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Inter Miami CF vs St. Louis SC Preview
Inter Miami welcomes St. Louis City SC to Chase Stadium on June 2 at 7:30 pm following their surprise defeat to Atlanta United on Wednesday. The Herons fell to a 3-1 humbling, giving Lionel Messi his first loss in a Miami shirt this season.
St. Louis looks to return to winning ways in Fort Lauderdale after three losses on the bounce. They sit three points outside the Final Series play-ins in the Western Conference.
Inter Miami vs St. Louis SC Head-To-head and Key Stats
Inter Miami was in electric form leading into the clash with Atlanta on Wednesday night. They were unbeaten in ten league games, boasting seven wins. Tata Martino’s men entered the game as the odds-on soccer betting favourites. Atlanta was without a win in nine and Miami intended to pile on the misery.
The trio of Messi, Luis Suarez, and Sergio Busquets returned for Miami following their omission from the squad that travelled to Vancouver last weekend. Federico Redondo also returned to the starting 11 after a lengthy spell out through injury.
Miami started the game brightly. After four minutes, Jordi Alba found his former Barcelona teammate Messi with a cross. The Argentinian beat his marker for a diving-headed effort, nodding the ball into the ground before it bounced narrowly over the bar. The following 40 minutes were cagey, with neither team managing to cause the respective defences a lot of trouble. Suarez’s side-footed effort from 20 yards was as good as it got for Miami, with Josh Cohen batting the ball away to safety.
It took a moment of magic from Saba Lobjanidze to open the scoring at Chase Stadium. The left winger received the ball just in front of the halfway line before driving forward through the middle of the field. The Georgian international took one look up and rifled the ball into the top left corner from 30 yards out. Atlanta entered halftime with a slender advantage, and Miami had to switch on.
The Herons looked laboured upon their return to the field, and Atlanta took advantage. Lobjanidze scored another stunner in the 59th minute, curling the ball around Drake Callender into the bottom left corner from 20 yards. However, Inter Miami replied three minutes later. Messi’s low-driven effort from range sped through defenders and past Cohen into the bottom right. There was a sudden sense of urgency from The Herons. They tested the Five Stripes’ goal twice in as many minutes following the restart.
Atlanta was frequently a threat on the counter while Messi and co. hunted for an equalizer. They broke away in the 72nd minute and found an insurance goal to put the game to bed. Some smart link-up play between Thiago Almada and Caleb Wiley saw Almada free the wing-back down the left side of the 18-yard box. Jamal Thiare met his cross to direct the ball into the back of the net and sealed the victory for the visitors. Inter Miami never looked good value for a result throughout the game and Atlanta deserved the win.
St. Louis continued their poor run of form when they welcomed the Seattle Sounders to CityPark. The first half was end-to-end, with both sides testing the goalkeepers. João Klauss had the best chance of the half when he latched onto Rasmus Elm’s through ball. The forward chipped the ball over Stefan Frei from 10 yards but saw his shot go wide.
The second half began much like the first, with both sides driving forward but struggling to find a way through. It took a deflected cross in the 66th minute to beat Roman Burki in goal. Midfielder Christian Roldan looked to deliver the ball into the box from the right before Kyle Hiebert got in front. The deflection sent the ball goalwards, looping over a helpless Burki to put Seattle 1-0 up.
Final. pic.twitter.com/Q2mlVYHsYv
— St Louis CITY SC (@stlCITYsc) May 26, 2024
Three minutes after the restart, the Sounders gave themselves a two-goal cushion. The St. Louis defence’s high line was caught out by a smart through ball from Albert Rusnák following a fast break. Jordan Morris beat the offside trap perfectly, slotting home from 12 yards after finding himself one-on-one. St. Louis had given themselves a mountain to climb within three minutes.
The hosts hunted for a way back into the game and finally found the net in the 82nd minute. Tomas Totland stretched to meet Eduard Löwen’s cross, nestling the ball into the bottom right corner. St. Louis continued to battle for an equalizer, dominating the rest of the game. A frantic last minute saw Klauss hit the inside of the post with a curling effort before they blocked a series of shots from Nökkvi Thórisson. The Sounders’ defence remained valiant to see out a 2-1 victory. The defeat means St. Louis has now lost three in a row.
These two sides last met in July last year. St. Louis won on the day with goals from Löwen, Tim Parker and Samuel Adeniran. This will be the first time Messi will be available to play against them, signing on the eve of this game in 2023.
Inter Miami vs St. Louis SC Prediction
Correct Score Prediction: Inter Miami 2-0 St Louis
Inter Miami will bounce back from Wednesday night’s disappointment immediately. The Herons may have been guilty of complacency in that game but they won’t make the same mistake twice. According to the MLS odds, the home team is the heavy favourite at 4/11. They have not lost two league games in a row all season.
Despite the loss, Messi was a standout performer on Wednesday. He has been Inter Miami’s talisman, and that was the first loss of the season with him on the field. He will be determined as Miami looks to hold on to their place atop the Eastern Conference. Our soccer prediction sees the main man pulling the strings and registering both assists for the 2-0 win this weekend.
There will also be a return to the team for spring-signing Matias Rojas. The Paraguayan midfielder has been in excellent form since joining in April. The attacking midfielder has scored three and assisted once in four starts. They rested Rojas for the game against Atlanta and will add a layer of precision that was missing on Wednesday.
St. Louis has struggled at the back recently. They have conceded two or more goals in their last three games. However, Inter Miami looks sharp even with the mid-week defeat. they have scored two or more goals in six of their nine home games this season. Tata Martino’s team to win 2-0 is 13/2 with our online sportsbook.
Inter Miami vs St. Louis SC Betting Tips
The odds are so heavy in favour of the hosts that there is more value in other markets away from a bet on Inter Miami. These two sides have some of the worst disciplinary records in the MLS. They are fourth and fifth in the charts for yellow cards. Inter Miami has racked up 44 this campaign and St. Louis received 40. They picked four cards between them in their previous game and over 3.5 cards in the game is a smart bet given their record.
Keep track of the live betting odds once the game has started. By doing this, you can watch the game unfold and pay attention to the temperament of specific players before wagering on yellow cards.
Luis Suarez is currently three starts without a goal. The Uruguayan could be on his longest dry streak since joining the club. We are backing him to return to his scoring form against St. Louis. He is 11/10 for an anytime goal in the game. If you want to extend those odds, you can back him to score the opening goal at 7/2.
New customers could benefit from placing this bet using our welcome bonus. We will match your first deposit 100% up to $500, allowing you to bet at reduced risk with bonus funds. A handicap bet on Inter Miami would yield better results than a moneyline wager. St. Louis has lost their last three games. Two of them were by a two-goal margin. A -handicap of -1 when betting on Inter Miami would return 1/1.
Inter Miami Team News and Predicted Lineup
Federico Redondo is now fully fit and available for selection after his knee injury in April. The trio of Diego Gomez, Nicolas Freire and Facundo Farias remain sidelined and will not feature.
- Miami Predicted lineup: Callender, Weigandt, Aviles, Kryvtsov, Alba, Gressel, Busquets, Rojas, Messi, Suarez, and Taylor.
St. Louis SC Team News and Predicted Lineup
Christopher Durkin will be unavailable for selection through an automatic one-game suspension. The midfielder picked up his fourth cumulative yellow card against Seattle. St. Louis announced the signing of German midfielder Cedric Teuchert on Tuesday. He arrived from Hannover 96 on a two-year deal and will be available for Saturday’s game.
Eduard Löwen made his return from injury off the bench on Saturday. He should feature in the team for the game against Inter Miami. Young midfielder Tomas Ostrak will miss the rest of the season with an ankle injury. The Czech requires surgery after taking a heavy knock in training on Friday.
- St Louis Predicted lineup: Burki, Totland, Parker, Nilsson, Markanich, Lowen, Blom, Alm, Vassilev, Pompeu, and Klauss.
