Everything you need to know about Inter Miami-Sounders

Just a little over two weeks after facing them in the Leagues Cup final, the Seattle Sounders will face Inter Miami again tonight. This time, the game is on the road, but that’s just one of several likely differences.

The Sounders will probably make several changes from the previous meeting, in part because they just played a home game across the country on Saturday and several players are likely unable to start on such short rest.

Miami will be missing a few pieces as well, most notably Luis Suarez and Tomás Aviles, who were both suspended for this match. Suarez’s suspension stems from the postgame melee in which he spit on a Sounders staffer, while Aviles got himself ejected from Miami’s previous game.

Here’s what you need to know:

Injury news

Inter Miami CF

OUT: Tomás Aviles - Suspended; Allen Obando - Hamstring; Fafa Picault - Quad; Baltasar Rodriguez - Hamstring; David Ruiz - Hamstring; Luis Suarez - Suspended

QUESTIONABLE: Telasco Segovia - Ankle

Seattle Sounders FC

OUT: Paul Arriola - Knee; Stuart Hawkins - Quad; Ryan Kent - Hamstring

QUESTIONABLE: Pedro de la Vega - Knee; João Paulo - Knee

Opposition players to watch

Leo Messi: Ever heard of him? Sure, he played 90 minutes just a few days ago, but Messi doesn’t tend to sit for home games even if he’s on short rest. He’s also pretty good, even if his last match against the Sounders suggested otherwise. The Sounders found a lot of success not allowing him to move into space after he passed and they’ll likely need to employ similar tactics if they’re to have a similar result.

Tadeo Allende: There’s not really a ready-made replacement for Suarez on Miami’s roster, but the safe bet is that Allende will get the start in his place. Allende is not nearly as creative or clinical but he is fast and can definitely hurt the Sounders if he gets into the open field.

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Stats to look smart

+7.69: No team in MLS is over-performing their xG more than Inter Miami, which admittedly isn’t a huge surprise on a team with Leo Messi. But it does underscore how important it is to limit his effectiveness.

+2.9: Despite a relatively unimpressive 1.14 points per game on the road, the Sounders have the third best xGD of any team in MLS at +2.9.

Tactics to impress

Miami’s motivation in this one is probably a bit elevated given that they are coming off an embarrassing 3-0 loss to the Sounders in Leagues Cup and followed that up with a 3-0 faceplant against Charlotte FC in league play. They’re going to want to start fast and it’s on the Sounders to weather that storm.
The Sounders had a lot of success against Miami in Leagues Cup by pressing the action and not giving them any space to work. Even on the road, that seems like it should be their plan again.