After both making winning starts to the Major League Soccer season, Inter Miami and Philadelphia Union will do battle in the second round of league fixtures on Sunday.
The hosts began with a 2-0 beating of CF Montreal last weekend, while their visitors dished out a 4-1 beating to Columbus Crew.
Match preview
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Inter Miami headed into the new MLS season with high hopes, after reaching the playoffs for the first time last year in their third campaign.
The Herons' playoff run did not last long, however, as they were beaten 3-0 by New York City FC in the first round, with all three goals coming in the final 30 minutes.
Phil Neville's side would then turn their attention to the 2023 campaign, but they struggled to impress in pre-season, with a narrow defeat to CF Montreal followed by a draw against Austin FC in their final outing before again meeting Montreal in the curtain-raiser last weekend.
Serhiy Krivtsov would put the Herons ahead late in the first half of that contest, and Shanyder Borgelin added a second 14 minutes from time to ensure his side made a winning start to the new term.
With their aims set on improving on last year's MLS showing, Neville's men will look to make it two wins from two games on Sunday and begin to establish themselves as one of the Eastern Conference's leading sides.
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They meet a Philadelphia Union side who also enjoyed an ideal start to the new season, in their bid to go one better than last year and lift the MLS Cup this time around.
Jim Curtin's side impressed throughout the entirety of the 2022 campaign, topping the Eastern Conference with 67 points from 34 outings, before advancing to the final with victories over FC Cincinnati and New York City and playing out an eventful contest with Los Angeles FC.
The Pennsylvania outfit took the game to extra time thanks to Jack Elliott's 85th-minute goal to level it at 2-2, and he looked to have won it for Union with his second of the game deep into injury time of extra time, only for Gareth Bale to draw LAFC level in the final seconds and force a penalty shootout, which their opponents prevailed in.
After coming within minutes of the title, Philadelphia Union set their sights on the new term with the hopes of securing their first MLS Cup title, and after a positive pre-season run in which they went unbeaten, while defeating Austin FC, New England Revolution, FC Cincinnati and Colorado Rapids, Curtin's men began at home to Columbus Crew and prevailed comfortably in a 4-1 victory.
They initially went behind following a Jakob Glesnes own goal, but Daniel Gazdag and Julian Carranza would each hit braces in a resounding display, and Philadelphia Union will hope to build on that and pick up where they left off last campaign and once again dominate their conference with back-to-back wins being an ideal start, before they kick off their CONCACAF Champions League campaign on Wednesday in the first leg of their round-of-16 tie against Alianza.
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Team News
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Inter Miami could come into Sunday's game with an unchanged starting XI from their opening-day win, although Shanyder Borgelin will be fighting to come into the attack from the outset after getting on the scoresheet from the bench last time out.
He will hope to join Josef Martinez, who is vying to fill the gap in the Herons side left by retiring forward Gonzalo Higuain, having arrived in the off-season after netting 103 goals over the last five seasons for Atlanta United.
Serhiy Krivtsov also arrived prior to the new campaign and will again join Christopher McVey in the middle of a back four, while Jean Mota and Gregore continue to play crucial roles in midfield.
Philadelphia Union may also opt to go unchanged after their dominant display last weekend, with Julian Carranza bound to again lead the line against his former club after netting a brace in the curtain-raiser.
He will likely be joined by Mikael Uhre with additional support from Daniel Gazdag, who also found the net twice from the penalty spot, while Venezuelan international Jose Martinez will play a key role in front of the back four.
Curtin is unlikely to change his defence around, with Kai Wagner and Olivier Mbaizo set to play on the left and right respectively, either side of centre-backs Jakob Glesnes and Jack Elliott.
Inter Miami possible starting lineup:
Callender; Yedlin, Krivtsov, McVey, Negri; Mota, Gregore, Pizarro; Stefanelli; Borgelin, Martinez
Philadelphia Union possible starting lineup:
Blake; Mbaizo, Glesnes, Elliott, Wagner; Martinez; Bedoya, Flach; Gazdag; Uhre, Carranza
We say: Inter Miami 1-2 Philadelphia Union
Inter Miami will certainly come into the new season with plenty of optimism and will have taken confidence from their opening win, but we cannot see them getting a result against a Philadelphia Union side who looked to have picked up where they left off last season in the first round of MLS games.
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Top tip
Sam Varley
