Our betting expert expects a high-scoring game, with Lionel Messi influential for Inter Miami, who seem capable of emerging with the win.
Best Predictions for Nashville vs Inter Miami
- Inter Miami - Moneyline @ +150 with bet365
- Over 3.5 goals @ -110 with bet365
- Lionel Messi to have over 1.5 shots on target @ -188 with bet365
All odds are courtesy of bet365, correct at the time of publishing and subject to change.
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Visitors to secure progress
Even with a number of older players, Inter Miami still have too much quality for most teams they come up against in Major League Soccer. All of their stars should be available for this game, so they won’t be short on quality.
The visitors can take confidence from their recent meetings with Nashville. They’ve won all of the last six encounters in all competitions. During that period, the Florida-based side averaged exactly three goals per game.
Inter Miami dominated the first match in this play-off series, creating 2.3 xG to Nashville’s 0.6. That was the ninth match in a row that saw Mascherano’s team create more expected goals than their opponents. They appear to be hitting form at just the right time.
- Nashville vs Inter Miami Prediction 1: Inter Miami - Moneyline @ +150 with bet365
Goals to flow in Tennessee
This is a must-win game for Nashville, and B. J. Callaghan may decide that attack is the best form of defence. His team were the fourth-highest scorers in the Eastern Conference, averaging 1.71 goals per match.
They have a dangerous forward line consisting of their key man Hany Mukhtar, as well as Sam Surridge, who netted 24 times during the regular season. Only Messi outscored the Englishman with 29 MLS goals, so this match will feature two of the most dangerous attackers in the league.
If recent history is anything to go by, we should certainly get a few goals. Five of the seven meetings since the start of last year have produced at least four goals. Meanwhile, all of the contests in 2024 and 2025 have served up at least three.
- Nashville vs Inter Miami Prediction 2: Over 3.5 goals @ -110 with bet365
Messi to hit the target
While Messi hardly needs an MLS title to secure his football legacy, he’ll be hungry to win one before his time in the United States ends. This year may be his best opportunity, with the Argentine still linking up brilliantly with many of his ex-Barca teammates.
He was assisted six times by Sergio Busquets, and five times by Jordi Alba during the regular season. Messi averaged 5.6 shots per game, and a goal every 83 minutes during that period.
The 38-year-old has registered at least two shots on target in each of his last nine appearances for Inter Miami. Given this fixture tends to be very open, he should get plenty of opportunities to test the opposing goalkeeper across the 90 minutes.
- Nashville vs Inter Miami Prediction 3: Lionel Messi to have over 1.5 shots on target @ -188 with bet365
Our analysis: Form of both teams
- Score prediction - Nashville 2-3 Inter Miami
- Goalscorers prediction - Nashville: Sam Surridge, Hany Mukhtar - Inter Miami: Lionel Messi x2, Luis Suarez
This is a unique situation as the two teams have already met twice over the past fortnight. Inter Miami won 5-2 in Nashville on the final day of the regular season, with Messi scoring a hat-trick in a thrilling game.
That set up a first-round meeting between the clubs in the MLS Cup play-offs. The best-of-three series commenced with a 3-1 Inter Miami win at Chase Stadium. Should Nashville win this latest meeting, the sides would return to Florida for a decider next weekend.
Javier Mascherano’s team are in a strong position to secure progress. They arrive in strong form, having won their final three matches during the regular season, scoring a combined total of 13 goals.
Probable lineups for Nashville vs Inter Miami
Nashville expected lineup: Willis, Lovitz, Zimmerman, Palacios, Najar, Brugman, Tagseth, Yazbek, Surridge, Shaffelburg, Mukhtar
Inter Miami expected lineup: Rios Novo, Alba, Falcon, Lujan, Weigandt, Rodriguez, De Paul, Busquets, Allende, Messi, Suarez