Overview
New York City have been in poor form since MLS returned in mid-August. They have yet to taste victory in their last four matches, with two defeats and two draws. Notably, New York City have failed to keep a clean sheet in all four of those matches.
Even in the most recent match, New York City lost to Philadelphia Union with a score of 1-5 right at home. Therefore, despite having home field advantage, New York City is still rated lower than Inter Miami at this time.
Not to mention, coach Gerardo Martino's team will likely welcome the return of Lionel Messi to the starting lineup.
In the match against Atlanta United, Messi sat on the bench and was brought on in the 61st minute. This is the basis for Inter Miami fans to believe that Messi will return to the starting lineup in the match against New York City.
Inter Miami is expected to only need to win 7 more points in the last 5 matches to secure the title. This is their chance to win the MLS Shield championship (points calculation phase) for the first time in history.
Inter Miami are also in good form, winning 3 and drawing 1 since MLS returned. With both form and a stronger squad than their opponents, Inter Miami are expected to have an easy match at Yankee Stadium.
However, New York City has won all four home games against Miami, whether in the regular season or playoffs.
Human resources situation
Birk Risa missed New York City's second straight game after being injured in the warm-up, while Malachi Jones was sidelined again with a broken tibia.
On the other side of the front line, Sergio Busquets and Tomas Aviles could return in this match after being absent in midweek due to suspension.
Expected lineup:
New York City: Freese, Ilenic, Martins, Tanasijevic, McFarlane, Sands, Parks, Wolf, Rodriguez, Mijatovic, Martinez.
Inter Miami: Callender, Weigandt, Busquets, Aviles, Alba, Ruiz, Bright, Redondo, Gressel, Suarez, Messi.
The match between New York City and Inter Miami takes place at 1:00 a.m. on September 22 (Vietnam time).
