Messi Favored To Score Tuesday For Inter Miami In Leagues Cup Soccer
An exciting showdown between two World Cup winners—Atlanta United’s Thiago Almada and Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi—is here.
On Tuesday, July 25, Major League Soccer’s Inter Miami gears up for a game against fellow MLS team Atlanta United. The game, part of the Leagues Cup tournament, will be full of storylines, as Messi has never faced off against Almada. Both men hail from Argentina.
Inter Miami will open its doors to another sold-out crowd of 21,000 at DRV Pink Stadium in the Sunshine State after fans saw Messi score a buzzer-beater goal last week in his debut.
Messi Scores Against Cruz Azul
Messi, arguably the greatest soccer player ever, made an immediate impact in his last game versus Cruz Azul. Messi capped off the match with a free-kick goal in the last action of the contest.
It was the first time in Messi’s career that he scored, captained and converted a free kick in a debut for a new club. He immediately gave MLS a new buzz.
The winning goal vaulted Inter Miami to the top of their group. Any points against Atlanta will guarantee Inter Miami advances to the next round of the Leagues Cup.
Inter Miami head coach Tata Martino’s strategy last week was to defend until the cavalry—Messi, Sergio Busquets and Josef Martinez—arrived in the game.
This tactic worked. Inter Miami had a one-goal lead going into the second half and understood they had done their job against a capable Mexican side.
Messi, Busquets and Martinez looked a step above the competition. They each only played about 40 minutes in the game.
Against Cruz Azul, Busquets made everything look simple. Every time Busquets got the ball, he already knew where Messi was and where he was heading.
Atlanta United vs. Inter Miami Prediction
Messi and Busquets will likely start this match. If so, this fixture could get out of hand quickly.
Messi and Busquets played over 700 hours on the pitch together while with FC Barcelona, displaying great chemistry. It should be no different for Inter Miami.
Miami looks like a completely different team with these new players.
Expect Inter Miami to force pressure early to help cover for a below-average defensive unit. Inter may only need one point to advance to the second round of the Leagues Cup.
It’s reasonable to expect the match to be high scoring, with both teams focusing on offensive strategies to secure points in the group stage. For the Leagues Cup, teams go to penalties directly after 90 minutes.
Betting Matchup Overview
Game Details
- Who: Atlanta United vs. Inter Miami (Leagues Cup)
- When: Tuesday, July 25, 2023
- Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
- Where: DRV Pink Stadium (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
Betting Odds Summary
- Match Result Regular Time: Atlanta United +180, Tie +240, Inter Miami +115
- Both Teams to Score: Yes -175, No +120
- Total: Over/Under 2.5 Goals in Regular Time (-155/+105)
Player Props: Anytime Goalscorer
- Lionel Messi: +105
- Giorgos Giakoumakis: +170
- Josef Martinez: +188
- Leonardo Campana: +220
- Thiago Almada: +240
Player Prop Bet: Atlanta United vs. Inter Miami
Almada (+240 goalscorer odds) will be a player to watch, as he will want to make a statement against Messi, his national team counterpart. Having to play against Messi, Almada will be looking to show he’s not just the last roster spot on a World Cup championship team.
In case you didn’t know: Argentina won the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Almada is deadly on free kicks and will be looking to get on the scoresheet, so he’s a playable prop bet for Tuesday’s contest.
Martinez (+188 odds) looked like Inter Miami’s best player when he was on the pitch with Messi. Martinez will also play against his former team, motivating him to score a goal.
The Messi anytime goalscorer prop (+105) is also playable until a team proves they can stop him. The Argentine completed 17 passes in the attacking third for Inter Miami, the most of any player in the last match, per OptaJack.
Best Bets: Atlanta United vs. Inter Miami
- Match Result: Atlanta United +180, Tie +240, Inter Miami +115
We recommend the tie. Neither team has demonstrated readiness to steamroll opponents.
Inter Miami only needs a tie to advance to the next round of the Leagues Cup. The best bet here is the draw moneyline (+240), as both teams have new pieces coming into the fold and will need time to acclimate.
Both teams secure a point from the group stage and will be looking to win on penalties to get another point on top of the point from the tie.
- Total: Over/Under 2.5 Goals in Regular Time (-155/+105)
The Over (-155 odds) is a viable play. The teams have struggled to defend in MLS and will try to make up for their leaky defenses with goals.
In a May meeting between these two sides, Miami and Atlanta combined for three goals while generating 2.6 expected goals, per fbref.com. Dating back to the beginning of last season, all three encounters between these sides have surpassed 2.5 expected goals, with two clearing the number in reality.
Thus, even though it’s a high price to lay, bettors should expect a high-scoring match featuring two capable attacks.
