Inter Miami vs New York Red Bulls MLS Preview, Prediction, And More

Jul 22, 2023

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A trophy is in already and Lionel Messi hasn’t even begun his MLS adventure, yet!

After the Leagues Cup victory, followed up by the entry into the final of the US Open Cup, Inter Miami returned to the domestic league. This is a reborn side, far away from the one that left their league campaign back on July 16.

That team was without their now captain Messi, had just lost 0-3 to St Louis, and would go on the domestic break bottom of the table.

They come back to the league as third-favourites to win the whole thing!

The resurgence begins with a game against New York Red Bulls.

Here’s the match preview, buildup, team news, and more as MLS’ appointment-viewing team restart their MLS campaign!

Inter Miami will take on fellow Eastern Conference team New York Red Bulls at their home, the Red Bull Arena as both teams look to get away from the bottom rungs of the standings.

Miami’s plight has already been covered above, with the team bottom of the standings, having just 18 points from 22 games.

NY Red Bulls haven’t fared much better. They are on 29 points having played two games more due to Miami’s commitments in cup competitions.

They resumed their league campaign with a confidence-inducing win against Wayne Rooney’s DC United, winning 1-0.

However, overall, their season has still been below par. Teams under the Red Bull umbrella are generally young and hungry teams with an exciting manager. The current iteration of the squad leaves a lot to be desired. There are no standout youngsters and manager Lesesne has failed to bring the tune out of the existing crop.

Inter Miami will fancy their chances of starting their ascent up the standings with a good result in this one.

Since coming to the USA, Lionel Messi has been playing pretty much every three days. However, there’s no way he’s missing the chance to make his MLS debut at the first opportunity he gets.

The Leagues Cup victory was major, but he will truly write his name in the legendary books of Inter Miami if he somehow manages to pull the team out of the bottom barrel in the league.

Therefore, manager Gerardo “Tata” Martino is expected to take no chances when selecting his team.

He has a settled first-choice team getting better at playing with each other and the same XI which rode its way to the Leagues Cup should be selected here.

Predicted Inter Miami XI: Callender, Yedlin, Miller, Kryvtsov, Alba, Arroyo, Busquets, Cremaschi, Messi, Martinez, Taylor

Troy Lesesne will be happy to go with the same team that restarted their MLS campaign with a fine win against DC United. They dominated possession against Rooney’s team and DC United didn’t even have a shot on target in that game.

After some tactical alternations, he has settled on a basic 4-4-2 with the basic “Red Bull principles” of high-pressing and quick, vertical passing.

There are no standout big names in the squad that European football fans will be familiar with, but the players will undoubtedly work extremely hard to unsettle their more prestigious counterparts.

Predicted Inter Miami XI: Carlos, Harper, Reyes, Nealis, Tolkin, Mosso, Edelman, Yearwood, Luquinhas, Vanzeir, Manoel

Miami are resuming their league campaign against a team that doesn’t look near their level on paper, but the away ground, combined with the opponents trying to make their mark against Messi means this game is a potential banana skin.

If Miami are allowed to play their attacking game, they can run away with it. However, NY Red Bulls will look to turn this into a scrap and make Miami’s more talented, but elder statesman uncomfortable.

The stadium will be full as this will be Messi’s first league appearance but don’t expect home fans in attendance to welcome him with open arms.

Expect Inter Miami to weather the early storm in front of a raucous Red Bull arena, then take control of the game with their experience.

FootTheBall predicts Inter Miami 2-1 NY Red Bulls.