Inter Miami are in a "perfect" position to etch their names into MLS history when they host the New England Revolution on Saturday, with a single-season points record within reach.

That is the view of defender Ian Fray, after Gerardo Martino's men wrapped up the Supporters' Shield – and home advantage for the playoffs – early.

Miami have 71 points with one game of the regular season remaining, and a victory would see them surpass the Revs' all-time high of 73 points from the 2021 campaign. 

Fray feels playing at Chase Stadium can help Miami get over the line, saying: "Having home-field advantage is amazing, especially with our fans. It's the perfect situation for us."

Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez were both substitutes for Miami's last game – a late 1-0 win at Toronto FC – as Martino opted to rest the forward duo.

"It was logical that after two complete games, as most of them had played, we would make a rotation," he said. 

"We were able to meet the two objectives, for the players to have some rest and to win the game, which is what we wanted. We wanted to be able to achieve the points record."

Opponents New England are playing merely to defend their 2021 honour, sitting some nine points adrift of the playoff picture, 14th in the Eastern Conference standings.

Head coach Caleb Porter, though, has already turned his attention towards what comes next after they missed the postseason for just the second time in six years.

"It's really important, when we're making corrections next year and in the offseason, that we don't throw the baby out with the bathwater," he said. 

"That's the tendency in the offseason when you end a season like this. You have to take a deep dive into what went wrong.

"I have to look at myself, I have to coach better, I have to figure out what I can do better. It starts with me."

PLAYERS TO WATCH 

Inter Miami – Lionel Messi

The favourite to be named this year's MLS MVP, Messi enters the final match of the regular season averaging 1.98 goal contributions per 90 minutes. 

Only one player in MLS history has averaged more than 1.40 goal contributions per 90 over a full season before: Carlos Vela (1.62) in 2019 (minimum 1000 minutes played).

New England Revolution – Aljaz Ivacic

New England's 4-0 loss at the Columbus Crew last Saturday was the eighth time this season that the Revs have lost a match by at least three goals. That equals the most three-goal defeats by a team in a single season in MLS history, done four times before.

If they are to avoid making unwanted history against a rampant Miami team, they will need Ivacic to be on top form, though his save percentage of 66% is only the 20th-best figure among the 33 goalkeepers to play 10 MLS matches this year.

MATCH PREDICTION – INTER MIAMI WIN

None of the seven all-time meetings between Miami and New England have ended in draws. 

The sides split the season series in each of the previous three years, with both sides winning once in each campaign, while Miami won in New England, 4-1, on April 27 this year.

Miami, on 71 points entering the final day of the season, can break New England's single-season MLS points record of 73 with a win. A victory would also be Miami's 22nd this season, equalling the most in a single season in league history.

New England have lost five straight away matches, including a 4-0 loss to the Crew on Saturday. 

The Revs have been outscored 15-1 in those games, so the chances of them denying Miami a slice of history appear slim.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Inter Miami – 67.1%

New England Revolution – 14.9%

Draw – 18.1%

Caleb Porter says New England Revolution need to show they are fighters against Houston Dynamo as they look to build on their latest win.

The Revs beat Nashville SC 1-0 at the weekend to move off the foot of the Eastern Conference, snapping a five-match winless streak in the process.

They are just six points off a playoff spot with four games left to play, and Porter is hoping for more of the same mentality to come away with three points.

"We talked a lot last week about just having a better mentality, not being quite as emotional, and just being more steady and having ice in our veins a little bit more," Porter said, as quoted in the Blazing Musket substack.

"We are going to have to, at times, absorb. [Houston] are one of the best possession teams in the league.

"We are going to have to keep the game tight. From here on out, we have to be tough to play against. We are going to keep showing we are fighters, and we are going to be organized."

Meanwhile, Houston clinched their playoff spot at the weekend, despite a 1-0 defeat to Seattle Sounders due to FC Dallas' loss, as they sit sixth in the Western Conference.

It is the second year running they are in the postseason, and head coach Ben Olsen is hopeful they can use that as motivation to get back to winning ways.

"We are excited about being in the postseason and that's a big deal," Olsen said.

"These guys have worked really hard all year to get us into this position. We have a tough team in town in New England, so we have to focus on that as we turn the page on a disappointing result in Seattle."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Houston Dynamo – Griffin Dorsey

The Dynamo held 62.4% possession against the Sounders on Saturday, the 14th time Houston held at least 60% of the ball in 2024, the third-most games on record in an MLS season since Opta began detailed data collection of MLS in 2010.

Griffin Dorsey finished the game with a 100% pass completion rate in that defeat, not misplacing any of his 41 passes in the 80 minutes he was on the pitch.

New England Revolution – Aljaz Ivacic

After conceding multiple goals in each of their previous five league matches, New England secured a 1-0 win over Nashville on Saturday.

The Revolution have not kept consecutive regular-season clean sheets since the opening two matches of the 2023 season, with the second of those coming against Houston, and Aljaz Ivacic will be keen to get another shutout.

MATCH PREDICTION: HOUSTON DYNAMO WIN

New England have won seven of their last nine matches against Houston (D1 L1) dating back to the beginning of the 2014 season. However, the Dynamo's only win in that time came in the last meeting between the sides in Houston, a 3-1 victory in September 2022.

Houston's five-match unbeaten run came to an end on Saturday with a 1-0 loss at Seattle. The Dynamo have not lost consecutive matches in all competitions since losses to Austin FC and FC Dallas in late April.

Meanwhile, New England have lost 13 of their last 17 MLS away matches (incl. playoffs) dating back to the start of October 2023. The Revs have lost their last three on the road, being outscored 9-0 in those games.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Houston Dynamo – 61.1%

Draw – 20.5%

New England Revolution – 18.4%

Caleb Porter still believes New England Revolution have an outside chance of making the playoffs if they win all their games, starting with Nashville SC.

The Revs currently sit bottom of the Eastern Conference on 28 points and are eight points behind Philadelphia Union in ninth.

They are winless in their last five matches though, alternating between losses and draws, and were heavily beaten 4-0 by Charlotte FC last weekend after Dylan Borrero's sending-off.

Porter remains hopeful, though even he admits it may be just out of the Revs' reach.

"I might be stupid, but I still believe that we can win all five [games] and get in [the MLS Cup Playoffs] somehow," he said, as quoted in The Blazing Musket substack.

"That is the approach that I'm going to take. But if we don't, we are building for the future and I expect, obviously, that we continue developing and keep building.

"We want to give the fans hope and something to look forward to and the right message that we are continuing to grow and that even though this season has been difficult, there is going to be a light at the end of the tunnel."

Meanwhile, Nashville are five points and three places better off than their opponents, after an impressive week saw them win two and draw one of their games.

Head coach BJ Callaghan was left frustrated by some decisions in their 2-2 draw with FC Cincinnati but expects his team to be stronger for it.

"We're a team and a locker room that talks about responding to adversity, training responses, not having emotional reactions to things, so that's part of the game," Callaghan said.

"Decisions are made, and it's our job to respond and move forward."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

New England Revolution – Aljaz Ivacic

New England's 4-0 defeat to Charlotte on Saturday was the club's 13th loss by multiple goals in the 2024 regular season.

The Revs have kept just one clean sheet in their last 13 MLS outings (5-0 win over Montreal), and Aljaz Ivacic will be desperate to improve on that run.

Nashville SC – Sam Surridge

Sam Surridge scored both of Nashville's goals in the 2-2 draw with Cincinnati on Saturday.

Each of the last four multi-goal games by a Nashville player, including all three this season, have been by Surridge.

MATCH PREDICTION: NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION WIN

Three of the four meetings between New England and Nashville in Foxborough have ended in draws, with the Revs winning the other meeting 1-0 in March 2023. There have been three total goals scored in the four matches, with two of those coming in the 1-1 draw in the Leagues Cup meeting on August 6.

New England are winless in four straight regular season home matches (D3 L1), though each of the last three home games have finished level. This is their longest regular-season winless run in Foxborough since a five-match drought in March-September 2020.

Meanwhile, Nashville are unbeaten in three straight matches (W2 D1) following an eight-match regular-season losing streak. Nashville won their last away match 2-0 at Atlanta United but have not won consecutive regular-season road games since May-June 2023.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

New England Revolution – 44.2%

Draw – 26.8%

Nashville SC – 28.9% 

CF Montreal head coach Laurent Courtois has urged his players to prioritise their mental approach when they travel to New England Revolution on Wednesday.

Montreal snapped a four-match winless streak in MLS at the weekend with a 2-1 win over Charlotte FC, but they have registered back-to-back victories in the league since March.

They sit 12th in the Eastern Conference but still have an outside chance of making the playoffs if they can string together a run of positive results.

Courtois did not get over-excited by the win over Charlotte and is already looking at how to improve to get another three points on the board.

"I am happy, we are talking about things that are positive, but for me, there are always both [no matter the result]," Courtois said.

"It comes down to the mental approach. The message got through [against Charlotte], but if we look at the details, we could have conceded again, and then we would be talking about something else entirely."

Meanwhile, New England are bottom of the table, three points worse off than their opponents.

They suffered a 3-0 loss to Orlando City last time out and are now winless in three matches, but assistant coach Pablo Moreira is confident they can bounce back.

"All three goals were given up on set pieces, which is a tough one to swallow, and then through the run of play. So, [we'll] just build off of the positives and look forward to the game Wednesday," Moreira said, as quoted in the Blazing Musket.

"It's more that mentality after [conceding] and trying to improve that."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

New England Revolution – Aljaz Ivacic

Saturday's 3-0 defeat at Orlando was the 12th time this season New England have lost a regular season match by multiple goals, the most such losses this MLS season.

The 12 multi-goal losses are New England's most in a single season in club history, and Aljaz Ivacic will be desperate to keep a clean sheet.

CF Montreal – Josef Martinez

Josef Martinez has scored eight career regular-season goals against New England, tied for his most against any MLS opponent (D.C. United, Orlando).

No player has scored more goals against the Revs over the last 10 MLS seasons.

MATCH PREDICTION: NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION WIN

New England and Montreal have each won three of the last six meetings in the fixture. The Revs scored 13 goals in their three wins while failing to score in the three defeats.

The Revolution are winless in three straight regular-season home matches (D2 L1). It has been four years since they went four straight home league games without a win (D4 L1 from March-September 2020).

However, Montreal are winless in 14 straight away matches in all competitions (D4 L10), including losing their last three away from home. Montreal's only longer road winless run in all competitions since joining MLS in 2011 was a 34-match run in 2013-14.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

New England Revolution – 52.5%

Draw – 24.3%

CF Montreal – 23.2%