Philadelphia vs Inter Miami: Preview, Prediction & Betting Tips

Inter Miami travel to Philadelphia Union in this MLS fixture, hoping to maintain their slim lead at the top of the Eastern Conference.

Date: 16/06/24

Kick-off time: 00:30

Venue: Subaru Park

After 18 games played, Inter Miami are in first place in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of Cincinnati, who have played two games less. It is a stark difference to last season, in which Inter finished second bottom of the conference. But with a star-studded roster, they have skyrocketed to the top and are amongst the favourites to be crowned champions. Despite their lead at the top, there is not much breathing space between themselves and the teams below, so victory will be important to maintain their position.

Philadelphia are also in playoff contention, but they are down in eighth place with 20 points following four wins. As it stands, they are a point above Nashville who sit a place below them, but are also only five ahead of 14th place Chicago, meaning a couple of bad results could see them fall down the table. However, with victory, they can close the gap on the top seven to just one point.

Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez have been by far the two best attacking threats for Inter, combining for 24 goals already. However, both will be missing, meaning goals could be a struggle over the next few games. Leonardo Campana is the next highest scorer, but he has scored just four goals this season. They could find it difficult to breach a Philadelphia defence which has kept three clean sheets in their last four games. Inter conceded three goals last time out, and seven altogether in the last three. This is a weakness which Philadelphia could take advantage of, particularly Daniel Gazdag, who leads the team with 10 goals.

Since 2021, these two teams have met six times in MLS. There has been nothing to split the pair, with both sides winning two each and drawing once. Goals may be expected, with over 2.5 coming in three of these games, and both teams scoring in four. They won one game each last season, the latest being a Philadelphia win at home last June. They won 4-1, after taking a 3-0 lead into the break thanks to goals from Jakob Glesnes, Julian Carranza and Leon Flach. Ryan Taylor pulled one back for Inter, but an own goal put the game to bed.

Philadelphia Union

Andre Blake and Isaiah LeFlore missed the last game with knee injuries, whilst Markus Anderson and Julian Carranza were also absent with ankle issues. They should not have any other fitness concerns.

Inter Miami

Inter Miami will have to deal with the absences of star men Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez who will be away competing in the Copa America. Facundo Farias, Nicolas Freire and Diego Gomez could miss out through injury.

Philadelphia

In their last five games, Philadelphia Union have won one, drawn two and lost two. It has been an inconsistent stretch for Philadelphia as they languish in the middle of the standings. This run started with a home defeat to New York City. They lost 2-1, as they fell behind in the second minute of the game to an Alonso Martinez opener. Hannes Wolf doubled the score on the stroke of half time, though Julian Carranza halved the deficit just after the restart. However, they were unable to complete the comeback.

They responded well with their only win, but also a convincing 3-0 victory away at New England. The hosts were reduced to 10 men early on as Ryan Spaulding saw red. Philadelphia took advantage of this by breaking the deadlock before half-time through Carranza. Daniel Gazdag added a second shortly into the second half, and he bagged his second late on to put the game to bed. A pair of goalless draws followed, firstly against Charlotte and then against Toronto. Philadelphia had less possession in both games, but remained strong at the back to pick up two big points.

Another draw occurred in their most recent game, as they held Montreal Impact to a 2-2 result at home. Montreal scored in the first minute, with Sunusi Ibrahim finding the back of the net. They then had Ariel Lassiter sent off on 45 minutes to hand the initiative back to the hosts. Philadelphia turned it around with two goals in as many minutes, as Gazdag scored a penalty and Mikael Uhre struck. Jack Elliott saw red to even the playing field, and it allowed Samuel Piette to score the equaliser.

Inter Miami

In their last five games, Inter Miami have won two, drawn two and lost one. It has been an inconsistent stretch for Inter as they prepare to navigate life without Lionel Messi in the upcoming weeks. Messi scored in their most recent game as they drew 3-3 at home to St. Louis. The Argentinian cancelled out an early opener from Chris Durkin. St. Louis retook the lead, but Luis Suarez levelled it once more on the stroke of half time. Inter had to come back a third time after Suarez converted the ball into his own net, but another former Barcelona player in Jordi Alba equalised to ensure the points were shared.

This followed a 3-1 home defeat to Atlanta United. They gave up 25 shot attempts despite enjoying 61% possession. Saba Lobzhanidze scored a brace to put Atlanta two up, before Messi halved the deficit. They could not find an equaliser as Jamal Thiare added a third. The week before, they travelled to Vancouver and won 2-1. Robert Taylor and Leonardo Campana scored in each half to go two ahead. Ryan Gauld scored for the hosts from the penalty spot, but Inter were able to hold on for the win. This made it two victories in a row after they beat DC United 1-0. This one came in dramatic fashion as Campana scored in the 94th minute.

The first game of this run was a goalless draw at Orlando City. They were missing Messi in this one, and they were unable to breach a stubborn Orlando defence. It was an even game with equal amounts of shots on target for each side, but neither could find a breakthrough.

Both teams are in very inconsistent form, struggling to string positive results together. Inter will have to deal with life without Messi and Suarez, and this could give Philadelphia a chance to pick up some points. As a result, we expect the points to be shared in a draw – Philadelphia 1-1 Inter Miami

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Philadelphia vs Inter Miami will be available to watch on Apple TV.

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