5 hours Ago By Simon Borg
Yankee Stadium is expected to be sold out for Lionel Messi's first visit to the iconic baseball-turned-soccer field when MLS leaders Inter Miami take their roadshow to the Bronx to face New York City FC . A crowd of 67,795 packed Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Wednesday to watch Messi and Luis Suárez, who both came off the bench in a 2-2 draw against Atlanta United . After seeing reduced minutes in midweek, the two Inter Miami stars are both likely to start on Saturday in New York City , according to the Miami Herald , as the club continues its march toward the MLS Supporters' Shield, awarded to the best regular season team in MLS.
Inter Miami is also still on pace to set the MLS single-season points record , needing 11 points from their remaining five matches to do it. Messi & Co. face a NYCFC club that is slowly sinking down the table in the Eastern Conference, winless in eight matches and coming off a disheartening 5-1 home loss to Philadelphia in midweek — their worst regular season home loss since the 7-0 humiliation at the hands of the NY Red Bulls in 2016 — despite playing well for stretches of that match.
And it only gets tougher for NYCFC, who have to face Messi in an official match for the first time in club history. The two teams drew 1-1 in South Florida back in March, but Messi did not dress for that match, as was the case for a regular season draw last September. Messi (14 goals) will also be eager to rack up the goals with just five matches remaining, as he chases MLS Golden Boot leader Christian Benteke (19 goals) and teammate Suarez (17 goals) in the MLS top scorers table.
Inter Miami became the latest MLS team to chase the all-time league record for points in a single season as the bar continues to be raised higher. Inter Miami Lineup vs New York City After starting what was largely a reserve lineup in their 2-2 draw in Atlanta, Inter Miami assistant coach Javier Morales confirmed to media on Friday that manager Gerardo "Tata" Martino (photo above) will be putting out "the strongest team possible" against NYCFC. Presumably, that would mean starting all the club's big-name players, including veterans Jordi Alba , Lionel Messi , Luis Suárez , and Sergio Busquets , who is back from serving a one-game suspension.
Martino, who returns to the sideline after a one-game suspension of his own, will also have starting center back Tomás Avilés available again after he sat out the Atlanta match due to yellow card accumulation, and Martino is also expected to slot starting midfielder Federico Redondo back in midfield after he was given a breather in midweek. The big doubt for the match is Brighton transfer target and Olympian attacker Diego Gomez , who will be a gametime decision with a hamstring issue . If he can play, David Ruiz would likely make room, with Julian Gressel shifting back from right wing to Ruiz's right midfield role.
In that scenario, Ruiz would be a helpful attacking option to have off the bench along with teenager Benja Cremaschi and center forward Leo Campana . Among the injured players from Wednesday's match, defender Noah Allen has been cleared to play again after undergoing concussion protocol. Inter Miami Lineup (4-3-3, left to right): Drake Callender (GK) — Jordi Alba, Ian Fray, Tomás Avilés, Marcelo Weigandt — Federico Redondo, Sergio Busquets, David Ruiz — Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, Julian Gressel Inter Miami Subs (9): Oscar Ustari (GK), Franco Negri, Sergiy Kryvtsov, Noah Allen, Ryan Sailor, Yannick Bright, Benja Cremaschi, Robert Taylor, Leonardo Campana Injured (7): Out - Leo Afonso (groin), Facundo Farías (knee), Nicolás Freire (knee), Matías Rojas (ankle), CJ dos Santos (hand), Hector David Martinez (groin); Questionable - Diego Gomez (hamstring) Suspended: None New York City Lineup vs Inter Miami At halftime of the team's 5-1 blowout loss at home, manager Nick Cushing removed right back Tayvon Gray and left winger Agustin Ojeda , and he admitted on Friday (video below) that it was not due to injury, but instead an attempt to shake things up with his team down 3-1 at the break.
It remains to be seen whether both players will retain their starting role, or whether their replacements — right back Mitja Ilenic and attacking midfielder Maxi Moralez — will get the nod instead. The 37-year-old veteran Moralez would probably be eager to match wits against fellow compatriot and 37-year-old Messi, but Moralez could also prove useful off the bench if the match is not going according to plan. That scenario would leave the team's star attacking midfielder, Uruguayan No.
10 Santi Rodriguez (9 goals, 8 assists), with the duties of carrying the attack behind top scorer Alonso Martinez (12 goals). NYCFC essentially has a fully fit squad with only two players missing the match. Norwegian defender Birk Risa , who last started on August 31, is out with what the club is calling a leg issue .
Cushing confirmed that Risa trained partially on Thursday and fully on Friday, and was set to be reevaluated, but he will skip the match in the end. Rookie forward Malachi Jones , who was selected with the No. 8 pick in the 2024 SuperDraft, is out long-term recovering from a fractured right tibia and fibula after surgery on July 1.
New York City Lineup Projection (4-2-3-1, left to right): Matt Freese (GK) — Kevin O'Toole, Strahinja Tanasijevic, Thiago Martins, Tayvon Gray — Keaton Parks, James Sands — Santi Rodriguez, Maxi Moralez, Hannes Wolf — Alonso Martinez New York City Subs Projection (9): Luis Barraza (GK), Mitja Ilenic, Christian McFarlane, Andrés Perea, Justin Haak, Julian Fernandez, Agustin Ojeda, Jovan Mijatovic, Monsef Bakrar Injured (2): Birk Risa, Malachi Jones Suspended: None Where to Watch New York City vs Inter Miami The NYCFC vs Inter Miami contest has been slotted into a rare and exclusive standalone window at 2 p.m. EDT on Saturday, September 21.
There are 12 other MLS regular season matches that will be held on the same day, with one match scheduled for 4 p.m. EDT and the other 11 coming later at night.
Inter Miami has lost both matches the club has played at Yankee Stadium : 2-0 in July 2022 and 1-0 in March 2023. Match: New York City vs Inter Miami (MLS regular season / Matchday 30 of 34) Date: Saturday, September 21, 2024 Time: 2 p.m.
EDT (7 p.m. BST) Stadium: Yankee Stadium (Bronx, New York) TV Channel: None Live Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV (globally) Both teams will have just four matches remaining in the season.
NYCFC have a derby match on Saturday, Sept. 28 against NY Red Bulls, and two home games against Cincinnati (Oct. 2) and Nashville (Oct.
6) before closing the 2024 slate in Montréal (Oct. 19). Meanwhile, Miami host Charlotte FC next Saturday, Sept.
28, before two away games in Columbus (Oct. 2) and Toronto (Oct. 5) which will precede a home finale against the New England Revolution (Oct.
19), when Messi & Co. could be celebrating with a Supporters' Shield trophy in front of their fans. There were few hints that LAFC and their iconic captain would get back together again, until it happened three hours before the free agent deadline.
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