If Inter Miami can claim a win or draw on Wednesday against Atlanta United, it would set a single-season franchise record for their longest MLS unbeaten run at Chase Stadium.
A narrow 2-1 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday kept the Herons on top of the Supporters' Shield standings, one point above FC Cincinnati, while the Five Stripes extended their winless run in this competition to nine matches, with a 1-0 defeat at home to Los Angeles FC.
Match preview
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Tata Martino took a gamble this past weekend, resting Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suarez against the Caps despite all three being 100% fit, according to reports.
The gamble paid off, as the Herons extended their unbeaten run in MLS to eight matches, while they have conceded just once in their previous three league contests combined.
Miami have drawn first blood in two successive league fixtures and are undefeated when doing so domestically this year, while they are unbeaten in their last five league contests at Chase Stadium.
It was rare for the Herons to score first in their opening 13 domestic encounters this year, conceding the opener on 10 of those occasions, but they managed to come back and claim at least a point eight times.
Their victory on Saturday was their 10th in the 2024 regular season, tied with FC Cincinnati for the most so far this year and one more than Miami were able to collect in the previous domestic campaign.
The Herons have never lost in six prior meetings with the Five Stripes in Fort Lauderdale, winning the last three home games against them in all competitions.
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With just 13 points after 14 league fixtures, Atlanta United are off to their worst start to a regular season in franchise history.
That has put Gonzalo Pineda on the hot seat, with the Five Stripes claiming just one point in their previous five matches in this competition.
Their current domestic winless run is the second-longest in a single MLS campaign for Atlanta, just two fewer than their 2021 campaign (11).
The Five Stripes have yet to win a regular-season away contest this year, failing to find the back of the net in four of their six league games played outside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
With seven domestic defeats in 2024, the Five Stripes have just two fewer losses than they had at the end of the 2023 regular season.
A victory on Wednesday would not only mark the first for this club in Fort Lauderdale, but it would also mark just the second time that they win consecutive league fixtures versus Miami, claiming a 5-2 triumph at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2023.
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Team News
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Diego Gomez missed Miami's weekend outing because of an ankle sprain, Robbie Robinson sat out with a knee issue and Facundo Farias will not return this season after tearing his ACL.
Ian Fray is nearing a return from a torn ACL, Serhiy Kryvtsov played the full 90 minutes on Saturday despite suffering a knock in their previous encounter, while Federico Redondo played for the first time since sustaining an LCL injury, replacing Benjamin Cremaschi in the second half.
Robert Taylor notched his third of the MLS campaign on Saturday, while Leonardo Campana netted the winner for a second successive encounter, enabling the Herons to claim all three points.
Atlanta will be without first-choice goalkeeper Brad Guzan on Wednesday following his straight red card this past weekend, Noah Cobb sat out of their previous encounter with a sore ankle and leading goalscorer Giorgos Giakoumakis has a hamstring strain.
Nicolas Firmino will be questionable after tweaking his groin during their US Open Cup triumph versus Charleston Battery (5-4 on penalties), Tyler Wolff is dealing with an MCL sprain, and Thiago Almada came on as a second-half substitute on Saturday, the first appearance for the 2022 World Cup champion since their 1-0 defeat at FC Cincinnati.
Derrick Williams returned from a calf injury last weekend, replacing Stian Rode Gregersen for the final 18 minutes plus stoppage time.
Inter Miami possible starting lineup:
Callender; Weigandt, Aviles, Freire, Alba; Gressel, Busquets, Redondo; Messi, Suarez, Rojas
Atlanta United possible starting lineup:
Cohen; Lennon, Williams, Abram, Wiley; Mosquera, Almada, Slisz, Silva; Thiare, Fortune
We say: Inter Miami 2-0 Atlanta United
Over the weekend, the Herons made a statement that they are capable of winning and being a quality side, even without their three best players.
The Five Stripes' frustrations are boiling over, and their top players are not 100%, so we project their winless MLS run will reach double-digits.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
