Charlotte FC vs Inter Miami CF Prediction, Odds, Best Bets - MLS

Third place in the East is the prize at Nu Stadium on Saturday, and Charlotte FC can pull level with Inter Miami CF on points by winning there. Miami's answer all season has been the highest-scoring attack in the league, and Charlotte arrives off two straight 4-0 home wins with a front line of its own in form.

The Matchup

This is a meeting of the East's third and fifth placed clubs, and the arithmetic is simple. Inter Miami CF sit third on 56 points, Charlotte FC fifth on 53, and a Charlotte win pulls the visitors level with the side they are chasing. Both clubs are already in the playoffs, so the afternoon is about seeding and about who carries momentum into them, and both arrive rested, Miami ten days removed from a 2-2 draw with FC Cincinnati and Charlotte a week removed from a 4-0 win over Orlando City SC.

Miami's season rests on three forwards. Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez and Germán Berterame all started together against Cincinnati, when Suárez scored the opener and Miami still needed a late equalizer from substitute Riquelme Fillipi to take the point. Neither club has named its side yet.

The expectation is that the same front three starts again in the 4-3-3 Miami used that night, with Rodrigo De Paul in midfield. Charlotte's attack is narrower but live. Idan Toklomati leads the line, Allan Saint-Maximin scored against Orlando, and Pep Biel started in the middle of the three behind Toklomati in the 4-2-3-1 Charlotte used in that match.

Key Factors

Miami's home matches are shootouts by habit. Miami has scored 43 goals in 16 home matches and conceded 28 in them, so the home crowd rarely watches a side that protects a lead and shuts a game down. Charlotte's problem is the road.

The visitors have conceded 32 goals in 16 away matches, lost at Columbus Crew and at Portland Timbers in the last month, and scored 26 in those 16 trips, and the two 4-0 wins that have everyone talking both came at home. Away from Charlotte, the same side gives its opponents far too much encouragement.

The honest counterpoint is that Charlotte's attack travels better than its defense. Toklomati and Saint-Maximin can punish a Miami back line that has kept few clean sheets at home, and a Charlotte side playing for seeding rather than survival can turn this into a trade of chances.

What beats this pick is a quiet, controlled Miami win, and Miami has drawn eight times this season, which says its control of games is looser than its talent suggests. But control has not been the pattern when these attacks meet open opponents, and Charlotte's road defending invites exactly the game Miami wants to play.

Every pick is published with its line before the game. Odds via consensus sportsbooks at time of writing and move constantly. Must be 21+. If gambling is a problem, call or text 1-800-GAMBLER.