Inter Miami and FC Cincinnati are in action for the first time since their Leagues Cup exit when they go head to head at the Chase Stadium in MLS on Saturday.
Having failed to win any of the last five league meetings between the two sides, the Herons will head into the weekend looking to get one over the visitors and secure a fourth home win on the bounce in the league.
Match preview
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Inter Miami's Leagues Cup defence came to an end in the round-of-16 as they fell to a somewhat disappointing 3-2 defeat against Columbus Crew at the Lower.com Field two Wednesdays ago.
Matias Ribas and Diego Gomez put the visitors in a commanding lead heading into the final half hour but a brace from Diego Rossi and Christian Ramirez's 67th-minute strike saw Columbus Crew turn the game on its head in dramatic fashion.
Gerardo Martino's men had endured an unconvincing group-stage run as they picked up three points from their two games to finish runners-up in Group N before scraping a 4-3 victory over Toronto FC in their round-of-16 clash on August 9.
Inter Miami now turn their sights to MLS, where they have picked up six wins from their last seven matches — scoring 14 goals and conceding 12 — with a 6-1 hammering at the hands of FC Cincinnati on July 7 being the exception.
The Herons have picked up 16 wins from their 25 league matches while losing four and claiming five draws to collect 53 points and sit top of the Eastern Conference table, five points and one place above Saturday's visitors.
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Like this weekend's hosts, Cincinnati were sent packing from the Leagues Cup in the quarter-finals as they were beaten 4-2 by Philadelphia Union when the two teams met at the TQL Stadium last time out.
After falling behind to goals from Mikael Uhre and Tai Baribo, Pavel Bucha and DeAndre Yelden scored in a 14-minute spell to pull the hosts back into the game, but Baribo put Philadelphia ahead with his second of the game before Quinn Sullivan made sure of the result with an 84th-minute strike.
Prior to that, Cincinnati cruised through the group stages, claiming wins over Qeretaro and New York City FC to clinch top spot in Group L, before edging out Mexican outfit Santos Laguna on penalties in the round of 32 on August 10.
Pat Noonan's men now return to action in MLS, where they have lost each of their last three matches, suffering defeats at the hands of Charlotte FC, Chicago Fire and New York Red Bulls since their stunning victory over Inter Miami on July 7.
Cincinnati will be backing themselves to end this dry spell on Saturday as they journey to the Chase Stadium on a run of seven wins in their last eight MLS away matches, scoring 17 goals and keeping two clean sheets since April 21.
Team News
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Lionel Messi remains the biggest absentee on Saturday as the 37-year-old is currently recuperating from an ankle injury that he sustained while in action for Argentina in the Copa America back in July.
He is joined in the Herons' injury table by fellow countrymen Sergiy Kryvtsov and Nicolas Freire, who have been ruled out through knee and ACL injuries respectively.
Luis Suarez has been on song for Inter Miami this season and the veteran striker, who has 24 goal involvements across all competitions, should spearhead the attack once again.
Cincinnati, on the other hand, will take to the pitch without the services of 34-year-old goalkeeper Alec Kann, who has been ruled out since July through a hip injury.
American defender Nick Hagglund has been out of action since coming off injured versus New England Revolution on June 23, while 29-year-old defender Matt Miazga continues his lengthy spell on the sidelines.
Inter Miami possible starting lineup:
Callender; Weigandt, Aviles, Alba; Redondo, Busquets, Bright, Rojas; Gressel, Suarez, Taylor
FC Cincinnati possible starting lineup:
Celentano; Yedlin, Murphy, Keller; Kubo, Nwobodo, Bucha, Halsey; Valenzuela, Santos, Kelsy
We say: Inter Miami 2-1 FC Cincinnati
Having lost each of the last three meetings between the teams, including a humiliating 6-1 loss in July's reverse fixture, we expect Inter Miami men to go all out looking to get one over Cincinnati.
While Noonan's men have been tough to crack away from home, we predict that the Herons will come away with a narrow victory and return to league action on a positive note.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
