Toronto have a chance to dethrone the Leagues Cup champions Inter Miami when the two sides clash in the round of 32 on Thursday at Chase Stadium.
A 2-1 loss versus Tigres on Saturday dropped the Herons down to second in the East 3 standings, while the Reds defeated Pachuca by that same score and finished first in East 6.
Match preview
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Despite missing their star talisman and captain, Lionel Messi, Miami were able to advance beyond the group stage of this tournament for a second successive campaign.
Last week, however, the Herons suffered their first-ever defeat at the Leagues Cup, ending an eight-match unbeaten run in this tournament.
It also ended a three-match winning run for them in all competitions, with their previous two defeats occurring away from home.
Tata Martino's men will be happy to return to Chase Stadium, where they are unbeaten in their last five matches across all competitions.
Miami have a 100% home record in Leagues Cup encounters versus Major League Soccer opponents, winning those four matches in Fort Lauderdale by a combined margin of 11-1.
Thursday will be the first time they face a Canadian opponent at this tournament, and the Herons are a perfect 5-0 at home against Toronto in MLS.
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Overall, the domestic campaign has been a bumpy ride for TFC, but things are looking up for them with two victories at this tournament.
John Herdman's men are just three points above the Eastern Conference playoff line in MLS, but they have at least a point in four of their last five competitive fixtures.
Toronto only scored two goals in the group stage this year, but it was two more than they managed in this phase a season ago, when the Reds lost their two games by a combined margin of 6-0.
This is the first time they find themselves in a knockout fixture since the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League, though there was no group phase on that occasion.
The Reds have not won consecutive matches in normal time since May, when they followed up a 5-1 victory over CF Montreal with an emphatic 8-1 win versus Saint-Laurent in the Canadian Championship.
Although Toronto have never won an away match against Miami they have collected a victory in Florida this season, defeating Orlando City at Inter & Co Stadium 2-1 in late April.
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Team News
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Martino said this week that Miami skipper Lionel Messi will not feature against Toronto with the Argentine still recovering from an ankle injury sustained in the Copa America final.
Nicolas Freire and Facundo Farias were also sidelined against Tigres because of ACL injuries, with the latter out for the remainder of the season.
A 74th-minute penalty converted by Leonardo Campana put them on level terms for 10 minutes last weekend, the first for the Ecuadorian in the competition.
In their victory over Pachuca, Toronto were missing Alonso Coello, who is still recovering from a thigh issue, Tyrese Spicer was sidelined with a back injury and Brandon Servania will not return this year after rupturing his ACL.
From their first to second group game, Herdman made two changes to his starting 11, with Kosi Thompson and Matty Longstaff replacing Deybi Flores and Prince Owusu.
Derrick Etienne scored a minute before the interval last Sunday, while Kobe Franklin netted the winner 12 minutes from the end to secure all three points.
Inter Miami possible starting lineup:
Callender; Weigandt, Aviles, Kryvtsov, Alba; Rojas, Busquets, Redondo; Gressel, Suarez, Taylor
Toronto possible starting lineup:
Johnson; Petretta, Long, Gomis; Osorio, Longstaff, Flores, Laryea; Bernardeschi, Insigne; Etienne
We say: Inter Miami 2-1 Toronto
While Messi's presence can make a massive difference, Miami are not a one-trick pony, and we believe they will find a way to edge past Toronto without their captain like they have several times in 2024.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
