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Eastern Conference leaders Inter Miami look to continue their momentum towards the MLS Playoffs when they take on the 14th-placed New England Revolution. Can Lionel Messi and company dominate their way to their first MLS Cup final? The Revolution will have a lot to prove in this matchup, as 33 matches played with 31 points overall is far from impressive. Still, we’ve got an exciting game on our hands with our New England Revolution @ Inter Miami MLS picks.
By 33 games played this season, Inter Miami CF has accumulated 71 points with 21 wins. In their last five, they beat Toronto FC (10th) and Columbus Crew (second) by a single goal after finishing with 3 ties in a row against Atalanta United (12th), New York FC (fifth), and Charlotte FC (sixth).
In terms of scoring capabilities, Inter Miami’s top two goalscorers, Messi and Luis Suarez, have netted 35 total goals and 22 combined assists, and that’s with Messi only playing 18 games with Suarez featuring in 26. Having firepower such as this, along with backup options such as Leo Campana with eight MLS goals off the bench, means the Revolution will certainly have all they can handle.
Miami sits atop the Eastern Conference standings by a whopping eight-point margin, while the leaders of the Western Conference, LA Galaxy, have only 64 points in their 33 matches played.
The New England Revolution currently sits second from bottom in the Eastern Conference, having one of their worst MLS seasons to date with only 31 points. To put it into perspective, in their last five games, they lost to Columbus Crew 4-0, DC United 2-1, Houston Dynamo 2-1, Nashville SC 1-0 and Charlotte FC 4-0. Their defense has struggled immensely in that period, conceding 13 goals, which should make them very vulnerable to Inter Miami’s relentless attack.
If scoring a goal is even possible in this upcoming Miami match, New England will want to look to score early and hold a 1-0 lead the best they can. From the data previously analyzed, we know the Revolution is more than likely to give up at least 1 goal, meaning the longer they can hold onto a clean sheet, the higher chances they have of winning. It would be foolish to rely on top scorer Giacomo Vrioni (nine goals this season) to outscore an opponent that will most likely do the same, just better.
It doesn’t take much more analysis than knowing Inter Miami will most likely come out victorious in this game. Over the last few weeks, we’ve seen not only Miami’s incredible ability to score goals and finish out games, but the club itself is on a mission to obtain their first-ever MLS Cup trophy, meaning a slip-up now is unacceptable.
Considering how horrid the Revolution defense currently is, and how dominant Miami’s forward line and midfield is, Inter is expected to come out on top of this one, at least by a 1.5-goal margin. Messi has shown how deadly he is from spot kicks and in open play time and time again. If New England wants a sliver of hope in this one, they’re going to need to cover the likes of Luis Suarez, Leo Messi, and Serio Busquets by minimizing their time on the ball, but all that is easier said than done.
Liam has been a major sports fan and soccer player for over a decade, with a particular focus on major top-level soccer leagues, including the EPL, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and MLS. He has written numerous promotional articles for various top sportsbooks and continues to publish historical and factual sports articles covering the NFL, MLS, NHL, MLB, EPL and more.