CF Montreal's Interim head coach Marco Donadel is convinced that his wrestling team will compete with Inter Miami when they visit Chase Stadium on Wednesday.
Montreal is at the bottom of the classification of the Eastern Conference and has won only one of their 15 games in MLS this campaign.
They go to Fort Lauderdale to face Lionel Messi and the company in the midweek, with Miami seventh in the Eastern Conference – seven points behind the Philadelphia Union at the top – after a decline in shape.
Montreal gave up a lead of two goals in Saturday's 2-2 draw with Los Angeles FC, and although Donadel then questioned the fitness of his team, he was largely impressed by their display.
“It is a difficult process with young players and a new team,” said Donadel. “We have to work during the week and try new things.
“If you play a team as well as Lafc, it's a positive experience. The frustration is now because we have shown on the field that our level could match theirs, but only for 60 minutes.
“We have shown that we can play against everyone, and this is a great feeling. Yes, we have admitted some opportunities, but we also had some opportunities.
“It was a very balanced game. We just didn't have the energy to play as we want to play.”
Les Statistics Finals
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– CF Montréal (@cfmontreal) 25 May 2025
Donadel, who took the lead after Laurent Courtois was fired in March, added: “I hope that this team can show in the future what we have shown in the first 35 to 40 minutes and in the first 10 minutes of the second half.
“We don't want to be happy because we are tied against Lafc at home.”
The hosts of Javier Mascherano, meanwhile, drew the previous time-out 3-3 in Philadelphia, which extended their Winless Streak to four games.
The herons have lost three of their last four home games in all competitions (W1), after losing only two of their previous 24 in Chase Stadium (W17 D5).
Players to watch
Inter Miami – Lionel Messi
Miami is Winless in Messi's last four performances (D2 L2), the first time that Messi has gone four consecutive club matches without a victory since this between May and September 2019 with Barcelona (D2 L2).
Messi's last run of five consecutive club performances without a victory, meanwhile, came with the Blaugrana between March and April 2013 (D4 L1).
The last time Messi was on goal against Philadelphia, and he will be desperate to help his team go back to winning ways.
Our leader in the MatchDay #15 https://t.co/SDFSGYXOSS team
– Inter Miami CF (@intermiamicf) 26 May 2025
CF Montreal – Prince Osuwu
Owusu and Giacomo Vrioni scored on Saturday for Montreal in their draw with Lafc.
Owusu (four goals, two assists) or Vrioni (three goals) are directly involved in nine of the 10 goals of Montreal in MLS this season.
Match Prediction – Inter Miami Win
Montreal has eight points through 15 games (W1 D5 L9) in 2025, equal to the fourth fastest in this phase of a season in the MLS history.
The 2-2 draw of Montreal with Los Angeles The last time-out was their first multi-goal match in the game with regular season since a season opening 3-2 loss for Atlanta United, so Donadel had the right to be encouraged.
Montreal has also won three of their five road games against Inter Miami (L2), including a 3-2 victory for their most recent visit in March 2024.
They were able to join Atlanta United as only the second team to get several way against Miami since the debut of Messi for the club in August 2023.
The 3-0 defeat from Miami to Orlando City on May 18 was only the second time they had not scored in a home game in which Messi started (also versus Nashville SC in August 2023), but they will expect a better result.
Opta wins probability
Inter Miami – 65.4%
CF Montreal – 15.9%
Drawing – 18.7%