The gaze of the football world will focus on the DRV PNK Stadium this weekend as the Lionel Messi era begins at Inter Miami when they face Mexican outfit Cruz Azul in the new-look Leagues Cup.
While fanfare surrounds the off-field activities of the home side, both teams go into the contest in poor form and needing a win to improve matters on the pitch.
Match preview
© Reuters
Miami is no stranger to sprinklings of stardust, and Inter Miami themselves have their fair share of it already in owner David Beckham, but the arrival of arguably the greatest player of all time has brought an unprecedented level of attention to them in recent weeks.
Messi's legendary career in Europe has now come to an end, but he remains one of the world's best players - as evidenced by his star showing on the way to World Cup glory last winter - and will be keen to show that his trip to the United States is no retirement plan.
However, he and his fellow new arrivals Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba - two more Barcelona legends whose own star power is significant despite being somewhat outshone by the brightest of the lot - have plenty of work to do on the pitch if they are to turn Miami's fortunes around.
The Florida outfit are winless in their last 11 MLS outings, taking just three points from a possible 33 in that time, and find themselves rock-bottom of the Eastern Conference - a wholly unfamiliar position for the most decorated player in football history.
In head coach Gerardo Martino, Messi, Busquets and Alba have a man they know from his time in charge of Barcelona, while he has also worked with Messi at international level with Argentina.
However, the experienced boss has not yet been able to oversee a significant turnaround in form from Phil Neville's ill-fated reign, and after four games in the hotseat he is still waiting for his first win as Miami boss.
Successive draws against Austin FC, Columbus Crew and DC United in his first three games in charge at least halted a seven-match losing streak, but a 3-0 loss to new franchise St Louis City last weekend extended their wait for a league win to more than two months.
The arrivals of Messi and co have come at a perfect time to provide both a distraction and - they will hope - a much-needed injection of quality, then, and a month-long break from MLS duties to focus on the new-look Leagues Cup may also be welcome.
© Reuters
For the first time, this year every club from MLS and Liga MX will participate in the Leagues Cup, with three CONCACAF Champions League places on offer and the winner going straight into the round of 16.
Miami's reinforcements will no doubt change their ambitions regarding every competition they are in, but based on league form alone so far this season, neither of these teams would be fancied to make it too far in this competition.
While Miami have been poor in MLS, Cruz Azul have been even worse in the fledgling Liga MX campaign, losing all three of their games so far.
Ricardo Ferretti's side are the only team in the division yet to pick up a single point, while they have also only scored once during defeats to Atlas, Toluca and Tijuana so far.
For a club that was crowned Mexican champions as recently as 2021, and a six-time winner of the CONCACAF Champions League, it is a disastrous start to the season, although they may welcome being the 'other' team in this fixture with all of the focus on the opposition.
Atlanta United make up the Southern Group Three in this year's Leagues Cup, and on current form Cruz Azul would also go into that match as underdogs, raising the importance of getting a result this weekend.
The formbook certainly suggestions that Inter Miami will be their best source of points in the group, but the home side are an entirely different proposition now to the one they have been all season.
Inter Miami form (all competitions):
- L
- L
- D
- D
- D
- L
Cruz Azul form (all competitions):
- L
- L
- L
Team News
© Reuters
DRV PNK Stadium is sold out for this match, and the fans will flock to see one man more than any other, with Messi confirmed as available to make his debut.
Whether that is from the start or not remains to be seen given that he has not played for more than a month, but the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner is almost certain to feature at some point.
The same is true for fellow legendary figure Sergio Busquets, who has joined Messi in training throughout the week and should also make his debut.
Jordi Alba's arrival has come too late for him to feature in this match, though, while Miami also have a number of injury concerns going into the game.
Martino is still without his captain Gregore due to a foot issue, while his compatriot Jean Mota, left-back Franco Negri and forward Corentin Jean are all long-term absentees too.
Cruz Azul will be without Carlos Vargas for the foreseeable future due to a ruptured cruciate ligament, while fellow defender Juan Escobar is doubtful for this match because of a muscle issue.
However, they will be boosted by the returns of Uriel Antuna and Carlos Rodriguez, who are available again after helping Mexico to CONCACAF Gold Cup glory.
Ferretti has been without the two star men for their winless start to the season, so their returns should coincide with an upturn in form sooner or later.
Inter Miami possible starting lineup:
Callender; Yedlin, Kryvtsov, Miller, Allen; Taylor, Cremaschi, Arroyo, Robinson; Campana, Martinez
Cruz Azul possible starting lineup:
Gudino; Huescas, Ditta, Salcedo, Rivero; Lira, Rodriguez; Antuna, Rotondi, Moises; Cambindo
We say: Inter Miami 2-1 Cruz Azul
This is a difficult game to predict for a variety of reasons, with two out-of-form sides facing off against unfamiliar opposition in a new competition, and both teams having significant reinforcements that should make their previous form less relevant.
Messi's debut will of course make all of the headlines, but it may be another week or so before his quality is truly felt if he starts this one on the bench as expected. The importance of the returns of Antuna and Rodriguez for a Cruz Azul side desperate to spoil the party should also not be overlooked.
However, even a cameo for Messi should be enough for him to have a decisive say, and we are backing a fairytale debut for the maestro, coming on and scoring a late winner for his new side.
