Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez will be missing for Inter Miami when they host Columbus Crew in MLS this week.

The defending MLS Cup champions take on the oddsmakers’ current favorites for the cup when Eastern Conference leaders Inter Miami host the sixth-placed Columbus Crew. Inter Miami showed excellent team unity to come back from a goal down in their most recent outing. The Philadelphia Union took a 1-0 lead after three minutes of play, only for Inter to battle back and net the winning goal four minutes into stoppage time. The 2-1 away win snapped a two-game winless run for the East leaders who now have a two-point win over second-place Cincinnati. Inter will be without their superstar attacking duo of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, who are with their respective national teams for the Copa America. While they have shown that they can win games without the former Barcelona strike partners, they’ll be missing the players who are responsible for scoring more than half of the team’s goals (24 of 44).

Columbus still appear to be trying to find their footing in the 2024 season after lifting the MLS Cup last year. They had a sizable chunk of their season interrupted by their participation in the CONCACAF Champions League. The Crew made a run all the way to the final although would ultimately finish as runners-up to Pachuca in a 3-0 loss at the beginning of June. Following that defeat, the Crew were able to bounce back with an excellent 3-2 come from behind victory over the in-form NYCFC, snapping their five-match winning run. The Crew have now won their last four straight in the MLS and have rediscovered the scoring touch which saw them finish as the highest-scoring team last season. With their three goals against NYCFC, Wilfried Nancy’s squad has now netted 11 goals in their last four league fixtures.

Prediction: Inter Miami 1-2 Columbus Crew

Inter Miami vs Columbus Crewstream and TV listing

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