By James Nalton
Rivalry return
On returning from a winless run of away games that saw a heavy defeat to Minnesota United and a 3-3 draw with the San Jose Earthquakes, maybe the last thing Inter Miami would want is a match against a naturally motivated rival, Orlando City.
The game is part of MLS’s rivalry week, a part-forced, part-intensely genuine group of games where rivalries old and new are renewed.
Maybe it will be the spark and motivation Inter Miami need to recover from a disappointing run that has seen them win just three times in 11 games in all competitions.
Orlando will be no pushovers, though, and will be up for this local rivalry as they look to get one over on their high-profile opponents.
Suárez also returns
Despite missing the last two games, Luis Suárez still sits joint top of the league’s assists charts with six.
Inter Miami will be glad to have his guile and experience back in the side, and the Uruguayan is always handy to have around for rivalry games.
Suárez remains a game-changer, and having missed out on the disappointing pair of away games, the 4-1 win at home to New York Red Bulls at the start of the month was his previous Inter Miami experience, and he and his team will be hoping it can be repeated.
Defensive struggles
Inter Miami have never been the most convincing team defensively, but at the beginning of this season it looked like head coach Javier Mascherano had found a way to make them more solid at the back.
At one point, they had one of the best defensive records in the league, but there were always signs they could be got at.
They conceded no more than one goal per game for a run of seven earlier in the campaign, but the barriers soon broke, and they have now conceded 12 goals in their last four MLS games.
There isn’t much that Suárez, Lionel Messi, et al can do about this, other than try to outscore the opposition at the other end.
Opposition: Orlando City
Given their opponent’s struggles, Orlando City might be relishing this particular installment of the Florida rivalry.
City’s own Argentine attacker, Martín Ojeda, has been in good form so far this year, netting eight goals and adding three assists in 11 starts, putting him joint-second in the league for goals and assists combined.
With assistance from the Colombian former Atalanta and Sampdoria striker Luis Muriel and Croatia international Marco Pašalić, Orlando have one of the best attacks in the Eastern Conference.
Seeing as Inter Miami’s defence looks like one of the worst in the league in recent games, Orlando will fancy their chances, as teams increasingly are against Mascherano’s side, despite the star power they boast in attack.
Prediction
There’s always a chance Messi and the returning Suárez can do enough to win any game, but this could be set for another score draw given Orlando’s own attacking threat.
(Cover Image from IMAGO)
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