Inter Miami vs San Diego - prediction, team news, lineups

Meeting for the first time on the MLS stage, Inter Miami will welcome San Diego to Nu Stadium in the Sunshine State on Sunday.

Heading into this contest, the reigning league champions are second in the Eastern Conference table, following a 2-2 draw at home to Nashville SC, while San Diego are ninth in the West after being blown out 5-0 by the Philadelphia Union the last time out.

You can add yet another honor to Lionel Messi’s list of accolades as the Inter Miami captain helped his team win their second international trophy on Wednesday, capturing the Campeones Cup over Cruz Azul (2-0).

That was the 48th trophy in Messi’s illustrious footballing career, and on Sunday he will aim to help his team extend their home unbeaten run in the regular season to four matches.

Domestically, this team have struggled of late, dropping points in seven of their last eight MLS affairs, but losing only twice in that span.

That slump has them clinging to second place in the East with only three points currently separating them from fourth place in the conference.

Kily Gonzalez’s men are averaging an impressive 2.4 goals per match so far, the most in the league, but are also conceding an average of 1.8 goals per match in the regular season.

Miami are undefeated at home this season versus Western Conference opposition, blanking the Portland Timbers 2-0 back in May.

As things stand right now, San Diego are holding onto the final playoff spot in the West, but the margin for error is razor-thin.

Mikey Varas’s side can snap a three-match losing run in this competition on Sunday, as they are narrowly ahead of the Los Angeles Galaxy for ninth in the West on goal difference.

With nine matches remaining, they have already given up 42 goals this season, one more than they allowed in their inaugural MLS campaign.

Last season’s expansion sensations have won a mere two road games in the competition this year after collecting a league-high 12 away from home in 2025.

Discipline has been a major reason for their regression in year two, as they lead the league regarding red cards (eight).

The California club have never won a regular-season away game in Florida, with Orlando City beating them 1-0 earlier this month.

Due to a shoulder strain, Miami will likely be missing Mateo Silvetti on Sunday, Santiago Morales is dealing with a quad issue, Micael has a sprained ankle and Tadeo Allende is recovering from a knee injury.

Lionel Messi reached 100 goals for Miami on Wednesday, netting the winner in their Campeones Cup triumph, with Casemiro scoring the other, while the Argentine has goals in his last two competitive affairs.

At San Diego, Gabriel Pirani, Alex Mighten and Marcus Ingvartsen are all questionable this weekend because of lower body injuries.

Oscar Verhoeven will have to sit out with a yellow card suspension, while goalkeeper CJ dos Santos is eligible to return from his suspension.

St. Clair; Fray, Casemiro, Falcon, Reguilon; De Paul, Bright, Segovia; Suarez, Messi, Berterame

Dos Santos; Kumado, Duah, Murphy, Sargeant; Alvarado, Tverskov, Vazquez; Dreyer, Pellegrino, Achouri

Far too often this season, San Diego have been caught out of position, while looking consistently unstable defensively, and those shortcomings are a recipe for disaster when facing Miami.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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