Saturday's MLS clash between the Philadelphia Union and Inter Miami will require both teams to cope without key players, but Jim Curtin is viewing it as an opportunity.
Miami will be without Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez for the match, with the duo preparing to represent Argentina and Uruguay, respectively, at the Copa America.
Philadelphia, meanwhile, will have to make do without 10-goal leading scorer Daniel Gazdag, who is part of Hungary's squad for Euro 2024.
Asked about the difficulties of coping without Gazdag, Curtin pointed out that Miami will also need to adjust and highlighted 20-year-old midfielder Jack McGlynn as an example of a player who could stand to benefit.
"He's not a 10 but he has the passing range to unlock a defence," Curtin said of McGlynn. "Maybe he does it from a deeper position, but we might need him to be a little more aggressive.
"Unfortunately, he won't be passing the ball to Daniel Gazdag so all these things weigh in, just like Jordi Alba won't be combining with Messi.
"Both teams aren't at full strength, so we have to make the most of what it is. I see this as an opportunity to bring out players' skills, like with Jack."
Miami lead the way in the Eastern Conference with 35 points, 15 clear of the eighth-placed Union having played two additional matches.
Since Messi joined the Herons last year, they have only won three of 14 matches without him, drawing five and losing six.
The Argentine's minutes were managed ahead of him linking up with Argentina, which coach Gerardo Martino says was necessary.
"With the passage of time, one sees the body does not recover in the same way," he told TyC Sports this week.
"He understands it, he sees that there are trips that are high-risk and long. That's why we started to agree on when it is necessary for him to stop."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Philadelphia Union – Jack McGlynn
McGlynn, who is expected to play a major role for the United States at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, has two goals and four assists this season.
That first figure is a joint career best, while the latter is a new personal benchmark. The cultured left-footer could be set to play a central role at Subaru Park.
Inter Miami – Sergio Busquets
With Messi and Suarez absent, it could be down to Busquets to lead the way for Miami.
The Barcelona great trails only Riqui Puig (1,330) for successful passes in MLS this year (1,115), and four of his 17 chances created have become assists.
MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW
Miami have won two of their last four away games against Philadelphia (one draw, one defeat).
They are one of just three teams (alongside New York City and Orlando City) with multiple road wins over the Union since the start of the 2021 season.
Philadelphia have struggled at home in general lately, going six regular-season matches without a win (two draws, four defeats) at Subaru Park.
Since last September, they have only won two of their 13 league games on home soil (seven draws, four defeats), with only two MLS sides collecting fewer home points than their 13 since that run began.
However, with both teams missing key players, it is difficult to have much confidence in either. A draw could be on the cards, with Miami lacking their usual firepower.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Philadelphia Union – 38.4%
Inter Miami – 35.2%
Draw – 26.5%
Nashville SC v New York City: Munthali's hosts in a good spot
Rumba Munthali believes his Nashville SC side are in a good spot ahead of Saturday's clash with New York City, having continued their climb up the standings by beating Toronto FC 2-1 in midweek.
Sam Surridge's 90th-minute strike handed Nashville their second win in their last four MLS matches on Wednesday, and they now sit eighth in the Eastern Conference.
Interim boss Munthali has overseen a resurgence since taking over from the fired Gary Smith last month, and he is excited by the chance to keep it going against NYCFC.
"It's really good to pick up more points and move up the standings," Munthali said.
"I thought the guys showed some heart and had a good second half and deserved to win.
"Now we just have to talk to our staff, make sure the guys are in a good place for Saturday in the space we have and hopefully again have good performances."
Nick Cushing's visitors sit six points clear of Nashville in fourth place, though they have lost ground on those above them by recording back-to-back losses.
Having gone down 3-2 at home to the Columbus Crew last week, they were beaten 2-0 at the LA Galaxy on Wednesday.
Cushing knows acclimatising to different conditions on their travels is somewhere his team can improve, saying: "We made changes, but we've got a squad that allows us to make changes.
"If you want to be a consistently winning team, a team that is successful in MLS, you have to cope with travel and time zones and all of those things, the heavy schedule too."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Nashville SC – Sam Surridge
Surridge scored both of Nashville's goals in their midweek victory over Toronto, his third match with two or more goals in MLS.
Of Surridge's nine MLS goals, seven have arrived in the three matches where he scored more than once (one hat-trick, two braces).
New York City – Santiago Rodriguez
Rodriguez led NYCFC on Wednesday with five shot involvements (two chances created, three shots attempted), extending his team-leading shot involvements tally to 95 for the season.
If he maintains his lead, he will have led the team for shot involvements in each of the last three seasons, joining David Villa (2015 to 2017) as the only NYCFC players to do so in three straight campaigns.
MATCH PREDICTION: NASHVILLE SC WIN
The home team has not lost any of the four all-time meetings between these teams, with Nashville winning both of their home games and NYCFC recording a win and a draw on their own turf.
New York's 2-0 defeat to the Galaxy last time out was their fifth shutout defeat of the year, tied with the New England Revolution and Orlando City for the joint-most in MLS.
Nashville, meanwhile, have only lost one of their last seven regular-season games (three wins, three draws), and are chasing their first pair of consecutive wins since May-June 2023.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Nashville SC – 44%
New York City – 29.2%
Draw – 26.8%
Los Angeles FC v San Jose Earthquakes: Cherundolo aiming to live up to high expectations
Steve Cherundolo is expecting to get back to winning ways back at home against the struggling San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday.
LAFC's six-match winning streak in MLS ended in midweek, though Kei Kamara ensured they did not leave Austin FC empty-handed, salvaging a 1-1 draw.
Sitting second in the Western Conference, LAFC are flying high, though their last defeat, on May 5, did come against San Jose.
After two road matches on the bounce, Cherundolo is happy to be heading back to BMO Stadium.
"With a little more composure and connecting on a few more passes, you can get the three points," said Cherundolo.
"I still think we're in a good way, and we didn't get three points [against Austin] but we'll take it and carry this home to try and win on Saturday.
"San Jose have the ability to score goals, which they've shown, but also concede. It's going to be a tough task, but we're at home and our expectations are always great at home."
The Earthquakes sit bottom of the table, having won just three of their matches all season.
They have failed to win any of their last six, including a 2-1 defeat to Portland Timbers in midweek, and Luchi Gonzalez urged his team to keep up their fight.
"It's going to hurt because we had the game [against Portland] in our hands until we didn't," Gonzalez said. "It's about control.
"We control the next moment, and we're never going to give up. I'm not going to ever give up. These guys won't give up. We're going to learn and keep trying to figure this out. That's what we can control."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Los Angeles FC – Kei Kamara
Kamara scored his first goal of the season in the 90th minute of LAFC's 1-1 draw with Austin FC on Wednesday. It was the 150th goal of his MLS career (regular season and playoffs), the third player to reach that mark after Chris Wondolowski (173) and Landon Donovan (150).
San Jose Earthquakes – Paul Marie
Marie scored his second goal of the season with an outside-the-box finish against Portland Timbers.
Marie has scored in five straight seasons for San Jose, but 2024 is the first in which he has scored more than once.
MATCH PREDICTION: LOS ANGELES FC WIN
After San Jose lost each of their first six matches against Los Angeles in all competitions, they lost only three of the last 11 (W7 D1), including a 3-1 win on May 4. Still, LAFC have won seven of their nine all-time home matches against the 'Quakes (D1 L1).
Dating back to last season, Los Angeles are unbeaten in their last 13 home games in all competitions with 11 wins and two draws. LAFC have kept a clean sheet in each of their last four competitive matches at home – it is the longest such streak in the team's history.
Meanwhile, the Earthquakes have lost 13 of their 18 regular-season games in 2024 (W3 D2), including each of their last three. Dating back to last season, San Jose have conceded in 24 straight regular-season matches, one shy of their team record of 25 (in both 1999 & spanning 2017-18).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Los Angeles FC – 67.9%
Draw – 17.8%
San Jose Earthquakes – 14.4%
Orlando City v Chicago Fire: Klopas ready to put attacking unit to the test in Florida heat
Chicago Fire Frank Klopas is pleased with the impact his attacking players have been working together this season and is looking forward to seeing how they fare against Orlando City.
The Fire are level on points with their hosts heading into the game on Saturday but sit above them due to their superior goal difference.
Chicago are currently on a four-match unbeaten streak, winning each of their last two matches, with Klopas praising his players for finding their attacking groove in recent weeks.
"Going to Orlando, especially in this heat, we have to be good on the ball, it's so important, and we've worked hard on that," Klopas said. "The team is in a good moment, and they're also working extremely hard and that's very important to me.
"We've been dangerous in games when we work as a unit and quickly transition.
"It's been a big focus of ours from the beginning of the season to get more opportunities, and we've done a much better job with that, and we're showing our ability to finish chances."
Orlando are in 14th but will leapfrog their opponents with a win. However, they will need to snap a five-match winless streak in order to do that.
Head coach Oscar Pareja was once again left to lament late lapses of concentration in their 2-2 draw with Charlotte FC and is hoping to improve that against the Fire.
"It has happened in recent games where we dominate possession that we concede late goals," the head coach said.
"I think our vigilance is getting better, but [against Charlotte] we lost two duels, and they found a way to hurt us. We need to get better about controlling possession."
PLAYER TO WATCH
Orlando City – Facundo Torres
Torres, who scored Orlando's equalizer on Wednesday against Charlotte, has scored four goals in five career MLS matches against the Fire, tied for his most against any opponent (also four vs the New York Red Bulls).
Chicago Fire – Hugo Cuypers
Cuypers has recorded a goal contribution in each of his last four appearances for the Fire, the first player to do so for the club since Robert Beric in 2020 (five straight).
Chicago has posted a record of W3 D3 L1 in matches in which Cuypers has been involved in a goal this season and W1 D3 L7 when he has not.
MATCH PREDICTION: ORLANDO CITY WIN
Orlando are unbeaten in six straight matches against the Fire (W4 D2), though Chicago did manage a home draw when the sides met on May 29. The Lions have just one longer regular-season unbeaten run against a single opponent, going eight straight without defeat vs. Toronto FC from 2019-23.
However, Orlando have lost four of their last five home matches, including each of the last two. They had suffered just one defeat in their previous 16 regular-season home matches (W9 D6) before this run.
Meanwhile, Chicago have recorded back-to-back wins after winning just two of their first 16 matches this season (D6 L8). The Fire have netted six times over the two wins after scoring six total goals in their previous 11 games.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Orlando City – 54%
Draw – 23.6%
Chicago Fire – 22.4%
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