Despite the woeful season they have endured so far in 2023, Inter Miami are being backed by the bookies to go all the way in the Leagues Cup.
William AllenWAS_AllenUpdate: Jul 20th, 2023 08:03 EDT
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Inter Miami may be rock bottom of Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference, but Lionel Messi’s arrival in Florida has catapulted the franchise up the list of the favourites to win the expanded Leagues Cup, which begins this week.
Miami, who completed the signing of Messi at the weekend, begin their 2023 Leagues Cup campaign against Liga MX club Cruz Azul on Friday.
Inter Miami haven’t won in MLS for over two months
The Herons head into the inter-league tournament on a run of 11 MLS games without a win, having so far failed to recover from a poor start to the season that led to Phil Neville’s sacking as head coach at the start of June. Miami’s most recent MLS victory was in mid-May.
However, having added a seven-time Ballon d’Or to their ranks – and brought in Messi’s long-time former Barcelona team-mate, Sergio Busquets – Miami have now been installed as joint-third favourites to lift the Leagues Cup. That’s according to the latest odds collected by MLS ahead of the competition, which now includes every team in the North American and Mexican top flights.
Miami the Leagues Cup’s second-highest rated MLS team
Per the betting ps published by MLS on Sunday – the day Miami unveiled Messi at a packed DRV PNK Stadium – the franchise is tied with Monterrey and defending Mexican champions Tigres on +1200.
Only Club América (+900) and 2022 MLS winners Los Angeles FC (+1100) have been given shorter odds of success.
At the other end of the spectrum, Mazatlán are considered the side least likely to win the Leagues Cup, having been handed odds of +12500. Los Cañoneros finished bottom of the regular-season standings in the Liga MX’s Clausura 2023 tournament, and are winless so far in the Apertura 2023.
2023 Leagues Cup: the odds
Club América (+900)Los Angeles FC (+1100)Tigres (+1200)Monterrey (+1200)Inter Miami (+1200)Philadelphia Union (+1400)Pachuca (+1400)Seattle Sounders FC (+1600)León (+1600)Cincinnati (+1600)Chivas Guadalajara (+1600)Cruz Azul (+2000)Nashville SC (+2200)Toluca (+2500)Santos Laguna (+2500)Necaxa (+2500)New York City (+2500)New England Revolution (+2500)Atlanta United (+3300)Atlas (+3300)Pumas (+3300)St Louis City SC (+4000)Puebla (+4000)Juárez (+4000)Dallas (+4000)Tijuana (+4000)Querétaro (+4000)Montréal (+4000)Columbus Crew (+5000)Vancouver Whitecaps (+5000)Austin (+5000)Orlando City (+5000)Houston Dynamo (+5000)Toronto (+5000)New York Red Bulls (+5000)Portland Timbers (+6600)Real Salt Lake (+6600)LA Galaxy (+6600)Charlotte (+6600)San Jose Earthquakes (+8000)Minnesota United (+8000)Sporting Kansas City (+8000)Atlético San Luis (+8000)Chicago Fire (+10000)DC United (+10000)Colorado Rapids (+10000)Mazatlán (+12500)
(Source: MLS via bet365 Sportsbook)
Messi, Busquets set for Inter Miami bows – Martino
Neville’s replacement as Inter Miami boss, former Barça and Argentina head coach Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino, has said he expects Messi and Busquets to make their debuts against Cruz Azul – albeit they may begin on the bench. “Messi and Busquets are going to play on Friday,” Martino told an interview with the Argentinian media outlet TyC Sports on Wednesday. “I don’t know whether or not they’ll start.”
Miami are also set to sign ex-Barça left-back Jordi Alba, while a fourth former Camp Nou star – Luis Suárez – is being linked with the franchise. Alba is due to arrive in Florida “in the coming days”, Martino revealed to TyC.
Gerardo Tata Martino en @TyCSports: “Leo Messi y Sergio Busquets van a jugar el viernes. No sé si de arranque. Lo primero que quiero es que sumen entrenamientos.Jordi Alba fue papá hoy y por eso va a llegar en los próximos días”. pic.twitter.com/BDcAhHs7QX
— Gastón Edul (@gastonedul) July 19, 2023
