Inter Miami vs Nashville SC: MLS Match Preview, Odds & Predictions

Sunday sees Inter Miami taking on Nashville SC at Chase Stadium in Florida in a battle for first place in the Major League Soccer Eastern Conference.

This is the first meeting between the two squads since the Boys in Gold were defeated 2-1 on the road by the Herons a little over a year ago.

Previous Matches and Head-to-Head

Inter Miami has won back-to-back MLS away matches against CF Montreal and New England Revolution in the past five days, following a loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the FIFA Club World Cup semifinals. They narrowly defeated New England on Wednesday, with Lionel Messi scoring twice in the first half. This marks a new record in Major League Soccer for Inter Miami, which has scored 14 goals in 15 MLS games.

Inter Miami is in a great position to host the championship series and has a good chance of defending its Eastern Conference title. However, they will face strict tests in the upcoming weeks as they play three of their next four games against the top two teams in the league, including Nashville this weekend and Cincinnati twice.

Nashville has a remarkable undefeated streak across all competitions, with a club-record fifteen matches (W11 D4). They will now face either the Philadelphia Union or the New York Red Bulls in the semifinals, making them the first Tennessee professional sports team to do so.

With the final four not happening until mid-September, Nashville will turn its attention back to Major League Soccer, where they are now undefeated in seven games (D2). They have gone from finishing in 13th place in the 2024 Eastern Conference to second place with 42 points after 21 games.

The Boys in Gold, with a six-game undefeated road record in MLS and ten goals scored, will be looking to continue their winning streak this weekend in Florida. However, since a resounding 5-1 away win in September 2021, the Boys in Gold have lost all four of their previous trips to Inter Miami.

Inter Miami x Nashville SC Team News

Messi, who is 38 years old, will "need to be given a break at some point," according to Inter Miami coach Mascherano, who previously claimed that he intended to give the player "some rest" before starting him in the whole match against New England.

But Mascherano still has Luis Suarez and Messi as starting attackers, and he still has Tadeo Allende and Allen Obando as backups.

While goalkeeper Oscar Ustari is questionable due to an injury he sustained in the victory against New England, Benjamin Cremaschi is vying to replace Federico Redondo in the starting lineup and start with Sergio Busquets in the middle of the field.

On the injury front for Nashville, Wyatt Meyer (hamstring) and Jacob Shaffelburg (hip) will be evaluated before kickoff, while Maximus Ekk, Taylor Washington, Tate Schmitt, and Tyler Boyd are all out with knee and hamstring ailments, respectively.

Alex Muyl may start on the other side, and Ahmed Qasem will begin on the right wing due to Jonathan Perez's suspension for his sending-off in the last MLS encounter against Philadelphia.

With 16 goals and 10 in his last seven games, Surridge is the leading scorer in Major League Soccer. The English forward will be accompanied by captain Hany Mukhtar, who has nine goals and eight assists this season and has scored in each of his last seven games.

Our Predictions

Full-time draw @ 4.15 on Sky247.ng

When two of the league's best scoring clubs meet this weekend, it could be a thrilling, back-and-forth matchup.  Nashville presently sits sixth on the list with 37 goals, while Inter Miami has tallied the second-most goals with 42 goals, although playing three fewer games.

Although the hosts are heavy favorites to win, especially if Messi starts, Nashville's incredible form makes them a serious contender to take home some hardware if Sturridge and Mukhtar keep it up in Florida.

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