FC Cincinnati (11-9-11, 42 pts.) continue their brief stretch on the road. The latest stop brings them to Inter Miami’s newly built Nu Stadium. It is a match with high stakes for both teams, as Miami (15-10-6, 55 pts.) vie for a finish as high as second in the table, while Cincinnati try to secure a playoff position for the fifth season in a row.
THE HERONS
The Herons’ form has been mixed since the league restart in late August. They have won five times, while losing and tying four times each. That has still been enough to keep them level on points with second place New England (55 points) and only Chicago (47 points) as a competitor below them.
Perhaps the coaching carousel is why Miami’s form has been so inconsistent. The Herons have been in the middle of a coaching transition. In September, they brought in Argentina manager Cristian “Kily” González, who had relatively short stints across his domestic league. Comparably, his new club has also only held a boss for a limited time—this is their seventh hire in six seasons.
González represents a stylistic shift, which is strange for a locker room as independent and enigmatic as Miami. Rather than emphasizing the same fluid possessional play, he has wanted his teams to start organized on defense and then use that to quickly counter. Another strange thing for an attack that is talented in many ways, with speed not being one of them.
Still, the results have proven something. Miami have kept three clean sheets in his seven matches on the sideline. Prior to González’s arrival, the Herons only did that twice since late April.
Miami also made one new addition who entered that locker room at the same time as the new gaffer–Riquelme Filipi, a double-sided winger who has been flashy at the youth level but unproven anywhere else. The hope is that he will add some vibrancy to that frontline heading into the final stretch and the playoffs.
The Herons’ most recent match was a 0-2 slide to the New York Red Bulls. Although Miami held a vast amount of possession, New York bested Miami in the attacking metrics. The result is typical of Miami when not starting Lionel Messi.
But the current leader in league goals and assists can only be benched for so long. Messi should be returning to the lineup in this one. The Miami captain is on a blazingly hot streak of a goal contribution for every league start since late April.
Miami’s recent result means little now. With Messi back on the pitch alongside his striker duo of Luis Suarez and German Berterame, they have no real reason to underperform. Their only known weakness is on the defensive end, but that is also exactly what their new manager has been working to fix.
THE ORANGE & BLUE
After debilitating losses to New England and Columbus in the derby, FC Cincinnati have kept themselves three points to the good above the playoff line. Their last two wins came against the same opponent, a 13th-place D.C. United side.
Their most recent match was an even better result against D.C. than three days prior–a clean sheet and two goals, both contributed by Evander, who looks like he has finally returned to form. Tom Barlow punched in the second goal, another added to his season total (now at 13 over all competitions) with a pleasing finish.
Those are still slim margins in a playoff race. Any of their final three matches will make or break Cincinnati, as four teams lurk behind them. The caveat is that the remaining schedule is a gauntlet against some of the hottest teams in the conference–Miami tomorrow, Philadelphia on Saturday, and Nashville the following weekend.
Still, the positive is that their destiny is in their favor for tomorrow. If the Orange & Blue can come up with the win and Columbus sink in their match, they will clinch a spot. In such a case, the final two matches won’t hold as much weight.
Regardless of playing the same muddied opponent twice and staring into the strongest remaining schedule, there are more real, hopeful signs. Evander getting into hot form would single-handedly bring FCC’s offense to the level they were at before. The clean sheet they kept did not look lucky. The backline of Teenage Hadebe, Nick Hagglund, and Kyle Smith looked like a unit. If replicated, their chances of qualifying as early as Wednesday improve drastically.
However, that lauded Miami attack is rarely ever held back for long. The same goes, at least for the better part of the season, for the Orange and Blue. Both sides are top-heavy, so in the end, this one will likely rely on who outscores the other.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Miami’s player to watch is Lionel Messi. This match is a straightforward battle of stars, and whoever puts out the better performance will be the victor. Messi has almost never failed to meet this expectation. It does not even need to be written out what he has done in the league for the last three-and-a-half seasons, including to Cincinnati time and time again.
Cincinnati’s player to watch is Evander. He has long been forced to accept the title of the second-best player in the league. After his last performance, he will be wanting—and needing—to show up even more against a player he has already rivaled for MVP.
PREDICTED LINEUP:
Notes: Tyrell Malacia, Miles Robinson, and Julián Malatini are all listed as OUT.
MATCH INFO:
WHERE: Nu Stadium
WHEN: 7:30 PM
WATCH: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+
LISTEN: ESPN 1530 iHeart Radio w/ Tommy Gelehrter and Kevin McCloskey
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