Inter Miami go in search of their first victory of the new Major League Soccer season when they welcome Los Angeles FC to the DRV PNK Stadium on Saturday.
On the other hand, the away side will be looking to get back to winning ways this weekend having seen their 100% record come to an end last time out.
Match preview
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Los Angeles FC had to settle for a share of the spoils in their meeting with Portland Timbers at the Banc of California Stadium on Monday, which ended in a 1-1 stalemate.
Steve Cherundolo's men fell behind to Yimmi Chara's opener in the 18th minute and looked set to taste defeat before Mamadou Fall restored parity with a last-gasp equaliser.
The Black and Gold are one of five unbeaten teams in the Western Conference and currently sit third in the league standings after the first two rounds of matches.
Next up is a trip to an opposing outfit yet to taste success in this fixture having suffered a 1-0 loss in the sides' only previous meeting back in 2020.
With just one victory in their last eight away games, Saturday's visitors will need to turn things around away from home if they are to clinch a playoff berth this term.
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Inter Miami were left red-faced following a heavy 5-1 thrashing against an Austin FC side in their sophomore top-flight campaign at the Q2 Stadium on Sunday.
Sebastian Driussi and Ethan Finlay scored two goals apiece with Julio Cascante also getting on the scoresheet as Phil Neville's men went down with a whimper.
Picking up just one point from their opening two fixtures, The Herons have now slipped to 11th place in the Eastern Conference standings and are in urgent need of a pick-me-up.
Having struggled to find the back of the net for the majority of the last campaign, Saturday's hosts have once again got off to a poor start offensively but still have plenty of time to rediscover their Midas touch.
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Team News
American teenagers Julian Gaines and Erik Duenas are sidelined for the away side through knee problems and will both miss Saturday's game.
Eddie Segura is yet to feature since July 2021 due to a long-term injury, with the Colombian still a fair way off making his return to action.
Having made a bright start in the race for this year's Golden Boot, Carlos Vela is definitely one to look out for as he seeks to end his lengthy goal drought away from home.
Defenders Joevin Jones and Kieran Gibbs are unavailable for Inter Miami, while Victor Ulloa is also expected to sit the clash out as well.
In response to his side's annihilation last time out, it would be no surprise to see Phil Neville ring the changes for this one.
Inter Miami possible starting lineup:
Diop; Shea, Quinteros, McVey; Allen, Adams, Gregore, Mota, Yedlin; Higuain, Lassiter
Los Angeles FC possible starting lineup:
Crepeau; Escobar, Murillo, Fall, Palacios; Acosta, Sanchez, Cifuentes; Vela, Arango, Rodriguez
We say: Inter Miami 1-2 Los Angeles FC
With a plethora of attacking talent on display, we anticipate an open and entertaining game with goals at both ends. That said, we are also tipping Los Angeles FC to carry the day, albeit by only a narrow margin.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Los Angeles FC win with a probability of 44.47%. A win for Inter Miami had a probability of 31.62% and a draw had a probability of 23.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a Los Angeles FC win was 1-2 with a probability of 9.13%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (8.06%) and 0-2 (6.69%). The likeliest Inter Miami win was 2-1 (7.51%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 6.7% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Los Angeles FC would win this match.
