Dean Smith said that Charlotte FC was planning this weekend for their collision with Inter Miami with or without the “incredible” Lionel Messi.
Messi missed Miami's last two games after worries about fatigue, but could return to the side of Javier Mascherano prior to their meeting with the crown in the Chase Stadium.
Charlotte followed their seasonal draw with the Seattle Sounders with a 2-0 win over Atlanta United, and has an impressive record about Miami in the MLS.
Indeed, of their four meetings in the competition, Charlotte has only lost once (W1 D2), but Smith still believes that the Shield winners of the supporters are the team to beat this season.
“Well, in terms of results, it didn't look too different, right?” Said Smith. “We still look at them in the table, and we want to beat them and compete with them.
“Whether they have Messi or not, they still have good players. He is the best in the world, he scores and creates incredible goals, but we also have to plan for him and without him because we have no control over it.
“We won't change too much from last season with how we approach the game. We thought we could compete with them and hopefully beat.
“We have to go with the same mentality as we can compete with them. The way I look at it, they are the team to beat again this season.”
Do not avoid the routine. Ready to leave our stamp in Miami #forth creamn. pic.twitter.com/xjaxhbsv4f
– Charlotte FC (@CharlotteFC) March 7, 2025
In the meantime, Inter Miami will want to build on their 2-0 win over Cavalier FC in the first stage of the Tour of 16 series in the Concacaf Champions Cup.
After starting their season with a 2-2 draw against New York City FC, Mascherano achieved his first MLS victory on the board with a victory at the Houston Dynamo previous time-out.
And although their achievements were not their best in midweek, Mascherano insisted that his team had to navigate through the early teething problems during his term of office to succeed.
“We are a team. It is impossible for a team to always play in the same way. We came from a great game in Houston,” said Mascherano.
“Well, we have to learn how to play poorly. You can live with that, and you can get good results, and you can play poorly without suffering. It is part of the learning process.”
Miami's head coach was also able to give an update about Messi's fitness prior to this weekend's game, insisting that the Argentinian was not injured.
“I follow what the doctors tell me. The doctors told me that he has no injuries or scars. He is tired after playing three games in six days,” Mascherano added.
“The changes in the weather, there have been many situations. And because we want to take care of him, and we did not want to let it feel, we decided to let him rest, knowing that the risks we are confronted with.
“It is clear that it is not complicated to have the best player in the world. But we also have to take a step forward and know how to play without him.”
Players to watch
Inter Miami – Luis Suarez
Suarez had a goal and three assists in Miami's victory over Houston, and he will be happy to play a leading role if Messi is absent this weekend.
It was indeed the first time that he recorded four target contributions in a league match since he scored once and assisted three times in a victory for Barcelona at Alaves in February 2018 in Laliga.
Charlotte – Pep Biel
With an assist in the seasonal draw in Seattle and a goal in the victory over Atlanta, Biel became the first player in Charlotte's MLS history to contribute to each of the first two games of the club's first two games.
He also ended the match against Atlanta with a team -high expected goals (XG) a total of 0.82, while he also included more accents in the box of the opposition (eight) all his teammates.
Match forecast: Inter Miami Win
Miami is unbeaten in a club record 13 consecutive regular season races (W9 D4) dating from last July. The only longer streak since the beginning of the 2021 season was a 15-match run by Real Salt Lake between March and June last year.
Although Miami is preferred by Opta's data-conducted simulations, Smith's Side Miami has held up to 1.25 goals per match (five) over those four games. Only FC Cincinnati (1.0) has allowed fewer goals per match against the herons since Messi made his MLS debut in August 2023 (at least two games).
And Charlotte is also on a winning run and are unbeaten in a club record seven consecutive regular season races that dates back to last year (W5 D2). They have also scored several goals in each of the last five of those competitions, also the longest series in team history.
Opta wins probability
Inter Miami – 56%
Drawing – 22.8%
Charlotte – 21.3%
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