Over a week after a suffering crushing defeat to an Eastern Conference foe, Inter Miami will be back in action on Wednesday when they host Toronto at Chase Stadium.
The Herons dropped down to second in the MLS Supporters' Shield standings with a 6-1 loss at FC Cincinnati, while the Reds ended a lengthy losing run with a 2-1 triumph over the Philadelphia Union.
Match preview
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To put it mildly, it was a bad day at the office for Inter Miami in Cincinnati as they equalled their largest-ever defeat in an MLS regular-season contest since losing 5-0 to the New England Revolution in 2021.
While they have allowed their share of goals in the regular season (37), their defeat versus Cincy was the first time they had conceded six goals in a single league fixture.
You may not have known it from their previous encounter, but Tata Martino's men were in fine form before that, winning four consecutive matches by a 2-1 score and suffering just two defeats since being eliminated from the CONCACAF Champions Cup by Monterrey in April.
With a victory on Wednesday, the Herons will surpass their number of home wins from the previous domestic campaign (six).
Miami have had their share of come-from-behind victories this year, though their only four domestic defeats in 2024 occurred when they had conceded first.
They boast a 100% record at home against Toronto, claiming a convincing 4-0 triumph at Chase Stadium the last time out in 2023.
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Some late heroics enabled TFC to avoid an eighth successive defeat across all competitions, scoring twice with fewer than 20 minutes remaining to come out on top.
Before that result, John Herdman's men had gone winless in 10 consecutive matches in all competitions, with their last MLS triumph coming in May (5-1 over CF Montreal).
Toronto are winless in their last seven away matches across all competitions, and they have not won a road game in the league since late April (2-1 versus Orlando City).
The Reds are tied for the second-fewest away wins in the Eastern Conference this year (two), but a victory on Wednesday would mark the most for them as the visitors in this competition since 2020 (five).
So far this season they have eight victories in MLS, and a triumph against the Herons would equal their number of victories from 2022.
They have yet to claim a point away from home against the Herons, but one of their two road victories in this competition took place in Florida (2-1 at Orlando City).
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Team News
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Miami captain Lionel Messi might not be available after being taken off with an apparent ankle injury in Argentina's Copa America triumph this weekend, though Luis Suarez could be back after helping Uruguay claim a bronze medal at that tournament.
Nicolas Freire might also miss another match with an ACL injury, while Facundo Farias is out for the year because of a torn ACL.
Sergio Busquets will have to sit out after receiving a pair of cautions against Cincinnati, though Jordi Alba and Diego Gomez are eligible to return from their suspensions.
Serhiy Kryvtsov had the equaliser for Miami the last time out, his first of the season before the Orange and Blue exploded with five unanswered goals.
TFC were without Alonso Coello last weekend due to a thigh issue, Tyrese Spicer was sidelined with a lower back injury and Brandon Servania is out for the season after rupturing his ACL.
Richie Laryea and Jonathan Osorio should both be available for selection after Canada finished fourth at the Copa America last weekend.
An own-goal courtesy of Jack Elliott drew Toronto level on Saturday before Deandre Kerr slotted home the winner four minutes later.
Inter Miami possible starting lineup:
Callender; Weigandt, Kryvtsov, Fray, Alba; Redondo, Bright, Cremaschi; Gressel, Suarez, Taylor
Toronto possible starting lineup:
Johnson; Rosted, Long, Gomis; Laryea, Osorio, Longstaff, Marshall-Rutty; Etienne, Bernardeschi; Owusu
We say: Inter Miami 3-1 Toronto
Miami have proven they can win without Messi, despite what we saw in their previous encounter, and they should be able to expose a Toronto backline that have rarely looked organised or compact this season.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
