Inter Miami Hosts D.C. United as Messi Leads MLS Push

Inter Miami will host D.C. United at Nu Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 10, as Lionel Messi returns from his Argentina farewell match to help the MLS club end a five-game winless league run. Miami enters the match third in the Eastern Conference with 46 points.

According to Inter Miami CF, the club has a 12-5-10 record in the regular season and Messi leads MLS with 21 goals and 13 assists. D.C. United arrives with a 6-8-12 record and 30 points, sitting 11th in the conference.

MLS reported that Messi scored in Inter Miami's 2-1 loss to Columbus Crew before the international break. The team has won once in its last 10 league matches, while new coach Cristian Gonzalez seeks improvement after taking charge.

Gonzalez highlighted Messi's influence on the squad before the match.

"Leo is a person who every day conveys it and passes it on to his teammates, and he demands from all of us that you have to be at 100% in every way," said Cristian Gonzalez, Inter Miami coach.

Inter Miami's attacking group also includes Luis Suarez, who has 13 goals and eight assists, while Rodrigo De Paul has four goals and 12 assists, according to MLS.

D.C. United coach Rene Weiler said his team expects a difficult match against an Inter Miami side looking for a response after recent results.

"First, Miami are a good team. And they lost their last game against Columbus, which makes the task a little more complicated than it already was. They haven't had the best results lately, so they have to show a reaction.

There's no option for them other than to win against us. So, it will be a tough game, a great game featuring good players. The weather conditions and all the rest will be the same for both teams.

We hope we can play a good game, and of course, we need the best performances from all our players, otherwise it will be more than just difficult," said Rene Weiler, D.C. United coach.

D.C. United remains in the playoff race despite going three matches without a win. Tai Baribo leads the club with 14 goals this season, while Louis Munteanu has added six goals and four assists, according to MLS.

Weiler also addressed his team's development and squad management after recent international absences.

"We want to try to become better daily. That is the main reason we have the training sessions, and we spoke about the young players – there are different skills they have to improve," said Rene Weiler, D.C. United coach.

The D.C. United manager continued discussing the team's preparation ahead of its trip to Miami.

"Then, we'll try to become better as a team. But we had some players away from the team in the last two weeks. We'll also have to manage the workload because our squad is tight and we have a lot of games in a row," said Rene Weiler, D.C. United coach.

Inter Miami has won four of its last five meetings against D.C. United, including a 2-1 victory on March 7. The match at Nu Stadium is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.