Inter Miami FC vs Orlando City Prediction: watch out for another Lionel Messi masterclass

Inter Miami FC are drawing a lot of attention this season and even though their start to the campaign has not been 100%, there's a strong belief that the team will be formidable this season and they might be able to challenge for top spot.

With a win and a draw from the opening 2 games, Inter Miami FC head into their 3rd league game with high hopes of getting back to winning ways. Their opponents Orlando City played a goalless draw in their opening game and they are desperate to get their first win of the season. They were absolutely fantastic throughout the preseason and there's a lot of potential in the squad to go and get the right results. 

Inter Miami

Inter Miami FC have started the season strongly after getting a win and a draw. This means a lot to the fans who witnessed a horrible start to the campaign last season. And more so, Lionel Messi is looking happy and playing very well, which is a huge advantage for the club.

In their most recent encounter against LA Galaxy, they came so close to losing the game after Dejan Joveljic gave LA Galaxy the lead in the 75th minute. But Lionel Messi came to the rescue and got the important equalizer in the 92nd minute. Inter Miami had most of the possession in the game (63%), but they managed to create just 1 big chance throughout the game. And they were also lucky as LA Galaxy had better scoring opportunities and more counter attacking threats throughout the game.

Lionel Messi’s game improved significantly in that match. He had 3 shots on target, 81% pass accuracy and 6 out of 7 accurate long balls. He also managed 2 successful tackles in the game. 

However, one player that is yet to make his presence known is Luis Suarez. The Uruguayan had yet another poor game and many are starting to doubt if he'll be able to replicate his old form.

Gerardo Martino is most likely going to retain the 4-3-3 formation against Orlando City and the fans will hope to see a more dominant display from the team.

Orlando City

Orlando City are aware of the challenge they are up against as they prepare to take on Inter Miami FC. Inter Miami FC are the most decorated team in the league and it's going to take extra efforts to keep them quiet.

Orlando City played a goalless draw with CF Montreal on the opening day despite dominating most of the game. They took over 60% of the possession and they had 4 shots on target and 9 corner kicks. 

Head coach Oscar Pareja deployed a 4-2-3-1 formation against CF Montreal and the team was able to contain the opposition while also managing to be on the front foot in attack. César Araüjo was arguably the best player on the pitch for Orlando City. He created 2 big chances and played 8 accurate long balls in the match. And defensively he also had 2 successful tackles, 1 interception and 1 clearance. 

Oscar Pareja made a difference to the lineup in the CONCACAF Champions League game against Cavalry. Luis Muriel replaced Duncan Maguire at the top 9 position and he had a good game. Muriel played for 79 minutes in the game and he had 2 shots on target and 1 assist. He also had 80% pass accuracy and played 1 key pass. Unfortunately he is a doubt for the trip to the DRV PNK stadium, but if he passes the fitness test, Oscar Pareja will definitely have him lead the attack once again.

Head to Head

Orlando City and Inter Miami have played against each other 13 times in the past. Orlando City won 6 matches, while Inter Miami won 4 matches and they drew 3 matches.

Analysis and Predictions

This will be a very interesting game no doubt. It's always a joy to see Lionel Messi play at his very best and we can expect him to make a lot of contributions in this game. Orlando City would be very much interested in dominating the game at the heart of midfield with their 4-2-3-1 setup and they will have special arrangements to stop Lionel Messi. Sergio Busquets will have a lot of work in the midfield and it's going to depend on how much control he can bring for Inter Miami.

According to the h2h, Inter Miami are without a clean sheet in the last 5 meetings and Orlando City in the last 4. Both teams scored in 4 of the last 5 meetings and their last 5 meetings ended with less than 10.5 corners.

• Orlando City to Play More than 3.5 Corners at 1.60 Odds
• Inter Miami to Win at 1.696 Odds
• Inter Miami to Win at 1.66 Odds