• Matchday 31: New York City FC vs Inter Miami CF
• Date and Time: Wednesday, September 24, 7:30 pm ET
• Venue: Citi Field, Queens, NY
• Forecast: Grey, humid, warm, chance of rain, 73F/23C
• Watch: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
• Apple Broadcast Team: Chris Wittyngham and Lori Lindsey (English), Bruno Vain and Andres Agulla (Spanish)
• New York City FC Radio: Glenn Crooks and Matty Lawrence (English), Roberto Abramowitz and Ariel Judas (Spanish)
• Officiating Crew: Filip Dujic (referee), Ian McKay and Tyler Wyrostek (assistant referees), Tori Penso (fourth official), Jose Carlos Rivero (VAR), Jose Carlos Rivero (assistant VAR)
• Kits: New York City will wear the sky-blue Excelsior Kit; Miami will wear the black Fortitude Kit
It’s Matchday 31 and New York City FC continue their busy schedule with a midweek matchup with Lionel Messi & Co – aka Inter Miami CF – at Citi Field in the latest edition of the Gender Reveal Derby. (The name stays even if Miami aren’t in pink today.)
The Pigeons have never lost to the Herons in the Messi Era, logging four draws in league play — and that 2-1 away win in the was-it-a-dream Noche d’Or friendly back in 2023 ($8.88 Ballon d’Or Margaritas 4 Eva).
Both teams are riding high. New York City ended Charlotte FC’s record-tying winning streak with a resolute 2-0 victory on Saturday at Yankee Soccer Stadium to qualify for the postseason, and have now won four out of the last five to jump to 4th Place in the Eastern Conference. All four of those wins came over playoff-bound teams, showing that NYCFC can compete with the best in the league.
Oliver Strand
Inter Miami are coming off a messy 3-2 home win over DC United. The result sums up a team that lead the league in goals scored with 60, but whose 46 goals allowed are the most of any Top 5 club in both conferences. Miami now have three wins, one draw, and one loss in their last five league games, with 10 goals scored and eight goals allowed. All three wins came at home.
Notably, this New York City defense limited Charlotte, Chicago Fire, FC Cincinnati, and Columbus Crew to a combined three goals in recent games. How will they handle a Messi who will be reunited with Luis “Hawk Tuah” Suárez after the Uruguayan striker served a three-match suspension for spitting? Suárez’s bad behavior is well-known to New York City fans, who will remember when he was fined for grabbing defender Birk Risa by the neck at halftime in the 2-2 draw between the clubs on Opening Day.
Water under the bridge! This is a matchup between two in-form teams jockeying for position in the East. It’s also a chance for Pascal Jansen’s mid-budget, high-energy squad to prove themselves against Miami’s $46.9 million Galacticos.
Matthew Mangam
New York City vs Inter Miami H2H
| GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 22 | 11 | 11 |
New York City dominate the head-to-rhead between the two clubs, with a record of 7W-4D-1L since the teams first met in 2020.
Inter Miami’s sole win came back in 2022, when NYCFC-killer Alejandro Pozuelo scored twice in a 3-2 victory. That was before Inter Miami signed Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, Messi, and Luis Suárez to contracts that completely, absolutely, for sure comply with league salary cap rules.
That’s right: This Messi-era Miami have never beaten New York City. Instead, they’ve drawn four times in competitive matches, most recently in the opening game of the 2025 season, when a work-in-progress NYCFC carried a 2-1 lead deep into stoppage time only for a Miami reduced to 10 players to find an equalizer in the 100th minute.
But that match is remembered less for the scoreline than Miami’s bad behavior, when Messi grabbed New York City assistant coach Mehdi Ballouchy by the neck and Suárez did the same to Risa. The incidents made international news, and both were later fined “an undisclosed amount” for their conduct.
Oliver Strand
New York City Scouting Report
• Player Availability: Malachi Jones (broken leg), Keaton Parks (blood flow issues in leg), and Nico Cavallo (leg) remain Out.
• Maxi Moralez remains one yellow card away from having to serve a one-match suspension for accumulation.
• It’s impossible to predict how Pascal Jansen will set up the midfield and defense. Will he once again shift Justin Haak into midfield to partner with Andrés Perea, and give Raul Gustavo another turn in central defense? Or will he field a back-three with Haak, Raul Gustavo, and Thiago Martins? That was the team’s formation late in the 2-0 shutout of Charlotte on Saturday.
• Will Aiden O’Neill get the start? The Australia international will relish the opportunity to take on Messi.
• The NYCF attack is easier to pick: Alonso Martínez is exactly the kind of speedy and clinical finisher the Inter Miami backline hates defending. At the same time, Nico Fernández and Hannes Wolf will like their chances against this leaky Miami defense.
• Will Julián Fernández and Agustín Ojeda bring something extra to the match? The two Argentines are turning into goal-producing supersubs, and you have to think they’ll want to make an impression on an opponent that features some of the national team’s biggest names.
Mark Radigan
Inter Miami Scouting Report
• Player Availability: Striker Allen Obando (hamstring), midfielder David Ruiz (hamstring), and midfielder Telasco Segovia (suspended) are Out.
• Defender Marcelo Weigandt is one yellow card away from serving a suspension.
• If you want to learn more about this Miami squad, be sure to read Oppo Research: 5 Things about Inter Miami, in which Michelle Kaufman of The Miami Herald gives us intel on the Herons.
Matthew Mangam
