Inter Miami vs St. Louis City

Chase Stadium is the venue as Inter Miami and St. Louis City lock horns in only their second Major League Soccer meeting.

Midweek MLS action didn’t go to plan for Inter Miami as Atlanta United knocked them down from a ten-game unbeaten league run (W7, D3) with a stunning 3-1 win in Fort Lauderdale. Despite that setback, Gerardo Martino’s men commence this round as the Eastern Conference leaders, albeit their advantage on runners-up Cincinnati now stands at a single point. Keen to return to winning ways, Lionel Messi & Co can draw confidence from winning three consecutive home league matches before Thursday’s defeat, averaging 3.33 goals per game. However, facing St. Louis could plunge the ‘Herons’ into further chaos, considering they were on the receiving end of a thumping 3-0 scoreline in their only previous MLS encounter. The only saving grace is that they lost that fixture on the road.

Adding to Inter Miami’s confidence, visiting St. Louis’ downfall continued in midweek as a 2-1 home loss to Seattle Sounders condemned them to a third consecutive league defeat. Manager Bradley Carnell is desperate for his side to return to winning ways after falling three points below the playoff line in the Western Conference. But the visitors’ dismal 21% win ratio across the opening 14 rounds can’t inspire much enthusiasm (3/14). Aptly named the ‘stalemate specialists,’ they’ve drawn half of their MLS fixtures this season (7/14), though only two of those seven draws have ended goalless. St. Louis would probably settle for another share of the spoils, knowing they’ve failed to win any of their last eight away league outings (D4, L4) since September 2023.