Red Bull New York vs Inter Miami: the East's last playoff spot meets Messi's attack
New York host the Eastern Conference's second-place team after two straight defeats. Miami seek a fourth successive win, while Messi's place in the squad remains to be confirmed following an awards ceremony in Spain.
Red Bull New York and Inter Miami CF enter Saturday with different kinds of urgency. Michael Bradley's team are ninth in the East, occupying the final postseason place with 36 points from 30 matches. Miami sit second on 55 points and have already secured a playoff berth. For the hosts, the league's highest-scoring attack arrives after two consecutive defeats; for the visitors, the trip offers a chance to protect their position near the top before the regular season ends.
The match is at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey, on Saturday, October 24, at 5:30 p.m. ET. Both clubs confirmed the time change from the originally announced 4:30 p.m. ET kickoff. It is their second meeting this season: the first, played in Miami in April, ended 2-2.
Opposite runs of form
Inter Miami beat Atlanta 3-1 away in their most recent match, their third successive victory. Germán Berterame opened the scoring and Lionel Messi struck twice. Luis Suárez provided assists in two scoring moves; Berterame was involved in the combination before Messi's first goal. The visitors did not dominate the shot count throughout: Atlanta had 21 attempts and Miami seven, according to Miami's match report. That gap puts the focus on both the forwards' finishing and how well Miami protect their own penalty area.
Messi has 25 goals and 15 assists in the regular season. Berterame has nine goals and ten assists, while Suárez has 15 and 12. Miami's 73 goals in 30 matches lead MLS entering this fixture. The trio presents Bradley with a specific problem: if New York commit players forward to regain possession, they must guard the space left behind; if they sit deeper, they must find a way to disrupt Messi's combinations near the box. Those are possible matchups, not plans announced by the coach.
Messi received the Princess of Asturias Award for Sports in Oviedo on Friday. Before the trip, Miami coach Kily González had said he expected Messi to be available for the Harrison match. That expectation does not confirm a starting place; the squad list and lineup can still change.
New York's latest outing was a 2-0 home defeat by Toronto. They conceded after three minutes, and the second goal came on a counterattack following a New York corner. The sequence shows the balance they will seek against Miami: attack enough to deny the visitors a free run of the match while keeping cover when full-backs or midfielders push up. In their own attack, Julian Hall has 11 goals and five assists; young midfielder Adri Mehmeti has six assists and Jorge Ruvalcaba has scored eight times, according to MLS. Their contribution could keep the game from becoming a prolonged defence of New York's penalty area.
Player availability
The MLS Matchday 32 report lists the following absences for Saturday's fixtures:
Red Bull New York
- Justin Che: out with a knee problem.
Inter Miami CF
- Tadeo Allende: out; listed under the season-ending injury designation.
- Mateo Silvetti: out; listed under the season-ending injury designation.
- Fricio Caicedo: out with a lower-body problem.
- Maximiliano Falcón: out through suspension.
Yannick Bright was listed as out with a foot problem on the league's previous report but is absent from the new list of unavailable players. His inclusion in the matchday squad has not been confirmed. Falcón's suspension makes Miami's defensive selection worth watching: Casemiro started at centre-back in Atlanta, although that lineup does not establish Saturday's choice.
How to watch Red Bull New York vs Inter Miami
MLS and both clubs list Apple TV as the live home of this specific game, with English and Spanish commentary. An applicable subscription is required. These are kickoff times, rather than the start of any pregame programme:
- United States: Saturday, October 24, 5:30 p.m. ET / 2:30 p.m. PT. Streaming: Apple TV. Linear TV: no additional channel confirmed for this match.
- United Kingdom: Saturday, October 24, 10:30 p.m. BST. Streaming: Apple TV.
- Australia: Sunday, October 25, 8:30 a.m. AEDT in Sydney / 5:30 a.m. AWST in Perth. Streaming: Apple TV.
Miami will try to turn their attacking output into a fourth consecutive win. New York need points to hold a playoff place that remains in play with four regular-season matches left.
