Phil Neville's Inter Miami travel to New York City FC on Sunday in the Eastern Conference of the MLS, with the home side keen to close the 12-point gap between themselves and New England Revolution at the summit.
New York City have two games in hand on the Eastern leaders, but they must also be wary of dropping out of the playoff positions as Montreal are only five points behind in eighth.
Match preview
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Ronny Deila's side come into Sunday's game on the back of disappointment in the international Leagues Cup, after losing out to Mexican outfit Pumas in the quarter-final.
Striker Valentin Castellanos gave New York City the lead after 61 minutes but just 10 minutes later Rogerio equalised for Pumas to send the game to penalties, when the Mexican side came out as 3-2 winners.
The Bronx Blues' last league action came on the weekend when Deila took his side to Canada where they faced Toronto, but New York City let a two-goal lead slip away, earning a point from the 2-2 result.
Santiago Rodriguez and Ismael Tajouri struck goals in the first half only for the side to throw away their lead in five minutes of the second half, courtesy of quickfire strikes from Richie Laryea and Alejandro Pozuelo.
New York City have the second best defensive record in the Eastern Conference this campaign, so they will be disappointed about how they allowed Toronto to level the score in a short space of time.
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Between the end of May and the end of July Inter Miami suffered six defeats on the bounce, but since then Neville has managed to improve the results slightly.
Their unbeaten run of three games was extended to four last time out against Nashville SC, as the team showed spirit to come from behind to win the game 2-1, thanks to a 95th-minute winner from Indiana Vassilev.
Inter Miami were arguably deserved winners of that game, having seven more shots on target than Nashville, and their pressure paid off in the end.
The former England Women's manager admitted that he was under pressure in his new job after the 5-0 defeat against New England, but he has seemingly turned the side's fortunes around in recent weeks and the unbeaten run will be welcomed by owner David Beckham.
Miami are the lowest scorers in the Eastern Conference, only finding the back of the net on 15 occasions this campaign, and that stat is sure to need improving if the club want to climb the table in their second season in the MLS.
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Team News
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New York City striker Heber has not featured for the side this season after damaging his cruciate ligament in September last year and he will miss Sunday's fixture also, but he could return to the pitch at the end of this month.
Gedion Zelalem has only made one appearance for New York City since arriving on a free transfer at the beginning of 2020, and he is unlikely to add to his appearance count this weekend as he is recovering from a knee injury.
Young winger Talles Magno also has a knee injury which he picked up at the start of August, and he will not return to the side until September.
Midfielder Keaton Parks received double yellow cards against Salt Lake and served his suspension in the last league outing against Toronto, therefore he is expected to return to the starting 11 on Sunday.
Experienced winger Joevin Jones will continue to be an absentee for Inter Miami, having not featured since the end of June after picking up a knee injury.
Neville tends to alter his formation depending on the opposition and as New York City currently sit third in the Eastern Conference, Inter Miami are likely to lineup with a back three which can become a back five when they are out of possession.
New York City FC possible starting lineup:
Johnson; Thorarinsson, Callens, Chanot, Tinnerholm; Parks, Morales; Thiago, Medina, Moralez; Castellanos
Inter Miami possible starting lineup:
Marsman; Makoun, Figal, Pirez; Gibbs, Matuidi, Gregore, Leerdam; Pizarro, Higuain, Morgan
We say: New York City FC 1-1 Inter Miami
Neville will be determined for his side to continue their unbeaten run and three points could take the side up to ninth in the table, showing how tight it still is between each team.
However, New York City are going to pose a big challenge for Inter Miami and this game could end in a draw if form is anything to go by.
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 New York City FC win with a probability of 71.84%. A draw had a probability of 17.2% and a win for Inter Miami had a probability of 10.95%.
The most likely scoreline for a New York City FC win was 2-0 with a probability of 12.08%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (10.42%) and 2-1 (9.47%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (8.17%), while for a Inter Miami win it was 0-1 (3.52%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with a 12.1% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 2-0 win for New York City FC in this match.
