Inter Miami vs. New York City Betting Preview – MLS, October 3, 2020

Inter Miami and New York City clash on Saturday, October 3, for the first time since the MLS is Back Tournament group stage. NYC narrowly edged the Herons on that occasion, but a lot has changed since then.

The Boys in Blue have only lost one of their last eight games, while Inter Miami has picked up just two wins during that period. As a result, Miami currently trails NYC by nine points.

Keep reading to see my Inter Miami vs. New York City prediction and betting pick.

Considering the gulf in quality between these two teams, I really like the look of the price for the away win here. Inter Miami’s home advantage has obviously had an impact on the top online soccer betting sites’ odds for this game. But there is no getting away from the fact that New York City is the better team in this matchup.

It’s fair to say that Inter Miami’s star signing Gonzalo Higuain endured a debut to forget on Sunday. The former Real Madrid, Napoli, and Juventus star missed a penalty and got himself involved in a scuffle as the Herons lost 3-0 to Philadelphia Union.

Of course, the arrival of Higuain, along with World Cup winner Blaise Matuidi, can only be a good thing for David Beckham’s franchise. But it’s naturally going to take some time for the high-profile arrivals to adapt to their new surroundings.

Looking at the bigger picture, Miami only has three wins from 14 games this year, and two of those came against a woeful Atlanta United team. Only DC United sits below Diego Alonso’s men in the Eastern Conference, and if their recent performances are anything to go by, they could struggle to move up the standings.

On the flip side, New York City has been in sumptuous form of late. The team’s six-game unbeaten run was only brought to an end by a last-gasp Toronto FC penalty last week, although it didn’t take Ronny Deila’s side long to return to winning ways.

A first-half double from Alexandru Mitrita, along with goals from Anton Tinnerholm and Jesus Medina, saw the Boys in Blue hammer FC Cincinnati 4-0 at the weekend. And having racked up a whopping 22 shots, NYC could have easily scored more.

It goes without saying that the current New York City team is nowhere near the level of the side that finished top of the Eastern Conference last year. But following a string of positive results, it feels like Deila’s men are starting to rediscover their best form.

The manner with which New York City blew away Cincinnati last time out was hugely impressive, so I’m expecting the Boys in Blue to make light work of Inter Miami this weekend.

As I already mentioned, the Herons are definitely moving in the right direction. The club is now able to attract world-class players to Florida, but I can’t see Miami troubling in-form NYC on Saturday.