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Chase Stadium hosts the first of what could potentially be three fixtures between Inter Miami and Atlanta United, as Round one of the playoffs gets underway.
KICK-OFF DATE/TIME: Saturday 26th October, 2024: UK – 1:30am / US ET – 8:30pm (Friday) / US PT – 5:30pm (Friday)
HOW TO WATCH/STREAM LIVE: UK – Apple TV / US – Apple TV
INTER MIAMI PREVIEW: RECORD-BREAKERS
Inter Miami enter the playoffs as strong favourites to go all the way after a dominant league campaign that saw them finish top of the Eastern Conference and claim the highest points total in MLS history.
Lionel Messi and Luiz Suarez have no doubt been instrumental to that success, the former Barcelona stars each scoring 20 MLS goals this season, but Tata Martino's squad have also coped well without their superstars on occasion, and there is a real unity in the squad as they chase down more silverware.
ATLANTA UNITED PREVIEW: SQUEEZED INTO THE PLAYOFFS
Atlanta United made it to the post-season by the skin of their teeth, winning their final two league games to finish in the final Eastern Conference qualifying spot on goal difference ahead of DC United.
The 2018 MLS Cup champions then came through a nail-biting wildcard round clash with Montreal. After going two goals up, former Atlanta striker Josef Martinez threatened to bring their campaign to a premature end with a second-half double, but Rob Valentino's side converted all five of their spot-kicks in the resulting penalty shoot-out to progress.
INTER MIAMI TEAM NEWS: REGULARS BACK IN
Matias Rojas, who missed the final regular season win over New England, is one of Martino's main injury concerns here, and should he not recover, one of Yannick Bright or Benjamin Cremaschi will likely occupy one of the midfield berths.
After coming off the bench to score a hat-trick against New England - his second treble in as many games for club and country - Messi will of course return to the starting line-up along with some other regular starters.
PREDICTED XI (4-3-3): Callender; Weigandt, Aviles, Kryvtsov, Alba; Cremaschi, Busquets, Gomez; Gressel, Suarez, Messi
UNAVAILABLE: Afonso (Injured), Ruiz (Injured), Farias (Injured), Freire (Injured), Ustari (Injured)
QUESTIONABLE: Martinez (Injured), Rojas (Injured), Dos Santos (Injured)
ATLANTA UNITED TEAM NEWS: WESTBERG & MOSQUERA DOUBTFUL
A head injury is likely to keep Quentin Westberg out of this fixture, while Edwin Mosquera could join him on the sidelines if he doesn't recover from a knee complaint.
Brooks Lennon occupied an advanced role in the wildcard round but could revert to his more orthodox full-back position here, with the visitors needing be as solid as possible to contain Inter Miami's considerable attacking threat.
PREDICTED XI (4-2-3-1): Guzan; Lennon, Gregersen, Williams, Hernandez; Slisz, Fortune; Lobjanidze, Miranchuk, Wolff; Thiare
UNAVAILABLE:
QUESTIONABLE: Mosquera (Injured), Westberg (Injured)
INTER MIAMI VS ATLANTA UNITED PREDICTION
Although Inter Miami are heavy favourites in this tie, Atlanta United are actually one of the few teams who have caused them problems since Lionel Messi's arrival in the MLS. In fact, their last three MLS meetings have resulted in two wins for Atlanta and a 2-2 draw last month.
However, when it matters most, Inter Miami step up. Tata Martino will want to wrap this tie up in two games rather than three, and that is likely to start with a commanding win on home turf.
INTER MIAMI VS ATLANTA UNITED TIP: INTER MIAMI TO WIN & OVER 2.5 GOALS