Inter Miami vs Orlando City – MLS preview: TV channel, team news, lineups and prediction
Inter Miami play host to in-state rivals Orlando City on Saturday afternoon at Chase Stadium, pitting Uruguay internationals Luis Suarez and Facundo Torres against each other in south Florida.
The Herons‘ opening fixtures of the season have gone to plan for the most part, as Gerardo ‚Tata‘ Martino’s side prevailed 2-0 over Real Salt Lake in the first game of the regular season thanks to strikes from Diego Gomez and Robert Taylor.
Miami then ventured out to the west coast for a primetime clash with LA Galaxy, where a stoppage-time effort from Lionel Messi saw the Herons steal a point at the death at Dignity Health Sports Park in a 1-1 draw.
On the other side of the matchup, Orlando have played just once this season compared to Miami, who are the only team alongside RSL to have played twice in the first matchday of the 2024 season. The Lions, who are led by head coach Oscar Pareja, opened up their season with a 0-0 draw against CF Montreal and took down Canadian side Cavalry FC 6-1 on aggregate to advance to the next phase of the Concacaf Champions Cup.
As Miami lifted the 2023 Leagues Cup, they earned a bye from the first round of the competition and await their opponent.
Here’s 90min’s preview of the clash between the two Florida-based clubs.
Inter Miami vs Orlando City H2H Record (Last Five Games)
Current Form (all competitions)
|
Inter Miami |
Orlando City |
|---|---|
|
LA Galaxy 1-1 Inter Miami – 26/02/24 |
Orlando City 0-0 CF Montreal – 24/02/24 |
|
Inter Miami 2-0 Real Salt Lake – 22/03/24 |
Orlando City 3-2 Colorado Rapids – 17/02/24 |
|
Inter Miami 1-1 Newell’s Old Boys – 16/02/24 |
Orlando City 1-0 Houston Dynamo – 14/02/24 |
|
Vissel Kobe 0-0 (4-3p) Inter Miami – 07/02/24 |
Orlando City 3-1 New England Revolution – 10/02/24 |
|
Hong Kong Team 1-4 Inter Miami – 04/02/24 |
Orlando City 3-1 Rhode Island – 07/02/24 |
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
Apple TV – MLS Season Pass, FOX |
|
United States |
Apple TV – MLS Season Pass, FOX |
|
Canada |
Apple TV + |
Messi opened his 2024 MLS account against the Galaxy over the weekend, finding the back of the net late on after linking up with former Barcelona teammate Jordi Alba to help his side steal a point.
Robbie Robinson remains sidelined with a knee problem and should be back in action in April, while Diego Gomez’s status for the game remains in the air as he’s dealing with muscle cramps. New loan signing Nicolas Freire, who joined from Liga MX side Pumas, is still dealing with a quad problem and will more than likely miss out.
Drake Callender and David Ruiz featured against the Galaxy despite their respective ankle and calf injuries and should be fit for the upcoming clash against Orlando.
Inter Miami predicted lineup vs Orlando City (4-3-3): Callender; Yedlin, Aviles, Kryvtsov, Alba; Gomez, Busquets, Gressel; Messi, Suarez, Taylor.
The only Orlando player who missed out against Montreal was Rodrigo Schlegel, who was serving a one-game suspension after picking up a second yellow card in the MLS Cup playoffs in November against Columbus Crew.
Since Schlegel wasn’t shown a straight red card, he only missed one MLS contest and should be back into the starting lineup vs Miami given that he the full 180 minutes in the tie against Cavalry.
Orlando City predicted lineup vs Inter Miami (4-2-3-1): Gallese; Thorhallsson, Jansson, Schlegel, Santos; Araujo, Cartagena, Lodeiro; Torres, McGuire, Angulo.
Miami have become a tough side to beat at home with the likes of Messi, Alba and Sergio Busquets with Martino at the helm. This one’s a rivalry clash, though, and Orlando will do everything possible to knock Miami off their high horse after their draw back in September as well as their Leagues Cup exit last summer.
Miami looked better against the Galaxy but were still so open at the back, and the likes of Facundo Torres, Ivan Angulo, Nico Lodeiro and Ivan Angulo could take advantage of their defensive miscues. On the other side, Orlando looked subpar against Montreal but will definitely be up for the challenge against their bitter rivals.
The Lions will strike early to stun the fans at Chase Stadium, but the Herons will find a way to get back into the game and both sides will leave the contest with a point after a couple of second-half goals.