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Inter Miami and FC Cincinnati face off once again for the second time in two weeks. Get ready for some intense soccer between the two Eastern Conference teams, as Inter Miami looks to close the gap in points between first-place FC Cincinnati.
Feel free to take a look at my picks for the matchup before deciding whether they’re something you want to fade or follow.
Inter Miami currently stands in 5th place in the Eastern Conference with 41 points and a 12-5-4 record and three games in hand. Miami has been on a tear since returning from the FIFA Club World Cup, although the only team they lost to since returning is FC Cincinnati. In their last five matches, Miami dished out a 4-1 win over Montreal and two 2-1 victories over the New England Revolution and Nashville SC. When it came to facing FC Cincinnati on July 16, the team struggled to score in a crushing 3-0 defeat. However, they bounced back with a 5-1 victory over the New York Red Bulls in their most recent match.
Messi’s streak of braces (5 in a row) ended with Miami’s loss against Cincinnati, but after facing the Red Bulls, he scored 2 goals and 1 assist to reignite his form. However, Messi and teammate Jordi Alba are suspended tonight because they didn’t play in the MLS All-Star game. This will be a big miss because the Argentinian legend leads the MLS with 18 goals and 9 assists. Without Messi, Tadeo Allende (7 goals and 1 assist), Telasco Segovia (7 goals and 5 assists) and Luis Suarez (5 goals and 10 assists) will all have to step up.
FC Cincinnati currently sits atop the MLS Eastern Conference in 1st place with 48 points and a 15-3-6 record. In their last five MLS matches, the team has gone 4-0-1, with their only loss surprisingly coming from a 4-2 defeat to the Columbus Crew on July 12. After that matchup, though, Cincinnati put up 3 unanswered goals against Inter Miami for a 3-0 blowout to secure 1st place in the conference. In their most recent match, the side posted a close 1-0 win over Real Salt Lake to lead the standings by 1 point.
When these two sides faced off against each other two weeks ago, midfielder Evander Da Silva Ferreira scored 2 goals, and while he’s a frontrunning goal scorer in the MLS with 15 goals and 8 assists. He should find the back of the net against Miami again tonight. Forward Kevin Denkey comes close to Evander’s goal-scoring efforts with 12 goals and 1 assist up front, making for a lethal combo between Cincinnati’s midfield and front line. Other than midfielder Gerago Valenzuela with 5 goals so far, Cincinnati will be relying mainly on Evander and Denkey for most of their chance creations, and it worked last time, so you can expect a similar result from one of the top MLS teams tonight.
Inter Miami was left without a game plan last time these two sides faced off, failing to score any goals against Cincinnati despite their dominant offense. While a similar result is likely to ensue, especially considering how strong Cincinnati’s midfield is (and how lackluster Miami’s defense is), Miami will do all they can without Messi and Alba.
However, Evander may be one of the few to contest this, and he’s likely to net another 1+ goals and challenge Messi for the MLS Golden Boot trophy.
Liam has been a major sports fan and soccer player for over a decade, with a particular focus on major top-level soccer leagues, including the EPL, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and MLS. He has written numerous promotional articles for various top sportsbooks and continues to publish historical and factual sports articles covering the NFL, MLS, NHL, MLB, EPL and more.