New York Red Bulls vs Inter Miami Prediction & Betting Tips

Inter Miami travel to New York to take on the Red Bulls as they look to continue their hot start to the season.

Date: 23/03/24

Kick-off time: 18:00

Venue: Red Bull Arena

Gerardo Martino’s Miami side currently sit top of the Eastern Conference after five games. They have made a strong start to the campaign as they will almost certainly improve on their 14th place finish last year. The addition of Luis Suarez has made a huge difference, as well as having Lionel Messi for a full season. In five games so far, they have won three and drawn one. This has them level at the summit alongside Columbus Crew, who they are above on goal difference although they have played a game more than everyone else. A victory this weekend could create some separation, but defeat would allow a number of teams an opportunity to join them on 10 points, including their opponents.

The hosts have made a decent start to the season, with two wins and a draw accounting for seven points. This places them sixth in the standings, level on points with Montreal Impact and Toronto FC. Both New York and Miami have conceded five goals so far, but they have seen contrasting success on the offensive end. The league leaders have by far the best attack, to nobody’s surprise considering they are led by Messi and Suarez. The pair have already scored a combined seven goals. Red Bulls have struggled mightily in front of goal, scoring just four. However, they may find some joy against a side who have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last four games in all competitions. Lewis Morgan is their top scorer with two.

In six meetings, the home side have been superior, winning four and losing two. However, the last matchup saw Miami come out on top. Diego Gomez and Messi scored in each half to secure a 2-0 win, in what was Messi's debut for the club. The reverse fixture earlier in the season ended in favour of the Red Bulls. It was a narrow 1-0 victory with the winner coming from Tom Barlow early in the second half.

New York Red Bulls

Forwards Dante Vanzeir and Serge Ngoma both missed the last game through injuries. Daniel Edelman will be absent as he serves a suspension for picking up two yellow cards against Columbus Crew.

Inter Miami

Lionel Messi will be absent as he is part of the Argentina squad for the upcoming international break. He also missed the last game with a hamstring injury. Attacker Facundo Farias is out for the season.

New York Red Bulls

In their last five games, New York Red Bulls have won two, lost two and drawn one. Their latest game was a deflating 3-0 defeat at Columbus Crew. They went behind early to a Cucho Hernandez goal before Jacen Russell-Rowe and Aidan Morris extended the lead in the second half. Daniel Edelman saw red very late on.

This followed a narrow 2-1 win against FC Dallas at home. They saw less of the ball but attempted seven more shots on target. One of these was converted from the spot by Emil Forsberg after half an hour. Lewis Morgan doubled the advantage shortly after the restart. Jesus Ferreira quickly pulled one back but they were unable to find the equaliser.

Another 2-1 win, this time at Houston Dynamo, meant they again picked up three points. Red Bulls initially went behind after just seven minutes to Ibrahim Aliyu. Elias Manoel got on the scoresheet to level the game on the stroke of half time. They completed the turnaround early in the second period as Morgan scored the winner. It was a good response to a two-game winless streak in which they drew 0-0 at Nashville and lost to 2-0 to LA Galaxy in a club friendly.

Inter Miami

In their last five games, Inter Miami have won three, drawn one and lost one. Their most recent game saw them beat DC United 3-1 away from home, despite being without Lionel Messi. They went behind early after Jared Stroud broke the deadlock for the hosts. Leonardo Campana scored the equaliser 10 minutes later. With the game level, Luis Suarez came off the bench to score a late brace and secure all three points for his side.

Attention shifted to the CONCACAF Champions Cup, in which they took on Nashville SC. The first leg finished in a 2-2 draw. Inter Miami went two goals down as Jacob Shaffelburg struck twice for the home team either side of half time. However, they fought back as Messi scored to get them back in the game. Time was running out, but Suarez found the back of the net in the fifth minute of stoppage time to bring the tie home level. In the second leg, Miami came out on top 3-1 to win the tie 5-3 on aggregate to advance to the quarter-finals. Suarez, Messi and Sam Surridge gave them a three-goal lead before Nashville scored a very late consolation.

In between these two legs was a meeting with Montreal Impact. This was the hosts’ only defeat in this five-game period as they lost 3-2. Fernando Alvarez put the visitors ahead, but this was cancelled out by Campana in the 71st minute. It did not stay level for long, however, as Matias Coccaro restored the Montreal lead. Sunusi Ibrahim quickly added another before Jordi Alba pulled a second back. The first game of this stretch was a dominant 5-0 win over Orlando City. Suarez (x2), Messi (x2) and Robert Taylor were on the scoresheet.

Even in Lionel Messi’s absence, Inter Miami are still favoured to win this game, having done so without the star last weekend. Red Bulls have endured a mixed start to the season and we expect this to continue – New York Red Bulls 1-2 Inter Miami

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New York Red Bulls vs Inter Miami will be available to watch on Apple TV.

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