Inter Miami vs. NYCFC: Odds, moneyline pick, TV channel, online stream for MLS match

Fresh off a loss to Houston in the U.S. Open Cup final on Wednesday, Inter Miami will have a quick turnaround as they play host to New York City FC on Saturday night. Whether Lionel Messi will be on the field or not is still up in the air as NYCFC will look to capitalize on Miami’s poor run of form. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET from DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale with all the action available to watch on MLS Season Pass.

Inter Miami v. NYCFC

Date: Saturday, September 30
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
TV channel: None
Livestream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV

Moneyline odds

Inter Miami: +105
Draw: +250
NYCFC: +230

Moneyline pick: NYCFC +230

Messi has missed three of the last four matches for Inter Miami and he only played 37 minutes in the one match he dressed for. The 36-year-old has been dealing with a leg injury, which held him out of a 1-1 draw with Orlando City and the 2-1 loss to Houston in the U.S. Open Cup final as Miami missed a chance to hoist their second trophy of the season. He was also absent in the 5-2 loss the Herons suffered in Atlanta as he had just returned from international duty with Argentina.

Aside from a 4-0 win over cellar dwellers Toronto FC, Miami haven’t been able to put together any positive results without Messi and Jordi Alba on the field through their last stretch of matches. Alba has already been ruled out for the match against NYC due to his hamstring injury, while Messi remains day-to-day. He trained with the team on Friday morning, but will remain a game-time decision on Saturday evening.

It’s not looking good here for the Herons, who are still second-to-last in the Eastern Conference and five points out of the playoff picture. NYC occupy ninth place, which is the final wildcard spot ahead of the postseason. A win for Miami would do wonders here with a big six-point swing, but Tata Martino’s side have shown they struggle immensely without two of their big three in action.

While Miami has a couple games in hand on some important teams above them, they won’t qualify for the playoffs if they continue to churn out these types of results.

I’m erring on the side of caution and picking NYCFC to steal all three points as they look to climb out of the wildcard zone, but that’s only assuming Messi will still be sidelined. If Messi indeed sees the field and he’s not too hampered by injury, my pick will easily flip back to Miami getting the win at home.