After weeks of Leagues Cup action, we finally get to see some MLS action. The latest fixture sees Inter Miami facing Cincinnati on Saturday at Chase Stadium. The match has a significance of its own, as either side will be presented with the opportunity to gain a much-needed domestic advantage. 

Miami must be down in the dumps over their Leagues Cup round of 16 failure. They lost 2-3 to the Columbus Crew and got out of the race to defend their title as reigning champions. Before embarking on the Leagues Cup journey, the Herons clinched a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Fire. One shall give pats to the Florida-based club’s back, as they have balanced quite well without star player Lionel Messi. 

On the other hand, Cincinnati, too, is coming off a League Cup round of 16 failure. Their journey ended after losing 4-2 to the Philadelphia Union. Before this domestic tournament, they lost 3-1 to the New York Red Bulls in an MLS fixture. The Ohio-based club is sitting just behind Inter Miami with five points less to maintain its tally of 48. 

Inter Miami vs. Cincinnati: Team News

Injuries

Inter Miami

Lionel Messi remains the major talking point among fans. The Argentinian superstar came back from the Copa America with both a trophy and an ankle injury. However, as per the latest injury update, the 37-year-old is focused on ankle rehab and is progressing cautiously. While he hasn’t rejoined group training yet, he’s expected to do so soon. There’s hope he might play briefly against Chicago Fire on August 31, but the primary goal is the September 14 match against Philadelphia Union.

Speaking of other sidelined names, Nicolas Freire and Facundo Farias remain out of action as they recover from ACL injuries. Although Sergii Kryvtsov was questionable due to an ankle injury, he returned to the squad but didn’t play. Meanwhile, Diego Gomez and Benjamin Cremaschi have rejoined the team after participating in the Paris Olympics with their respective national teams.

Cincinnati

Alec Kann remains sidelined with a hip injury. It’s unclear when No. 1 will return. Till then, Roman Celentano will be taking his place. The rest of the players are available at Pat Noonan’s disposal.

Predicted lineups

Inter Miami [4-3-3]: Callender; Weigandt, Aviles, Kryvtsov, Alba; Rojas, Busquets, Redondo; Gressel, Suarez, Gomez

Cincinnati [3-4-2-1]: Celentano; Keller, Robinson, Murphy; Orellano, Nwobodo, Bucha, Yedlin; Acosta; Kelsy, Baird.

Head-to-head stats and prediction

Total matches played: 10

Won by Inter Miami: 4

Won by Cincinnati: 4

Draw: 2

Inter Miami has failed to clinch a win against Cincinnati in their last three face-offs. The most recent one saw Tata Martino’s side suffer a shocking 6-1 defeat to get their name in the history books. Now, they have an opportunity to get much-needed revenge but unfortunately, the match won’t be an easy one. We reckon the score will be Inter Miami 2-2 Cincinnati.

Watch Inter Miami vs. Cincinnati on TV Channel and live stream

Inter Miami vs. Cincinnati will kick off at 9:30 ET / 16:30 PT. Fans in the United States and the United Kingdom can watch the action live on Apple TV (MLS Season Pass).