by a single goal.
Tata Martino's men are unbeaten in the regular season when scoring the opening goal (7-0-2), and are a perfect 6-0 when leading at the half, but have only gained one point when conceding the opener, while also collecting just a single point when trailing after 45 minutes.
Since entering Major League Soccer in 2020, Miami have never had a winning record at the end of the regular season and will need to win eight of their final nine matches to achieve that feat in 2023.
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It has not been quite as flashy as Miami, but Sporting Kansas City are slowly inching towards a potential return into the postseason, currently on a two-game winning run, the third time they have managed to do that on the current MLS campaign.
Another victory on Saturday might not only put them above the playoff line, but it would be the first three-game winning streak for the club since October 2022.
From the beginning of May until now, SKC rank second in the league regarding goals (33) after only finding the back of the net three times in their opening 10 matches of the 2023 domestic season.
Peter Vermes has seen his side notch multiple goals in only two domestic road fixtures this year, but if they can score two more this weekend, the club will reach the 500 mark for all-time away goals in MLS regular season play.
SKC have gone on to lose three MLS matches this year when scoring the opening goal, while their victory over St Louis last weekend was only the second time that they had ever won a game domestically this year when trailing 1-0, the previous time being in late May when they scored four unanswered goals to defeat the Portland Timbers (4-1).
Over the 2023 campaign, Kansas City have only claimed victory once away from home, which is only one fewer than they had all of last season, and a win on Saturday would put this team up to 12 road points for the year, which would be one more than they had in 2022.
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Team News
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Corentin Jean, Franco Negri and Ian Fray could all be missing this weekend for the Herons because of ACL sprains, Gregore is still recovering from a Lisfranc injury, while DeAndre Yedlin will be suspended after being cautioned in the victory over LAFC.
Martino might have to contend with many absentees who will be representing their respective national teams for the international window, including Messi (Argentina), Robert Taylor (Finland), David Ruiz (Honduras), Josef Martinez (Venezuela), Serhiy Kryvtsov (Ukraine), Diego Gomez (Paraguay), Benjamin Cremaschi (USA), Drake Callender (USA) and Edison Azcona (Dominican Republic).
Messi set up two of the three Miami goals last weekend, with Alba netting for the first time in MLS, Facundo Farias notched his first of the regular season and Leonardo Campana picked up his fifth of the domestic campaign, putting him one behind Josef Martinez for the team lead.
It is unclear if Graham Zusi, Stephen Afrifa or Kayden Pierre will be available for SKC, having each previously sustained hamstring strains, while Kortne Ford is out for the season after suffering an Achilles injury in February.
Gadi Kinda was called up to play for Israel, who face Romania and Belarus in Euro 2024 qualifying, while Marinos Tzionis will be a part of the Cyprus national team, who battle Scotland and Spain in this Euro qualifying window.
Alan Pulido had a brace in the victory last Saturday, and he can hit the half-century mark in starts for Sporting should he feature in the opening lineup, Tim Melia is just 13 minutes away from surpassing Nick Garcia for the fifth-most minutes played in SKC history, with the Kansas City keeper currently at 20,145, while Andreu Fontas is 59 minutes shy of reaching 10,000 for this club in all competitions.
Daniel Salloi has scored or assisted in each of his last four regular-season appearances since July 12, setting up their equaliser a week ago, while Johnny Russell became the third player in club history to eclipse 100 combined goals (58) and assists (42) in all competitions when he had a goal and an assist in their 3-0 triumph versus the San Jose Earthquakes.
Inter Miami possible starting lineup:
Dos Santos; Allen, Miller, Aviles, Alba; Ulloa, Busquets, Arroyo; Campana, Stefanelli, Farias
Sporting Kansas City possible starting lineup:
Melia; Davis, Rosero, Fontas, Ndenbe; Espinoza, Walter, Thommy; Russell, Pulido, Salloi
We say: Inter Miami 1-2 Sporting Kansas City
Even without Messi, Miami still have some quality players, but not having Yedlin or Callender could make it difficult for them to contain a well-balanced Kansas City attack.
Sporting are in good form at the moment and should be just as desperate as the Herons this weekend, and with the majority of their squad available, we expect them to have the upper hand on Saturday.
How to watch
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Top tip
Joel Lefevre
