After weeks of anticipation, Lionel Messi and his friends will finally get to play their first Major League Soccer home game for Inter Miami, and they will meet a familiar foe in Nashville.
Inter Miami and Nashville last faced off in the Leagues Cup final last week, where the former won in a pulsating penalty shootout for their first trophy in franchise history.
The hope is that the Herons’ summer resurgence will translate here in Major League Soccer, as they’re still playing catch up in the competitive Eastern Conference.
Elsewhere, Eastern Conference leaders FC Cincinnati will pay a visit to Atlanta United, while Western Conference leaders St. Louis have a big game coming up against FC Dallas.
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Inter Miami vs Nashville
Since Lionel Messi arrived, the Herons have won nine consecutive games across all competitions, and they will look to make it 10 wins on the bounce on Wednesday.
Despite being the second-bottom team in the Eastern Conference table, Inter Miami could still make a late playoff push. They’re trailing 11 points behind ninth-seeded Chicago, and they still have two games in hand.
Inter Miami are coming off a 2-0 win against the NY Red Bulls on Sunday. As expected, Lionel Messi was on the scoresheet, having netted a goal in the 89th minute, while he was joined by Diego Gomez when he had one after 37 minutes.
Because he was rested by Inter Miami for the first hour against the Red Bulls, Messi is expected to play more minutes against Nashville. That is also the case for his buddies, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets.
Meanwhile, Nashville will be keen to avenge their defeat in the Leagues Cup final, but their recent form leaves a lot to be desired because they’ve lost six of their last seven Major League Soccer matches, with their most recent defeat being a 4-0 result against Atlanta United.
Nashville looked listless against Atlanta United, although they remain in a solid position to qualify for the playoffs since they are in seventh place in the Eastern Conference with 38 points.
Sam Surridge is the man to watch out for if you’re Inter Miami because he has scored three goals in his last five outings.
Atlanta United vs FC Cincinnati
Prior to Major League Soccer’s month-long break, the Five Stripes were in poor form, and their struggles carried over to the Leagues Cup.
But now, Atlanta United are making a late push for a Top 4 spot in the Eastern Conference with positive Major League Soccer 2023 results, and they will aim to extend their winning streak to three straight games when they take on FC Cincinnati.
In their last two games, Atlanta United scored six goals and conceded none. Giorgos Giakoumakis registered a brace against the Seattle Sounders, and he was also one of the team’s scorers against Nashville. The Greek striker currently leads the Five Stripes in scoring with 12 league goals.
Meanwhile, FC Cincinnati had a busy week as they also played in the US Open Cup semi-finals. Unfortunately for them, they lost to Inter Miami via penalty shootout, although they vented their ire towards New York City with a 3-0 home victory.
Luciano Acosta was the Man of the Match against New York City despite not scoring a goal himself because he was responsible for setting the two of them up anyway, teeing up Junior Moreno and Nick Hagglund in the second half.
FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan will continue to rely on Acosta to be their danger man, as he has already recorded 12 goals and 8 assists, the highest number of goal contributions currently in Major League Soccer.
St. Louis vs FC Dallas
Unlike FC Cincinnati, St. Louis’ margin for error is not that big because they don’t have a significant advantage in the Western Conference.
And with their rivals breathing down their necks because they have lost four of their last six matches across all competitions, they must get back on the winning track when they host FC Dallas on Wednesday.
St. Louis are coming off a 2-1 loss against Orlando City on Sunday. Not only did they suffer defeat, but they also lost their starting right-back, Jakob Nerwinski, as the 28-year-old collected two yellow cards.
But even with all of these, the Major League Soccer 2023 odds favour St. Louis to come out with a victory, as Dallas have struggled to consistently collect points away from home, having only won two of their 12 league road games so far this year.
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