The Crew dismantled a feeble Sporting Kansas City 4-0 on Friday night to kick off their 2024 Leagues Cup campaign. After such a commanding victory, the vibe around the Crew is excellent right now. However, the Crew face a gauntlet of opponents on the road to Leagues Cup glory. Up next, the defending Leagues Cup champs Inter Miami. Miami are entering after advancing second out of their group thanks to a loss against Tigres and a win against Puebla. Miami advanced to the Round of 16 with a bonkers 4-3 victory over Toronto. Miami, who will likely be without Lionel Messi due to injury, still have a ridiculous amount of talent available to them and have been just as successful without Messi as they are with him. The Crew will be eager to make amends for a disappointing road loss to Miami earlier this year. Here is everything you need to know for the matchup in the Leagues Cup Round of 16 on Tuesday night.

Inter Miami at a glance:

Form: W-L-W-W-W

Record: 16-5-4  (53 Points)

Leading Scorer: Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez (12 goals)

Assist Leader: Lionel Messi, Julian Gressel (9 assists)

Player to watch: Luis Suarez

I’m not sure how much needs to be said here. Luis Suarez is among the most prolific strikers to ever play the game. Now at age 37 the Uruguayan has 16 goals and 7 assists in just 24 matches across all competitions since joining Miami. That is an absurd return for a 37 year old dealing with leg injuries. Simply put, Suarez knows how to put the ball in the net in every situation. There’s not a type of finish he doesn’t have in his locker and despite lacking the speed he once had, his movement and ability to be in the right spot at the right time allows him to separate from defenders in the box. The Crew backline will have to be at their very best to keep Suarez at bay on Tuesday. 

How Inter Miami Play:

In his first full year at the helm, Tata Martino has Miami absolutely flying in 2024. With or without Messi, Miami has been one of the hardest teams to beat in MLS and CONCACAF competitions. This is due in large part to the amount of talent Miami’s roster holds, but also Martino’s tactical understanding of his team and his ability to impart that to his players. 

Similar to Columbus, Miami prefer to be in possession of the ball and love to create chances from possession as much as possible. Almost exclusively using a 4-3-3 shape in possession, Miami will often make seemingly easy and pointless looking passes often when in possession. However, similar to the Crew under Wilfried Nancy, these passes are being used to draw their opponents out of their defensive shape and create gaps for the attack to exploit. Miami will usually move their outside backs high up the field and their wingers into central areas when in possession. The wingers will look to combine with the other central midfielders when possible, as well as run in behind the opposing backline when the opportunity presents itself. Miami loves to switch the point of attack to create and exploit 1v1 matchups in wide areas as well. 

Defensively, there’s two different Miami sides. When Messi and Suarez play, Miami is generally pretty happy to defend closer to their goal as Messi and Suarez aren’t exactly known for their defensive workrate. However, as Columbus fans will remember from the previous match between these two sides, Miami are happy to press much higher up the field in a 4-2-3-1 shape when Messi and Suarez are unavailable. This press is usually triggered by the central striker who’s aim is to keep the ball on one side by applying pressure. The 3 players behind him look to move from side to side to prevent the ball from being played forward into the midfield. The back four and two defensive midfielders generally stay “home”’while the front four players apply pressure. On occasion, the outside backs will step up and apply pressure as well when the ball is on their side. This may happen often against the Crew due to the Crew’s use of wingbacks. 

How the Crew can win:

The Crew find themselves with a daunting task as they look for another trophy to add to the trophy case. However, the Crew are the betting favorite in this match thanks to their recent form and the match being played in the friendly confines of Lower.Com Stadium. That being said, there are a few things the Crew need to do in order to advance into the quarterfinals Tuesday night. 

1. Take What Miami Gives You: I don’t know how Miami will defend the Crew on Tuesday and there’s every chance we see a mix of approaches from the Herons. Whatever they do, the Crew need to use that against them. If Miami presses high like in the first meeting, the Crew need to be more willing to play over the top into space. If they sit deeper, the Crew need to be patient in possession and force Miami to defend for long periods of time. 
2. Use the Numerical Advantage: More than likely, the Crew will have a numerical advantage when building out of the back, since Miami usually only commits four players to their press. Thus, if the Crew can find the free man in the buildup, they’ll be able to quickly and easily break through Miami’s pressure and move play into their attacking half. 
3. Counterpress Effectively: Miami will look to maintain possession when they win the ball from Columbus. If the Crew can quickly react and try and win the ball back seconds after they lose it, they will likely be able to win the ball back as Miami looks to connect passes to buy time to get into their attacking shape. With the attacking being disorganized and the players switched off from their defensive responsibilities, counterpressing presents an important moment where the Crew could win the ball back easily, and be dangerous when they do so.