Overview

• Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. ET at Citi Field, where NYCFC have won all three matches this season without conceding.
• Miami qualify for the MLS Cup playoffs with a draw or win, and a victory would lift them above NYCFC into third in the East.
• Coach Javier Mascherano said Messi will travel and is expected to play; he leads the Golden Boot race with 22 goals after a two-goal, one-assist outing vs. D.C. United.
• Luis Suárez returns from a three-match suspension for a spitting incident in the Leagues Cup final, with Mascherano saying the layoff benefited his fitness.
• Former MLS player Mateusz Klich criticized Inter Miami’s internal culture and influence of Messi’s family in recent comments, an outside view circulating ahead of the match.