After suffering the elimination from the CONCACAF Champions Cup, Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami are set to face NY Red Bulls for the 2025 MLS season.
Inter Miami will host the New York Red Bulls at Chase Stadium in a pivotal Eastern Conference clash in the 2025 MLS season. Following their recent elimination from the CONCACAF Champions Cup, Lionel Messi and company will be aiming to bounce back and regain momentum in league play.
After a strong start to the season, Inter Miami have endured a rough stretch. With back-to-back defeats to Vancouver Whitecaps in the Champions Cup semifinals and a loss to FC Dallas in MLS action, the Herons have now dropped three straight matches, scoring just four goals while conceding nine.
With one of their top priorities—continental silverware—now off the table, Inter Miami must quickly shift gears to stay competitive in the MLS standings. They currently sit fifth in the Eastern Conference with 18 points from nine matches, one game fewer than most of their rivals. A win on Saturday could propel them as high as second place.
The Red Bulls, meanwhile, have experienced an up-and-down season. With a 4–3–3 record, they enter the match in eighth place with 15 points. Despite having big-name talents like Emil Forsberg and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, New York has struggled on the road, posting two draws and two losses away from home—something Inter Miami will look to capitalize on.
Inter Miami’s reliance on Lionel Messi
Much of the recent discourse around Inter Miami has centered on the team’s perceived overreliance on Messi. Head coach Javier Mascherano addressed the topic directly in a press conference ahead of the match.
“For 20 years, teams have depended on Messi,” Mascherano said. “Barcelona depended on him—with Guardiola, with Luis Enrique, with Valverde. The Argentine national team has relied on him for 15 or 20 years. It’s impossible not to depend on him. Of course, there are days when the team supports him more, and others when it supports him less,” the coach told reporters on Friday.
Projected lineups for Inter Miami and NY Red Bulls
Inter Miami’s projected lineup (4-4-2): Oscar Ustari; Gonzalo Lujan, Maximiliano Falcon, Noah Allen, Jordi Alba; Tadeo Allende, Sergio Busquets, Yannick Bright, Telasco Segovia; Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez.
Head coach: Javier Mascherano.
New York Red Bulls’ projected lineup (4-2-3-1): Carlos Coronel; Kyle Duncan, Sean Nealis, Noe Elie, Omar Valencia; Felipe Carballo, Peter Stroud; Cameron Harper, Emil Forsberg, Wiki Carmona; Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting.
Head coach: Sandro Schwarz.
