With the MLS season entering the business stage of the campaign, two title contenders will go head-to-head as Inter Miami CF travels to take on New York City FC this week.
Inter Miami have had a more difficult campaign so far this time around and come into this game in 5th position in the MLS table, eight points behind the current leaders, having played three games less. New York, on the other hand, sit in fourth place in the table, one point ahead of their upcoming opponents despite having played two games more.
We’ll take a look at the match and provide you with our best free soccer betting picks to see if we can earn you some extra cash, while you enjoy the action on the pitch.
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New York came into this season hoping for a stronger campaign than their last, but it took them a short while before they got up and running really.
The first game of the season saw a 2-2 draw on the road against Inter Miami, before a 1-0 defeat to Los Angeles FC. They claimed victory in their next two games on the spin to build some momentum, but entered another difficult period of form afterwards as they lost three of their next five and won just once against Philadelphia Union.
Back-to-back 1-0 wins over Toronto FC and FC Cincinnati helped them get back on track, befor they claimed a big derby day win over New York Red Bulls at home too. Following that victory they would win just three of their next seven games, with a 2-0 defeat to Charlotte FC a particular low point.
But since then they have really managed to turn things around and come into this fixture in some flying form. Pascal Jansen‘s side have won seven of their last nine games, including each of their last three against Chicago Fire, Colombus Crew and Charlotte FC to earn the role of favorites for this one. The team have already secured their place in the playoffs too.
The 2024 regular season winners began their campaign in strong form, with four wins from their opening five games sending them right to the top of the MLS table.
But the start of April saw the beginning of a difficult period of form for Lionel Messi‘s side, as Miami earned just two wins in their next nine games. Toronto FC, Chicago Fire, San Jose Earthquakes and Philadelphia Union all shared points with them, while FC Dallas Minnesota United and Orlando City SC handed them their first defeats of the campaign.
Towards the end of May Inter Miami found their goalscoring touch once again with big wins over CF Montreal twice and Columbus Crew while they also defeated New England Revolution and Nashville SC en route to a five-game winning run.
Since then though, Javier Mascherano’s team have gone on another difficult run of form with just four victories in their last nine games. However, they will be hoping this is the beginning of another strong run heading into the playoffs, as they claimed victory against Seattle Sounders and DC United in their last two games to come into this clash full of momentum.
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This is going to be a highly competitive match-up between two sides who feel that they will have a real chance of lifting the MLS Cup later this year.
The meeting between the teams earlier in the season saw a 2-2 draw on the opening day, with Jose Segovia scoring a 100th-minute equaliser after the team competed for 67 minutes plus injury time with just ten men, following Toto Avilles’ first-half red card.
Since then the two teams have consistently shown an ability to score plenty of goals, which should come as no surprise with the likes of Messi, Luis Suarez and Alonso Martinez on the pitch. But defensively both sides have shown great strength too, and that should make for an entertaining game.
This season, New York have won 16 games in the MLS, and nine of them have come while also conceding a goal. Meanwhile, Inter Miami have lost six times, and three of those have come with them also scoring a goal. That makes for a tasty-looking value bet, with New York to win and both teams to score at +270 odds.
With such individual quality on the pitch, the form of both sides coming into the game and the fact neither team will want to lose this close to the playoffs, expect them to go for the win and the home advantage of New York to make the difference.
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About the Author
Daniel is a football writer who has a great thirst for the Premier League and other major European leagues. A lover of the beautiful game and a firm believer that the eye test is better than statistics. Also an avid MMA fan.
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