Inter Miami vs. Nashville preview: Messi hits 400 career assists, Nashville s last fight!

Tomorrow early morning, the MLS 1/8 finals will usher in the second leg of the contest, including Miami International's away game against Nashville. In the first round in Miami, Inter Miami defeated Nashville 3-1 at home with Messi scoring a goal in each half and Allende's 62nd minute goal, winning the first game of the 1/8 finals and seizing the opportunity to advance to the next round of knockout rounds.

In this campaign, Nashville will return to home, which is also their last chance. The first round of the MLS playoffs adopts a best-of-three-game system, with the top-ranked team having home-court advantage, which is similar to the NBA's playoff model. From the second round to the final, the competition will adopt a single elimination system until the final champion is determined.

So this game is crucial for both sides. If Nashville wins, they still have a chance to tie three; if Inter Miami wins, the team will advance to the next round and advance to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in team history.

Counting the first game of the playoffs, the two sides have met three times this season. Inter Miami has achieved three wins over Nashville and has an absolute advantage. Even if tomorrow's game is an away game, Inter Miami still has a psychological advantage, because in the last game of the regular season between the two sides, Inter Miami defeated Nashville 5-2 away from home. Messi scored a hat trick and sent an assist in the game, so the pressure in this game is on Nashville's side.

Nashville’s last victory over Inter Miami dates back to May 2023 during the MLS regular year. Since then, Inter Miami seemed to have found the "key" to deal with Nashville, gaining an absolute upper hand both tactically and psychologically.

Nashville's performance this season can be described as ups and downs. They narrowly qualified for the playoffs as the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference. Their away performance was particularly difficult, with only 5 wins, 3 draws and 9 losses in 17 away games. However, they often have amazing fighting power at home. 11 wins, 3 draws and 3 losses is their record at home this season. The most important thing for them right now is to win the second round of the playoffs. The first thing they have to do is to regain their defensive resilience in the game, which is the basis of their success this season.

In addition to relying on defense to limit Messi's performance in the game, the team's two offensive cores Suric and Mukhtar must also make a difference in the game to win the game. Sulic scored 24 goals in the regular season this season, while Mukhtar had 16 goals and 11 assists. The two were directly involved in a large number of the team's goals. The goal that helped Nashville regain face in the last game was midfielder Mukhtar, but the strength of one person is far from enough. The strikers led by Sulic must also seize the opportunity in this game.

Of course, they still have a headache, which is how to restrict Messi in the game. With Messi's ability, it is an impossible task to lock him down, but they have successfully restricted Messi's performance in the 2024 US Champions League final, and even drew with Inter Miami in the first round of the US Champions League final. This may be an approach that Nashville can learn from. In addition, Nashville must forget the first-round loss but learn from it to avoid a repeat of the tragedy in the final round of the regular season.

For Inter Miami, although they have taken the lead, the experience of last season's 1/8 finals is still fresh in their minds. Last season, Inter Miami entered the playoffs for the first time in team history as the regular season champion. However, Inter Miami suffered a blow in the first round of the playoffs. Facing Atlanta United, who barely qualified for the playoffs through the play-offs, Inter Miami was beaten by Atlanta United for two games in a row after winning one game first. In the end, it was eliminated in the knockout round in the 1/8 finals, which was quite an upset.

This season, Inter Miami advanced to the playoffs with third place in the Eastern Conference, and they won their first victory in the 1/8 finals, but they must be wary of a repeat of last season's tragedy. Before the playoffs, Inter Miami signed a three-year contract extension with the 38-year-old Messi, which also injected confidence into the team's next games.

Messi’s state this season is terrifying. During the regular season, he played 28 times, scored 29 goals, and provided 16 assists, successfully winning the Golden Boot this season. Scoring twice in the first round of the playoffs once again proved his ability to decide the game.

Another highlight of the second round is whether Messi can reach the 400-career assist mark in the game. Messi's career assists have reached 399, which is only one away from the 400 mark. If Messi can assist his teammates to score in this game, he will complete the feat of 400 assists in his career.

With the two goals in the last game, Messi's total career goals have reached 891 goals, 109 goals away from the 1,000-goal mark in his career. This season is not over yet. Messi hopes to continue to score goals in the game. After renewing his contract with Inter Miami, Messi still has three years to hit the 1,000-goal mark. With Messi's current competitive state, as long as Messi is not troubled by injuries, Messi has a chance to hit 1,000 goals.

On one side is Nashville, which is seeking reversal, and on the other is Messi and his Inter Miami, who are heading towards history. The outcome of this matchup could very well determine the course of the series. If Nashville successfully limits Messi, they have a chance to tie the score; if Messi breaks through Nashville's defense, Inter Miami is likely to end the series in suspense on the road. Personally, I feel that with Messi's current state and the overall strength of the team, Inter Miami has a chance to win this away game. 2-0 or 2-1 is a more reasonable result.