Despite winning the Supporters’ Shield and setting a new record for points in a season with 74, Inter Miami are on the brink of being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. After winning the first leg at home, the Herons fell in Atlanta and the pressure is now on. This Atlanta United side has nothing to lose under interim manager Rob Valentino and it shows in their play, leaving everything on the pitch. All the pressure is on the Herons, and with Lionel Messi on their side, anything but a victory will be unacceptable.
Here’s our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
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How to watch and odds
- Date: Saturday, Nov. 9 | Time: 8 p.m. ET
- Location: Chase Stadium — Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- Live stream: MLS Season Pass
- Odds: Inter Miami -260; Draw +425; Atlanta United +600
Storylines
Inter Miami: After missing the match in Atlanta, there’s a chance that Sergio Busquets could be fit enough to be in the squad despite previously being ruled out. He was able to train separately from the team on Friday putting the midfield in for a big boost if he’s available for the match. His absence showed as Atlanta dominated the midfield in game two, so even not being 100%, Busquets would bring an important presence to the side. The midfield will already be down another body after Yannick Bright picked up a hamstring injury in the second leg, so they’ll take anything that they can get.
Inter Miami predicted XI: Drake Callender, Jordi Alba, Hector Martinez, Tomas Aviles, Marcelo Weigandt, Sergio Busquets, Federico Redondo, Benjamin Cremaschi, Diego Gomez, Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi
Atlanta United: Valentino has been pushing the right buttons in this series so far and there’s no reason to expect that to change here. He’s getting 100% out of each player in the squad while also doing the best that he can to make the decision about who will be the permanent coach of the team a tough one.
Atlanta United predicted XI: Brad Guzan, Luis Abram, Derrick Williams, Ronald Hernandez, Saba Lobzhanidze, Bartosz Slisz, Dax McCarty, Ajani Fortune, Pedro Amador, Aleksey Miranchuk, Jamal Thiare
Prediction
At home this is a different Miami team and they’ll do what’s needed to make it to the next round of the playoffs. Pick: Inter Miami 2, Atlanta United 1
