Preview: Inter Miami vs. Charlotte FC – Prediction, Team News, Lineups

InterMiami will look to move one step closer to winning their first Eastern Conference title when they host Charlotte FC on Saturday at Chase Stadium.

The Crown had a great result last time out in their pursuit of postseason football and will look to end their run of three straight away defeats this weekend.

Game preview

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It was two more lost points for Inter Miami in their quest for the Eastern Conference title as they were held to a 1-1 draw by New York City at Yankee Stadium last Saturday.

With Lionel Messi And Luis Suarez unusually quiet, 24 years old Leonardo Campana but gave the guests the lead in the 75th minute James Sands He rose highest in the 95th minute, scoring the equalizer with a header from a corner to secure a share of the spoils.

Previously, Inter Miami's five-game winning streak in the league ended with a 2-2 draw against Atlanta United on September 19, as the Five Stripes twice came from behind at Mercedes-Benz Stadium Courtesy of goals from Saba Lobjanidze And Aleksei Miranchuk.

Despite their recent loss of form Gerardo MartinoWashington's men remain on course to secure the 2024 Supporters' Shield and finish as champions in the East, where they sit atop the table by a sizable eight points over second-place FC Cincinnati and advance to the Final Four Regular season games.

Not only is Inter Miami aiming to win its first league title, but with 64 points from 30 games, they also need 10 points from their last 12 to break the MLS regular season points record set by the New England Revolution (73). in 2021.

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Charlotte FC, meanwhile, got their quest for a playoff spot back on track when they defeated 10-team New England Revolution 4-0 at Bank of America Stadium last Saturday.

In a game where Dylan Borrero received his marching orders, Liel Abada The goal in the 39th minute gave the hosts the lead Pep Biel, Patrick Agyemang And Kerwin Calderon Vargas scored goals in the second half, capping an impressive team performance.

After failing to win any of his last six league games and only getting three points out of a possible 18, he is head coach Dean Smith I hope that last weekend's result against the Revs can serve as a catalyst for a strong finish to the regular season.

The Crown has amassed 41 points in 30 games and sits sixth in the Eastern Conference standings, tied with seventh-place New York City FC in the final automatic playoff spot and six ahead of 10th-place Montreal outside the play-in spots .

While Charlotte will look to pick up where they left off last time out, they will need to play their best game at Chase Stadium as they have failed to win six of their last eight meetings with Inter Miami, losing five and drawing one since February 2022 .

Inter Miami Major League Soccer form:

Inter Miami form (all competitions):

Charlotte FC form in Major League Soccer:

Charlotte FC form (all competitions):

Team news

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Inter Miami will take the field without several key players in the backbone of the team Sergiy Kryvtsov (Knee), Nicolas Freire (ACL) and Facundo Farias (ACL) remain on the sidelines.

Matias Rojas The Paraguayan duo Diego is out due to an ankle injury Gomez and 26 years old Diego Martínez have missed the last two games after both were sidelined with injuries against the Philadelphia Union on September 15th.

Brazilian striker Leonardo Afonso has been out of action since suffering a groin injury in August Jordi Alba and 20 years old Noah Allen are suspended after exceeding the yellow card limit with their yellow card against New York City.

As for Charlotte, Smith will not be able to call on the services of the Serbian midfielder Nikola Petkovicwho is expected to miss his third league game in a row due to a knee injury.

He is joined on the Crown's injury list by an American defender Jahlane Forbeswho has been out of action since mid-August due to hip problems.

Possible Inter Miami starting lineup:
Caller; Fray, Aviles, Kryvtsov, Negri; Gressel, Bright, Redondo; Messi, Suarez, Taylor

Possible Charlotte FC starting lineup:
Kahlina; Byrne, Malanda, Privett, Ream; Westwood, Bronico; Biel, Urso, Abada; Swiderski

We say: Inter Miami – Charlotte FC 3:1

With the goal of setting a new MLS regular season points record and claiming their first conference title, we expect Inter Miami to give it their all on a Saturday to get back to winning ways.

Charlotte struggled to make the trip and we're backing Martino's men to take all three points in front of their home fans.

For data analysis of the most likely outcomes, scores and more for this game, please click here.

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