MLS: Inter Miami vs CF Montréal - Odds, Prediction & Best Bet

Last week’s 6-2 thrashing of the Montréal  perfectly illustrated why Miami is so dangerous this season: Superstar depth. Luis Suarez put away three goals for the hat trick, but Lionel Messi was even more impressive with five assists and one goal of his own. Inter will now take its four-game win streak north to Montreal on Saturday, May 11 at 7:30 p.m. EST. While our USA Legal Betting expectations didn’t hold lofty expectations for CF Montréal preseason, there was thought they’d start stronger than 11th in the East. Check out how they’re betting on this week’s matchup to find the best value across the top soccer betting apps.

Odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. As always, make sure to shop around for the best and most up-to-date lines available

Inter Miami CF

Miami has kept its foot on the gas since Messi’s return to the lineup. The team is now 4-1-0 with the legendary Argentine forward, winning by an average score of 4-1 in the four games that Messi played all 90 minutes.

Expect the Herons to control this match with the large majority of the possession. Miami currently ranks third in average time of possession, owning 57.4% of the time on the ball per match. Montréal sits in 26th, only claiming possession 45.8% of the time. If the Canadian club plans to score many goals, it’s counterattack will likely need to be in peak form.

Team News: Inter Miami is still missing a few key players due to injury including: defenders Ian Fray, Jordia Alba, and Sergiy Kryvtsov; midfielders Facundo Farias and Federico Redondo; and forwards Robbie Robinson and Leonardo Campana.

Predicted Lineup: 

Goalie: Drake Callender

Defense: Nicolas Freire, Tomas Aviles, Franco Negri, Marcelo Weigandt

Midfield: Sergio Busquets, David Ruiz, Julian Gressel.

Forwards: Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Robert Taylor.

CF Montréal

CF Montréal is clearly in a rebuilding chapter of the proud club’s story. Sitting in 11th place in the Eastern Conference, first-year manager Laurent Courtois has been tasked with progressing the team’s young talent, rather than bringing in immediate success.

Worse even for this match, star forward Josef Martinez is listed as questionable to play. Much of Montréal’s potential success this season relied upon Martinez’s ability to create and finish chances. To date, however, the 30-year old Venezuelan striker only owns two goals in seven appearances.

Team news: In addition to Josef Martinez’s uncertain status for Saturday’s tilt with Miami, forwards Matias Coccaro and Kwadwo Opoku are already listed as unavailable to play with injuries. Forward Lassi Lappalainen and center back Joaquin Sosa hold doubtful tags.

Predicted Lineup:

Goalie: Jonathan Sirois

Defense: George Campbell, Joel Waterman, Fernando Alvarez

Midfield: Raheem Edwards, Ruan, Samuel Piette, Mathieu Choinere

Forwards: Ariel Lassiter, Jules Anthony Vilsaint, Bryce Duke

• H2H (last five games): Montréal has won three of the last five meetings, including a 3-2 road victory in Miami.
• Inter Miami on the road: Miami is 3-1-1 in MLS play this season, outsourcing opponents 11-9.
• Montréal at home: Montréal is 1-1-0 in just two home games during MLS play so far.
• Miami’s dominance: The Herons have outscored opponents by a total of 16-6 during their current 4-game winning streak.
• Messi & Suarez: The two South American superstars own the top two spots for goals + assist leaders this season, Messi with 19 and Suarez with 15.

As long as Miami can say Suarez and Messi are playing ahead of any match this season, they should be projected as favorites. The attacking tandem has combined for 34 goals + assists and remains undefeated when these two legends grace the pitch. They offer a massive leg up for Miami over lowly CF Montréal, who won’t have a legitimate opportunity to match its fire power, even in the unlikely chance Josef Martinez can suit up.

It would take a much stronger defense than Montréal intends to roll out this Saturday to keep Miami’s vicious attack at bay. As it stands, Courtois’ back line holds the unwanted title of most expected goals conceded per game this season.

Meanwhile, it’s difficult to find an offensive metric in which Miami is not sitting in the top 5. The Herons are first in goals, xG, big chances, and big chances. They’re top 3 in accurate passes, shots on target and time of possession. In short, these two sides have already had vastly different starts to the young MLS season and it’s difficult to find an area of the match for Montréal to exploit to its advantage.

Inter Miami Win / Over 2.5 Goals (+145) | BetMGM

We are 2-0 making predictions for Inter Miami now. Last week we played Inter to win alongside more than 1.5 total goals for the match. This week, we’re going to one-up that bet by playing Miami to win with the total goals to exceed 2.5. Inter’s distinct advantages on both ends of the pitch make it difficult to see how Montréal can keep this game close. Furthermore, the Herons have scored at least three goals on their own in each of their last four outings, all of which ended in victory. Let’s back Tata Martino’s club to keep things rolling in Canada.