In search of their first away victory of the 2024 MLS campaign, New York City FC travel to Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale for a date with Inter Miami on Saturday.
In their previous encounter, the Herons were thumped 4-0 by the New York Red Bulls, while the Boys in Blue suffered a 1-0 defeat to FC Cincinnati.
Match preview
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Last Saturday, Miami once again showed their vulnerabilities in transition, conceding three or more goals for the second time in their previous three league fixtures.
Their defeat to the Red Bulls was the worst this side had suffered since Tata Martino took charge last July and their biggest loss domestically since March 2022 (5-1 defeat versus Austin FC).
With a heavily rotated squad for that match, the Herons struggled to create much against the Red Bulls' high press, firing just two efforts on target while conceding four times on six targeted shots.
Miami have scored multiple goals in their four competitive home fixtures this season but suffered their first domestic defeat of 2024 at Chase Stadium the last time out against CF Montreal (3-2).
The last time they suffered a defeat, the Herons responded with an emphatic 3-1 triumph over Nashville SC in the CONCACAF Champions Cup (CCC), while this team have not lost consecutive games since October 2023.
They are unbeaten in their last two home fixtures versus the Pigeons despite conceding first in each of those outings, earning a 1-1 draw against them last season.
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After a well-earned come-from-behind victory versus Toronto, New York City did not have another comeback in them last Saturday, losing for the fourth time this season.
Nick Cushing's men have only played five domestic encounters this year and have already suffered as many defeats as they had in their opening 11 MLS fixtures a season ago.
The Boys in Blue have lost all three of their MLS away contests in 2024, failing to score in each of those affairs, while they are winless in eight successive matches as the visitors in this competition.
Two of the last three times in which the Pigeons have scored first, they have failed to come away with three points, losing on the only occasion this year that they drew first blood against the Portland Timbers (2-1).
New York City went unbeaten in their two trips to Florida last season but have not won a domestic contest in the Sunshine State since October 2021 (2-1 win over Inter Miami).
While they are winless in their last two visits to Chase Stadium, NYCFC have points in eight of their nine all-time meetings with Inter Miami in the regular season or playoffs, emerging victorious on seven of those occasions.
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Team News
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Last weekend, the Herons were without Lionel Messi, who previously suffered a muscle injury, and reports indicate that Martino might rest him ahead of their CCC clash with Monterrey, Robbie Robinson, Ian Fray and Facundo Farias all sat out against the Red Bulls due to knee issues, while the club reported on Thursday that Federico Redondo suffered an injury to his lateral collateral ligament (LCL) and could be out for as much as eight weeks.
Nicolas Freire missed the previous Miami encounter because of a hamstring strain, Benjamin Cremaschi sat out with a sports hernia, while David Ruiz, Drake Callender, Shanyder Borgelin and Israel Boatwright could be back from international duty.
Days before their match with the Red Bulls, the club signed their 2024 MLS SuperDraft pick Yannick Bright to a deal until the end of the season with options from 2025-27, and he saw his first action on Saturday, replacing Lawson Sunderland in the second half, while they signed Marcelo Weigandt on loan from Boca Juniors for the rest of the season, with an option for 2025.
Talles Magno missed the previous match for NYCFC with a knee issue, Maxi Moralez sat out yet again because of a knee injury himself and Keaton Parks is eligible to return from his red card suspension.
Tomas Romero, Jovan Mijatovic, Christian McFarlane, Mitja Ilenic, Tayvon Gray and Monsef Bakrar were unavailable the last time out due to the international break.
In their defeat to the Orange and Blue last weekend, Malachi Jones, Alonso Martinez and Strahinja Tanasijevic all made their NYCFC debuts.
Inter Miami possible starting lineup:
Callender; Sailor, Aviles, Kryvtsov, Alba; Gressel, Busquets, Ruiz; Taylor, Suarez, Campana
New York City FC possible starting lineup:
Freese; Ilenic, Risa, Martins, O'Toole; Parks, Sands; Fernandez, Rodriguez, Wolf; Bakrar
We say: Inter Miami 1-0 New York City FC
We do not believe the Pigeons have played as poorly as their record may indicate, but they still seem to be missing that killer instinct that can put them over the top.
Even if Messi does not play, we believe the other veteran leaders on Inter Miami will be able to pick them up and forget about what happened last week.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
