It's Matchday 30, and New York City FC are back in The Bronx to host Lionel Messi and 10 other players at Yankee Soccer Stadium. This is the rare afternoon game, with a 2 pm ET kickoff.
A capacity crowd is expected at Yankee Stadium, where the upper decks will be open for an NYCFC game for the first time since 2016. Will this match break the attendance record of 48,047 set back in 2015? The capacity for soccer is currently listed as 47,309, but the attendance count can be creative, and sometimes feels more like an art than a science.
Sadly, it it won't be a classic edition of the Gender Reveal Derby, blue vs pink. New York City will be in their sky-blue Interboro Kit, but Miami will be in black instead of pink. (See Game Day Essentials, below.) Boo.
New York City are coming off a 1-5 home loss to Philadelphia Union. It's their worst home defeat since 2016, and one of the four biggest losses in club history. NYCFC went into the game as comfortable favorites against a Philadelphia that fielded an 18-year-old backup goalkeeper: If anybody was going to score five goals, it was supposed to be New York City. Oh well.
As for David Beckham’s Signing Bonus Inter Miami, they're coming off a 2-2 draw with Atlanta United on the plastic grass at Mercedes-Benz stadium. A not-great Atlanta found an 84' equalizer to keep their playoff hopes alive. No Matter: Miami have 63 points after 29 games, and are just 10 points away from matching the record-setting 73 points earned by New England Revolution in 2021.
• Matchday 30: New York City FC vs Inter Miami
• Date and Time: Saturday, September 21, 2 pm ET
• Venue: Yankee Stadium
• Forecast: Cloudy with a breeze, 74F/23C
• Watch: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
• Apple Broadcast Team: Jake Zivin and Taylor Twellman (English), Sammy Sadovnik and Diego Valeri (Spanish)
• New York City FC Radio: Glenn Crooks and Matty Lawrence (English), Roberto Abramowitz and Ariel Judas (Spanish)
• Officiating Crew: Jon Freemon (referee), Corey Rockwell and Mike Nickerson (assistant referees), Elvis Osmanovic (fourth official), Kevin Stott (VAR), Mike Kampmeinert (assistant VAR)
• Kits: New York City will be in the light blue Interboro Kit; Miami will wear their black La Noche Kit
Oliver Strand
New York City vs Miami H2H
| GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 9 | 12 |
The head-to-head between these two clubs heavily favors New York City, who have lost to Miami just once in 11 games played. That was back in August of 2022, when a very different Miami got a 3-2 home win behind Alejandro Pozuelo, who scored his second goal of the match in the 84' to seal the only Herons win over NYCFC.
But how has NYCFC fared against Messi Era Miami? Pretty well, in fact. They have a sharp record of 1W-2D-0L, with that one win taking place last year after the end of the season, when they faced off in the supremely silly Noche d'Or friendly.
The two sides are even in competitive matches. Earlier this season, New York City drew a Messi-less Miami 1-1 in Ft. Lauderdale after Luis Suárez fouled his way to an early goal. Last year, New York City gave up a stoppage-time equalizer in a 1-1 draw on the road with a Miami that was, again, without Messi.
Hudson River Blue Staff
New York City
• Player Availability: Malachi Jones (leg) remains out. Birk Risa (leg) is also out and will miss a third straight game, but Nick Cushing did say he trained partially on Thursday and fully on Friday during his pre-Miami press conference.
• James Sands, Santiago Rodríguez, and Justin Haak are all one yellow card away from earning a suspension (for the Hudson River Derby, in this case) due to accumulation.
• Will this New York City squad keep their heads? They lost Wednesday's match 1-5 despite winning the xG battle 3.4 to 2.5. That speaks to mental lapses more than tactical issues, and they'll need to keep their focus to get a result against the best team in MLS in front of a full house that won't necessarily be cheering for the home team.
Miami
• Player Availability: Five players are listed as Out: Leo Afonso (groin), Nicolás Freire (knee), Facundo Farías (knee), David Martinez (groin), Matías Rojas (ankle), and CJ dos Santos (hand). Diego Gómez is listed as questionable with a hamstring injury.
• It's easy to expect a full assortment of Miami stars in the Bronx. Lionel Messi, Jordi Alba, and Luis Suárez only made short appearances as substitutes in the midweek 2-2 draw at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, while Sergio Busquets was out serving a suspension.
• Luis Suárez took eight shots and put five on target in the first meeting in March, scoring the Miami goal and forcing Freese into some tough saves. The 37-year-old striker is first in all of MLS in terms of putting his shots on target, leading all players with 2.28 shots on target per 90 minutes while also ranking first in the league with 17 non-penalty goals scored.
• These days, Miami is all gas, no brakes: The offense is in full throttle but the defense is questionable. Michelle Kaufman of the Miami Herald tells us more about Miami's strengths and weaknesses in "Oppo Research: 5 Things about Inter Miami."
Matthew Mangam
