The New York Red Bulls host Inter Miami on 24 October 2026 in a late season MLS fixture where the stakes could not be more different. Sitting ninth in the Eastern Conference with 36 points from 30 games, the Red Bulls are scrapping for a playoff berth or wild card spot, whereas Inter Miami have already qualified and sit second in the East on 55 points, arriving to sharpen their seeding and CONCACAF Champions Cup positioning rather than fight for survival.
Michael Bradley and Kily González have not previously faced each other as managers, which is not entirely surprising given that Bradley only took charge on 15 December 2025 replacing Sandro Schwarz and González was appointed as recently as late August or early September 2026 after interim coach Guillermo Hoyos stepped aside.
The Red Bulls come in with mixed to poor recent results, losing three of their last four matches. A 4-1 win over San Diego FC on 10 October snapped that run, though it sits alongside a 0-2 defeat to Toronto FC and a 0-3 hammering by St. Louis City SC, a side explosive going forward but clearly vulnerable at the back. Inter Miami arrive in better shape, posting three wins and a draw in their last five, the most recent a 3-1 victory over Atlanta United in which Messi scored twice.
Michael Bradley is without goalkeeper AJ Marcucci, out with a cruciate ligament tear, which forces changes to how his side build from the back and puts additional pressure on the defensive line. Inter Miami travel with five absentees: Tadeo Allende (knee), Mateo Silvetti (shoulder), Fricio Caicedo (lower body), Yannick Bright (foot) and Israel Boatwright (cruciate tear), thinning out their wide options and midfield rotation.
The Red Bulls will likely deploy their familiar 4-3-3, built around a high press and rapid counter attacks, with Julian Hall (roughly 11 goals this season) leading the line and looking to stretch Miami's centre backs with runs in behind. Emil Forsberg provides the creative engine in midfield and the plan against Miami's possession game will be to win the ball high and break before Messi can settle into his rhythm.
Inter Miami use the same 4-3-3 shape but from the opposite philosophy: hold the ball and work Messi and Suárez into dangerous pockets. With around 25 league goals this season and a brace in his last outing, Messi is the obvious danger man, with Suárez's positioning and movement keeping centre backs occupied while Messi drifts. Hall's movement against Miami's backline while Forsberg hunts the spaces Messi tends to claim for himself will be the contest worth watching.
Losing Marcucci has already affected how the Red Bulls build from the back and any further disruption could open channels that Messi exploits with through balls, while losing five players reduces Miami's pressing intensity and defensive cover in wide areas though their front three have enough between them to dominate territory regardless.
The two clubs have met 13 times and are level at six wins each with one draw, with all five of the most recent fixtures producing a decisive result and this matchup doesn't tend to drift towards stalemates.
Forsberg's set piece delivery is a real threat if Miami's depleted backline struggles to organise defensively and going the other way, any foul in a dangerous area could mean a Messi free kick or a Suárez header. If the Red Bulls' need for goals forces them to push numbers forward at the expense of defensive shape, Miami's counter attacks could prove lethal.
We're going with a 0-2 win for Inter Miami. New York's defensive vulnerabilities, evident in the 0-3 defeat to St. Louis City SC, are unlikely to hold up against a Miami front line that has been delivering consistently on the road. The Red Bulls will press and create chances through Hall and Forsberg but without Marcucci, they will struggle to play through pressure the way Bradley wants. The head to head history favours a decisive result rather than a draw, Miami's front three retain their quality despite the absentees and Messi and Suárez look like the players who settle this one.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
