Gamweek five in the MLS season will kick off with a blockbuster encounter at the Red Bull Arena, where New York Red Bulls will be playing host to Inter Miami on Saturday evening.
The hosts are currently in sixth place with seven points, while the visitors lead the Eastern Conference standings with 10 points, though they have played a game more than the sides around them.
Match preview
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After a very slow start to 2023, New York Red Bulls faced major pressure late in the season but rallied strongly to keep their streak alive, reaching the playoffs for the 14th consecutive campaign.
This term, they began much more positively, picking up seven points in their first three games, including an opening day draw against Nashville and back-to-back wins over Houston Dynamo and Dallas.
However, they head into this match following their first loss of the campaign, beaten 3-0 by an impressive Columbus Crew on the road last week.
The Red Bulls performed poorly throughout that game, managing just 41% possession, a mere two shots on target and just one corner, while failing to create a single big chance across the entire 90.
Following that blunt performance against the Crew, manager Sandro Schwarz will be looking for a solid response from his team, and three points here will be crucial to ensuring they remain up with the leading pack in the early stages of the season.
While the Red Bulls have the superior record in this contest, with five wins in eight MLS encounters, they were beaten 2-0 by the Herons at this venue last season.
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Meanwhile, Inter Miami have largely lived up to the hype this season and are currently sitting atop the league standings with a record of three wins, one draw and just one loss in their first five matches.
With the attacking talent on display for Gerardo Martino's side, it comes as little surprise the Herons are already leading the entire MLS in goals scored this season, with 13 already to their name, including three in their win over DC United last week.
Miami went into last week's match without Argentine superstar Lionel Messi, and a few concerns were raised after they went behind inside the first 15 minutes of the match. However, Leonardo Campana quickly put those concerns to bed with the equaliser just 10 minutes later, before summer arrival Luis Suarez bagged a brace in the second half to secure the points.
With that, Suarez moved to the top of the goal-scoring charts for 2024, now on four goals for the season, level with LA Galaxy's Dejan Joveljic and Atlanta United forward Giorgos Giakoumakis.
The Herons are unbeaten across all competitions on the road this season and Martino will be demanding another big performance from his side here, with Messi being ruled out of this match as well and a host of others flagged as doubts.
Team News
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The Red Bulls will be without the services of Serge Ngoma, Curtis Ofori and Dante Vanzeir, all of whom have not featured as yet this season due to injury and are likely to remain sidelined until at least next month.
Daniel Edelman will have to sit out this match due to suspension after picking up a double-yellow in the side's 3-0 loss to Columbus Crew last week, while Carlos Miguel, Noah Eile, Cory Burke and Emil Forsberg are on international duty.
As mentioned, Messi will not feature for the Herons here as he continues his recovery from a hamstring injury that also led to him pulling out of the Argentina squad for their matches against El Salvador and Costa Rica later this week.
Ian Fray and Facundo Farias have both been on the sidelines since last season with cruciate ligament tears. Robbie Robinson and Benjamin Cremaschi are also ruled out for this match due to injury.
In addition, Miami's starting goalkeeper Drake Callender and the midfield trio of Diego Gomez, David Ruiz and Federico Redondo are all away on international duty.
New York Red Bulls possible starting lineup:
Meara; Duncan, Reyes, Nealis, Harper; Gjengaar, Amaya, Stroud, Carmona; Manoel, Morgan
Inter Miami possible starting lineup:
Dos Santos; Allen, Aviles, Kryvstov, Alba; Sunderland, Busquets, Gressel; Taylor, Suarez, Campana
We say: New York Red Bulls 2-3 Inter Miami
While Messi has been ruled out again for Inter Miami, they showed last week that their squad depth will be a major asset this season, especially if the likes of Suarez and Campana can remain fit and firing. The Red Bulls are certainly no pushover at home but we feel that the Herons will outscore them in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
