It’s been almost six months since the Orange & Blue saw their postseason ghosts exterminated, only to have the eventual cup-lifters haunt them once again. While a win on Wednesday won’t rectify the past, it could emphasize that FC Cincinnati has regained their strength and confidence against one of the better teams in the league.
Cincinnati (4-4-4, 16 pts.) returns home to face the team that eliminated them from last season’s MLS Cup competition, Inter Miami CF (6-4-2, 22 pts.) Both teams have begun the 2026 season with bigger aspirations and a feeling that expectations have not been met yet.
Despite a step forward in the 2026 playoffs, Cincinnati crumbled to a vastly superior Miami squad in the Eastern Conference semifinals, 4-0. Lionel Messi finally broke a personal drought against Cincinnati that evening, scoring a goal and three assists, while Tadeo Allende claimed a brace on a taxed defense missing its centerpiece.
A win for Cincinnati would actually knot the overall record against Miami at six wins apiece. It would also be the fifth consecutive regular-season home win against Miami. However, Miami has twice eliminated Cincinnati from competition in TQL Stadium (2023 U.S. Open Cup semifinals, 2025 MLS Cup playoffs).
INTER MIAMI CF
The Herons have withstood a topsy-turvy start to the season, playing much better on the road than in their new home stadium. While Nu Stadium has been far from a fortress (0-3-1), Miami has a seven-match undefeated streak on the road (6-1-1), with their lone loss being an opening-night 3-0 loss at LAFC.
A lot of stock was put into Miami winning the CONCACAF Champions Cup, but the Herons were unable to get past rival Nashville SC in the Round of 16, being eliminated after failing to score in Nashville and giving up a vital goal in the home leg. That elimination, coupled with struggles at home, eventually led to head coach Javier Marchserano leaving the club. Guillermo Hoyos has held the reins in an interim position for now.
Their sixth road win was an impressive 4-2 victory at Toronto FC on Saturday. Messi was once again Man of the Match, scoring his ninth goal of the season and collecting two assists. Meanwhile, Luis Suarez and Rodrigo De Paul both scored their third goals of the regular season, and Sergio Reguilon scored his first goal since his 2021/22 season at Tottenham.
While Miami’s scoring prowess has remained high with all of the added parts over the offseason, much of it has come from Messi, who has scored 35% of Miami’s goals. Mexican forward German Berterame has scored three goals in 14 matches across all competitions, far behind his clip at Monterrey the past four seasons (68 goals over 153 matches). Meanwhile, Allende, who set a MLS postseason record by scoring nine goals in six matches for Miami, has not scored in nine appearances this season.
Much like the 2025 campaign, the Miami defense is still looking to stabilize. Dayne St. Clair, defending 2025 Goalkeeper of the Year, is currently 24th in save percentage and has one of Miami’s two clean sheets. While new arrival Micael has performed well on defense, the center backs alongside him have not–Miami has allowed 1.80 goals per match (21st in MLS), their worst defensive rate since their 2020 debut as an MLS club.
Miami’s lone injury is likely defender Ian Fray, who is dealing with a lower leg injury.
THE ORANGE AND BLUE
FC Cincinnati has endured a similar start to their 2026 season, unable to counter their high scoring rate with successful defending. While Kévin Denkey and Evander provided a strong first half against Charlotte FC on Saturday, the defense was unable to hold, allowing two quick goals early in the second half for a 2-2 draw on the road.
The vaunted defense from 2023 is still trying to find consistency and healthy bodies. While the Orange & Blue are undefeated over their last six matches (2-4-0), they have given up 2.0 goals per match over that stretch. Matt Miazga and Miles Robinson are slowly gaining more minutes as they reacclimate after leg injuries, but Andrei Chirila has found his location in the Starting XI, playing 90 minutes in each of the past three matches.
After an uncharacteristically slow start to the season, Evander has picked up his scoring pace. The Brazilian midfielder has six goals over the past five matches, including a goal-of-the-week nominee for his goal against Charlotte FC on Saturday. While he was held scoreless in the last two matchups against Miami, his impressive brace last July led FCC to a 3-0 win over Miami in their last home regular-season matchup.
While Miami is fairly solid on the injury report, Cincinnati might be close to being as healthy as they have been all season. Forward Ayoub Jabbari missed the last match against Charlotte with an oblique issue, but he is likely to return to the lineup. Kyle Smith will also be available after serving his red-card suspension. Defenders Teenage Hadebe and Alvas Powell are likely to miss another match, but the likelihood of forward Kristian Fletcher returning from long-term injury is high, as he has returned to full-contact training with the squad.
Predicted lineup:
Due to the midweek match, both teams are expected to rotate and rest players, so the predicted Starting XI may be complicated.
Cincinnati may opt to rest defenders and distribute minutes, but there is a good chance the likes of Evander and Denkey could start in this big match against Miami. While midfielder Pavel Bucha struggled with a late injury against Chicago two weeks ago, he played a full 90 minutes against Charlotte on Saturday. Head coach Pat Noonan may choose to start Ender Echenique in his place.
On the flip side, the Herons could look to give their bench more minutes, as previous mainstays Allende, forward Marco Silvetti, and defender Maxi Falcon were left unused against Toronto. Fans might want to expect no-shows, as Messi has played every minute this season except for a 0-0 draw against Charlotte FC. The Argentinian captain was rested between midweek matches against Nashville SC in the CCC, so the short work week might force Hoyos to give Messi and others time to recover.
Match Info
Where: TQL Stadium, Cincinnati, OH
When: Wednesday, May 13th at 7:30 p.m.
Watch: Apple+
Listen: ESPN 1530 iHeart Radio w/ Tommy Gelehrter and Kevin McCloskey
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