Leagues Cup: Inter Miami vs. Cruz Azul Preview, Odds, Predictions, Picks

Lionel Messi‘s long-awaited North America debut takes place on Friday night when his Inter Miami faces Cruz Azul in the Leagues Cup. This competition has been established recently, gathering teams from the MLS and the Mexican Liga MX. The top three-placed teams proceed to the CONCACAF Champions Cup. But that doesn’t matter much, because everyone wants to see Lionel Messi. Some tickets are reaching an incredible $110,000, which was unimaginable before the Argentinian arrived in the United States. 

Preview

Inter Miami (+105) is the last-placed team in the MLS, and one of the worst until this break. However, with Messi coming to town, this is going to change. We, as well as the entire football community, expect to see the Argentinian drastically improving Inter’s efficiency for a start. 

But other than that, Sergio Busquets’ and Jordi Alba’s presence should add more strength to the back line, which has been one very troublesome area for the franchise from Florida. 

Inter didn’t win in the past 10 MLS games, and throughout that stretch, they couldn’t keep a clean sheet, often allowing multiple goals. When looking at their home games, six of the past seven saw both teams netting, and for the moment, Inter is without a win in the previous four. 

Cruz Azul (+245) is in terrible form, maybe even worse than their upcoming opponents. The new season in Mexico started less than three weeks ago, and the team lost all of its three events, allowing at least two goals, while scoring only one throughout 270 minutes. 

They are currently last in the Torneo Apertura, with poor prospects for improving the position. Overall, Cruz Azul ended the previous championship with several very bad performances, and that negative trend continued. 

Throughout the summer, the front office tries to make improvements, signing several players, but for the moment, we haven’t seen anything good in Cruz Azul’s performances. The efficiency of their games has been moderate, meaning 2 or 3 goals. 

Latest News

Messi is debuting, and that’s the main thing here. The whole world is going to watch this game, and No.10. Busquets is expected to appear as well, while Alba won’t. Gregore, Jean Mota, and Negri are out, while Jean seems questionable. 

There isn’t any information about Cruz Azul and their absent players. 

Head to Head Games

There hadn’t been any games between these two clubs in the past, official or friendly. 

Predictions

The Messi effect will be huge, no doubt about it. The players who are already in Inter are going to be motivated to play better next to one of the all-time greats, and not only that, his mere presence on the field will make things much easier, especially in the attack. Plus, head coach Martino will make certain tactical adjustments. Cruz Azul is in problems, struggling to put up a decent game these days. They are underdogs for a reason, so we suggest betting on the hosts to post a victory and have a successful start with Messi as their new leader. 

Pick: Inter Miami wins +105