Overview
Inter Miami and Cincinnati will face each other for the second time in less than two weeks. And this time the home team will be determined to win.
Gerardo Valenzuela's opener and Evander's second-half double helped Cincinnati beat Inter Miami in their last meeting. Thereby, ending Miami's 6-match unbeaten streak in the tournament.
However, Miami had an impressive response when defeating New York Red Bulls with a score of 5-1 in the next match. Lionel Messi has scored his sixth double in just seven MLS appearances.
After participating in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 - where they passed the group stage but were defeated 4-0 by PSG in the round of 16, Inter Miami has only played 21 matches in MLS. This means they still have 3 matches left to play compared to the 4 teams above them in the Eastern Conference rankings. Messi and his teammates are currently in fifth place with 41 points.
Coach Rafael Mascherano's team will now aim to establish a new winning streak, making the most of the remaining matches in the hope of climbing to the top of the rankings.
Although they have only won against Cincinnati in one of their last eight meetings, Miami's only win against them came at home. This will bring a lot of encouragement.
Meanwhile, Cincinnati are aiming for their third consecutive win, after defeating Inter Miami and continuing to beat Real Salt Lake with a score of 1-0.
That impressive streak of form has helped them rise to the top of both the Eastern and the overall rankings, with 48 points after 24 matches. However, they still need to be wary of the threat from Inter Miami and will be determined to increase the gap in the coming time.
Cincinnati have won six of their last seven MLS games, except for a 2-4 loss to Columbus crew.
away from home, they are in impressive form with a series of 4 consecutive wins. However, Miami's away record is not very promising. They have only won one and lost three of their last five games.
Personnel situation
Messi and Jordi Alba were absent from the MLS All-Star and Liga MX match. Therefore, this duo will face a 1-match suspension. Meanwhile, Maximiliano Falcon will be eliminated after receiving enough yellow cards.
In his absence, Messi will not be able to surpass Nashville's Sam Surridge in the race for the MLS Golden Boot, when both have 18 goals in the same match.
In addition, Miami will continue to be without a series of players due to injuries, including Drake Callender, lan Fray, Baltasar Rodriguez and Allen Obando.
On the other side of the front line, Kevin Denkey and Obinna Nwobodo will not be able to participate due to leg injuries, while Yuya Kubo will also be out due to ankle injuries.
Expected lineup:
Inter Miami: Ustari, Weigandt, Martinez, Falcon, Allen, Allende, Cremaschi, Busquets, Segovia, Tadeo Allende, Suarez.
Cincinnati: Celentano, Powell, Miazga, Robinson, Yedlin, Bucha, Anunga, Engel, Evander, Valenzuela, Denkey.
The match between Inter Miami and Cincinnati takes place at 6:15 am on June 27 (Vietnam time).
