Toronto will wrap up their two-game homestand on Saturday as they search for their first victory of the MLS regular season when they host Inter Miami at BMO Field.
The Reds have drawn back-to-back games by a 1-1 score, while the Herons dropped their first points of the campaign in the Bronx a week ago, falling 1-0 to New York City FC.
Match preview
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TFC failed to hang onto a second-half advantage last Saturday for a third successive time this season, collecting a mere two points so far in 2023.
Bob Bradley was relatively pleased with the way his team was able to play in rhythm versus the Columbus Crew, though he admitted afterwards that the Reds were a little choppy after taking the lead while struggling to prevent their opponents in transition.
Being able to make that first pass out from the back when under pressure has been a problem for them so far this season, with Bradley saying his players have made it too easy at times for opposing teams to counter.
There were questions about the depth of this squad coming into the regular season, and with some critical injuries early on, scoring goals might not come easy for them in the coming weeks.
Drawing the Crew last Saturday extended their winless run at home to five consecutive regular-season contests, with their last MLS victory in Toronto coming against the Portland Timbers last August (3-1).
TFC have had a miserable run of form versus the Herons, losing five consecutive matches against them while failing to find the back of the net on two of those occasions at BMO Field.
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In their first-ever visit to Yankee Stadium, Inter Miami saw their winning run come to a halt last weekend as they failed to score for the first time all year.
Overall, Phil Neville saw his side play poorly against the Boys in Blue, managing just three shots on target without generating many quality scoring chances.
That defeat at NYCFC was the first loss for the Herons in a regular-season road fixture since September 2022, when they were beaten 3-1 by the Chicago Fire.
Although Miami currently find themselves in the top-four of the Eastern Conference standings, losing Gonzalo Higuain and Alejandro Pozuelo over the off-season has made them a more defensive unit in the early stages of the year.
Miami also lost one of their hardest-working midfielders and an inspirational leader through injury last weekend, and they were missing his presence in a big way against the Pigeons.
They have only conceded once in their last four games against Toronto, winning their previous two visits to BMO Field by a 1-0 score.
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Team News
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The Reds were dealt a significant blow this week with news that Lorenzo Insigne will miss the next 3-4 weeks due to a groin strain, Ayo Akinola is questionable with a lower-body issue, while Adama Diomande and Themi Antonoglou are dealing with the same problems and Victor Vazquez will be questionable because of an illness.
Deandre Kerr picked up his first of the campaign for Toronto a week ago, Jonathan Osorio had his first goal involvement of the year and Sean Johnson stopped three of the four shots he faced, helping his team collect a point.
On Tuesday, TFC claimed former Vancouver Whitecaps defender Cristian Gutierrez off waivers, and he should provide some much-needed depth to their left-back position, which has been occupied by Raoul Petretta in all three of their regular season encounters.
Inter Miami captain Gregore underwent successful foot surgery earlier this week but will be out for approximately six months as a result, Shanyder Borgelin has a sore ankle and Edison Azcona continues to deal with a hamstring strain.
Robbie Robinson and Leonardo Campana are recovering from calf strains, while Ian Fray and Noah Allen are unavailable because of knee injuries.
Josef Martinez is two goals away from hitting the century mark in his regular season career, scoring 98 times in 135 MLS appearances, while Drake Callender has two clean sheets so far in 2023, and he shut out the Reds in this exact fixture last season.
Toronto possible starting lineup:
Johnson; Laryea, Rosted, Hedges, Petretta; Bradley, Kaye; Servania, Bernardeschi, Osorio; Kerr
Inter Miami possible starting lineup:
Callender; Yedlin, Kryvtsov, McVey, Negri; Mota, Duke; Jean, Ulloa, Pizarro; Martinez
We say: Toronto 1-1 Inter Miami
Both sides are missing some critical pieces to their roster, and as successful as Miami have been in Toronto, they have not created a ton of quality scoring opportunities to this point of the campaign, while the Reds are still trying to find some consistency in their overall game.
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Top tip
Joel Lefevre
