Inter Miami will be looking to get back to winning ways when they take on Toronto in the MLS Eastern Conference at DRV PNK Stadium on Thursday.
As we head into the final stretch of the league season, time is running out for the hosts to try and get themselves into contention for a final series playoff place while the visitors are trying to avoid a bottom-of-the-table end to the season.
Match preview
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Inter Miami suffered a setback in their quest to reach the final series playoff places as they come into this match following a massive 5-2 loss to Atlanta last week.
Leonardo Campana opened the scoring for the hosts in the 25th minute of the match, but that seemed to spark their opponents into life, and Atlanta got their equaliser 10 minutes later and added a further two to their tally before the halftime break.
Without the services of Lionel Messi, who had picked up a knock while on international duty with Argentina, as well as Jordi Alba, the Herons were outplayed by the Five Stripes and remain second-bottom in the Eastern Conference with 28 points after 27 games.
That result also brought an end to an incredible run of 12 matches unbeaten since the Argentine's arrival in Miami, which included winning the Leagues Cup for the first time in their history.
Gerardo Martino's side are expected to go all-out for the win here as they now have a seven-point gap to close in the space of just seven matches before the end of the campaign in order to have a chance of making it into the post-season cup.
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Meanwhile, Toronto are in desperate need of a run of good results leading up to the end of the season if they are to get off the bottom of the table. However, their record to date does little to inspire confidence in their chances of doing so.
The visitors suffered a 2-1 loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps over the weekend, which was their ninth loss in their last 10 league matches, managing only a solitary win over Philadephia Union in that time.
Across the entire season, Terry Dunfield's side have managed just four wins in 28 MLS matches, along with 10 draws and 14 losses, and they are also the lowest-scoring team in the East with just 24 to date.
In addition, TFC are currently the worst-performing team across both conferences in terms of away records, as they are the only side in the MLS that has yet to win a single game on the road after 13 matches (W0 D4 L9).
Toronto can take some confidence from the fact that they won the last encounter against this opponent 2-0 back in March, but with Miami sporting a seven-match unbeaten record at the DRV PNK Stadium of late, it will likely take a monumental effort from the visitors to get anything from this one.
Team News
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For the hosts, the big question is whether Messi will be fit for this crucial encounter, although reports in the week suggest that he should return to the starting 11 here, which would likely see Robert Taylor drop to the bench.
Ian Fray, Franco Negri and Corentin Jean are all expected to miss the remainder of the season with ACL issues, while Gregore is still a few weeks away from returning from an ankle injury.
Dunfield has a host of injuries to contend with for the closing stages of the season, with Prince Osei Owusu (leg), Cassius Mailula (muscle) and Sean Johnson (broken hand) expected to be out until next month.
Greg Ranjitsingh (knee), Cristian Gutierrez (hip) and Adama Diomande (muscle) are shorter-term absentees but are not expected to be ready in time to start this one.
Inter Miami possible starting lineup:
Callender; Yedlin, Aviles, Miller, Alba; Arroyo, Busquets, Cremaschi; Messi, Campana, Farias
Toronto possible starting lineup:
Romero; Franklin, Rosted, Bradley, Petretta; Ibarra, Coello, Osorio; Insigne, Kerr, Bernardeschi
We say: Inter Miami 3-1 Toronto
The hosts' main goal is to reach the playoff spots this season, and with key personnel expected to return to the squad for this match, we should see a much better display than they managed last week against Atlanta.
Toronto's away record this season has been woeful, and we feel they will suffer another defeat in this one.
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Top tip
Devesh Jaganath
