Inter Miami vs Sporting Kansas City

DRV PNK Stadium hosts a potentially pivotal Major League Soccer clash between Inter Miami and Sporting Kansas City.

Inter Miami’s resurgence after Lionel Messi’s blockbuster arrival from Paris Saint-Germain continued with an overwhelming 3-1 victory at Los Angeles FC last time out. Two of Inter’s three MLS fixtures since the Argentine’s debut in late August have yielded two-goal margin wins (D1), but the club’s pursuit of a first-ever MLS playoff qualification requires a mammoth effort. Messi is a miracle worker, yet an eight-point deficit on the final playoff qualifying spot in the Eastern Conference looks ominous. The ‘Herons’ haven’t fared well at DRV PNK Stadium this term, collecting a conference-lowest 15 points at home. An uneventful 0-0 draw against Nashville on Messi’s home debut condemned Gerardo Martino’s side to a fifth consecutive MLS home game without a win (D3, L2).

In the meantime, Kansas City’s bid to close the gap on the Western Conference playoff line is off and running after the visitors swapped a three-game winless MLS run (D2, L1) for back-to-back wins in the run-up to this encounter. Both victories saw the ‘Wizards’ net two first-half goals, highlighting the potential for a quick-fire start. Nothing less will do for the visitors as they trail 9th-placed FC Dallas by two points at the beginning of this round. However, playing away from home often spells trouble for Kansas City, with Peter Vermes’ side picking up the Western Conference joint-lowest nine points on the road this season (W1, D6, L6). Since that only win at Seattle Sounders in early May, they have gone winless on six straight MLS travels (D4, L2).