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Despite winning the Supporters’ Shield and setting a new record for points in a season with 74, Inter Miami are on the brink of elimination in the first round of the play-offs. After winning the first leg on home turf, the Herons fell in Atlanta and the pressure is now high. This Atlanta United team has nothing to lose under interim manager Rob Valentino and it shows in their play, which keeps everything on the pitch. All the pressure is on the Herons, and with Lionel Messi at their side, anything short of a win will be unacceptable.
Here are our storylines, how to watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Saturday November 9 | Time: 8:00 PM ET
- Location: Chase Stadium – Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- Live stream: MLS Season Pass
- Chances: InterMiami -260; Sign +425; Atlanta United +600
Storylines
InterMiami: After missing the match in Atlanta, there is a chance Sergio Busquets could be fit enough to be in the squad despite previously being ruled out. He was able to train separately from the team on Friday, giving the midfield a big boost if he was available for the match. His absence was reflected when Atlanta dominated the midfield in game two, so even if he wasn’t 100%, Busquets would bring an important presence to the side. The midfield has already fallen behind after Yannick Bright suffered a hamstring injury in the second leg, so they will take whatever they can get.
Inter Miami predicted XI: Drake Callender, Jordi Alba, Hector Martinez, Tomas Aviles, Marcelo Weigandt, Sergio Busquets, Federico Redondo, Benjamin Cremaschi, Diego Gomez, Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi
Atlanta United: Valentino has pushed all the right buttons in this series so far and there’s no reason to expect that to change here. He gets 100% out of every player in the squad while at the same time doing his best to make the decision about who will be the team’s permanent coach difficult.
Atlanta United predicted XI: Brad Guzan, Luis Abram, Derrick Williams, Ronald Hernandez, Saba Lobzhanidze, Bartosz Slisz, Dax McCarty, Ajani Fortune, Pedro Amador, Aleksey Miranchuk, Jamal Thiare
Prediction
This is a different Miami team at home and they will do whatever it takes to make it to the next round of the playoffs. Choose: InterMiami 2, Atlanta United 1