MLS: Inter Miami vs Vancouver Whitecaps - Odds, Prediction & Best Bet

Leonardo Campana stole the show against D.C. United last week. The Ecuadorian striker subbed in to score in the 95th minute in dramatic fashion, handing Miami its sixth win in the last seven games. Interestingly, Tata Martino's club has now registered two straight clean sheets, doubling its total for the entire season. Our Legal Sports Betting pros expect the Herons' defense to continue its defensive dominance in a battle with the struggling Whitecaps in Vancouver.

Odds courtesy of Bet365 Sportsbook. As always, make sure to shop around for the best and most up-to-date lines available on the top soccer betting sites.

Inter Miami

Miami will travel all the way across the continent riding a seven-match unbeaten streak in MLS action. It’s their longest run without a loss in the club’s history and includes six wins for a total of 19 points during that span. The Herons’ impressive streak also coincides perfectly with Lionel Messi’s return from injury at the beginning of April. 

The road has been kind to Miami as well, with just one loss away from home this season. The team’s only road defeat came at the hands of the New York Red Bulls in March when it was still missing Messi and a few other key players such as Jordi Alba. Inter now finds itself atop the table, just one point ahead of the reigning champs, FC Cincinnati. 

With a win or draw, Messi and company can also extend their unbeaten streak against the Western Conference. It’s now been nearly a full calendar year since the team lost an inter-conference battle, a 3-0 loss on the road against St. Louis City in July 2023.

Team News: Lionel Messi managed to play in last week’s home victory against D.C. United. He is expected to be back to full strength this week as is Jordi Alba, who got his first start since a victory over Sporting Kansas City (3-2) in April. Miami will still be without a few key players, however, including Shanyder Borgelin, Diego Gomez, Federico Redondo, Robbie Robinson, Ian Fray and Facundo Farias, who is out for the year with a torn ACL.

Predicted Lineup:

Goalie: Drake Callender

Defense: Jordi Alba, Nicolas Freire, Tomas Aviles, Marcelo Weigandt

Midfield: Benjamin Cremaschi, Sergio Busquets, Julian Gressel

Forwards: Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Matias Rojas

Vancouver Whitecaps

Vancouver’s drastic fall from the top of the table to the bottom was a swift one. Through the first eight games of the MLS season, the Whitecaps showed themselves as one of the premier clubs in the league with a legitimate chance at making the Finals. They sat second in the Western Conference with just one loss in the standings. The last few weeks, however, have been far more unkind and they now find themselves in seventh place.

Manager Vanni Sartini saw his club score in its first nine matches before someone turned the scoring faucet off. He’s now watched just one goal in his team’s last five matches, regardless of competition.

Still, there’s hope for Vancouver as it welcomes Miami to town. The Caps haven’t lost a home fixture against the Eastern Conference since July 2022. That includes a 4-0 blowout victory over Toronto earlier this year. Perhaps even more reason for optimism, the long flight from Florida to Vancouver has worked in the team’s favor in the past. The Whitecaps defeated Orlando CIty 5-2 back in 2018.

Team News: Vancouver’s staff will be monitoring the health of Sam Adekugbe and Damir Kreilach, both of whom were sidelined due to injury last week. Bjorn Inge Utvik is likely to return to the lineup from suspension, but new signee Cyprian Kachwele may need to wait another week before he enters the starting 11.

Predicted Lineup:

Goalie: Yohei Takaoka

Defense: Javain Brown, Mathias Laborda, Tristan Blackmon

Midfield: Alessandro Schopf, Andres Cubas, Pedro Vite, Ryan Raposo

Forwards: Fafa Picault, Brian White, Ryan Gauld

• H2H (last five games): This marks the first meeting ever between these two teams in MLS play.
• Inter Miami on the road: Miami is 4-1-2 on the road in MLS play this season.
• Vancouver at home: United is 2-2-2 at home in MLS play this season.
• Miami’s dominance: The Herons have outscored opponents by a total of 20-8 during their current seven game unbeaten streak.
• Messi & Suarez: Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi both sit in the top 5 in goals scored this season. Suarez currently owns 11 scores, while Messi is just one back with 10.

It’s difficult to see the Whitecaps bucking their recent trends against the surging Herons. Most betting sites seem to agree with relatively short odds available for the Vancouver moneyline or a draw. Miami has not lost when Messi and Suarez play 90 minutes as the two have combined for 21 scores in MLS play. Now that Jordi Alba is back in defense, Vancouver will have to contend with even more attacking options as Alba has a propensity to make dangerous runs from his outside back position.

Rather than focus on a winner, however, I’m eyeing the total in this match. Vancouver has been unable to create and finish chances over the last month of the season. Under normal circumstances, Miami would have been a good opposition to face for a team in search of an offensive spark. However, with Jordi Alba back on the pitch, Miami’s defense has been more than formidable the past few weeks.

As for Miami, its attack has been slightly neutralized of late, even with Messi’s return to the lineup last week. Tack on a 6.5 hour flight and the 2,800 miles between Florida and northwest Canada and that trend could very well continue this Saturday.

Under 3.5 Goals (-162) | Bet365

For the first time this season, we’re going with an under on the total number of goals in an Inter Miami match. After a streak of seven straight games with at least four goals, Miami has played in two straight games with just one total goal scored by either team between them both. With its defense gaining strength and Vancouver’s inability to find the back of the net, another clean sheet for goalie Drake Calendar could be in the works. I’m taking under 3.5 goals scored despite the short odds in return for a successful cash.