Needing a win and some help to get into the knockout round of the MLS Is Back tournament, both Inter Miami CF and New York City FC look to extend their stay and not leave Orlando empty-handed when they meet Monday.
Both teams failed to win either of their first two group games, with Inter Miami (0-4-0) narrowly ahead on goal difference. The best four third-place teams advance to the 16-team knockout round, which means a victory is the only way either side would progress - if at all.
David Beckham's first-year club has dropped a pair of 2-1 decisions, the most recent against Philadelphia on Tuesday. Rodolfo Pizarro pulled Inter level late in the first half, but a second equalizer was not to be found over the final 27 minutes. Compounding matters for this match is defender Andres Reyes will sit out after a second booking deep into stoppage time.
"We're disappointed because we feel like we deserved more in the last two games, but our main focus right now is getting this win on Monday," midfielder Lee Nguyen told the club's official website. "That's all we can control. Whatever happens after that, we're hopeful that it's enough but we're focused on getting the first win for Inter Miami.
"This game is important for us for multiple reasons. One, we want to advance and go as far as we can in this tournament. Another is that this game counts towards our regular season as well. The other one is also that we want to get our first win for our fans."
Pizarro has been an early bright spot as Inter chase their first win, scoring two of the team's three goals. Another optimistic point was the first MLS start of Julian Carranza, the team's second signing in club history. Defender Ben Sweat, who has played all but three minutes of the first four matches, will line up against his former team - he made 67 starts and 77 appearances for New York City FC spanning the previous three seasons.
The Bronx Blues (0-4-0) also are winless on the season overall, with their lone rallying point in Wednesday's 3-1 loss to Orlando City coming through their first goal of the season. Jesus Medina ended a 308-minute goalless spell to pull NYCFC within one late in the first half, but a third goal shipped on 81 minutes thwarted any chance for salvaging a first point of 2020.
New York City FC's offense missed playmaker Maxi Moralez in the sense of a finishing edge in the final third. NYCFC did not lack for effort on offense, outshooting Orlando 26-12 while putting eight of those efforts on frame, but the two-goal deficit in the first 10 minutes proved too big a hill to climb.
"The first half an hour is not good enough. I have to take responsibility for it because it seems like we weren't clear enough on how we want to play," said NYCFC manager Ronny Delia, who switched out of a three-man back to a 4-3-3 after the first half-hour. "We didn't show what we want to do in the first thirty minutes. After that, we changed a lot of things and we looked more dangerous."
Moralez has not been ruled out of this contest after straining a quad muscle in the group opener versus Philadelphia, but he is still questionable. Alexandru Mitrita could be leading the line for NYCFC after a 22-minute stint as a sub and taking two shots.
NYCFC have never lost five straight league matches since entering MLS in 2015.