Inter Miami welcome New York City FC to Chase Stadium on Saturday night for a high-profile matchup to crown an Eastern Conference champion and determine which team advances to MLS Cup.
Miami comes off a dominant 4–0 win over FC Cincinnati in the Eastern Conference semifinal and is in its first-ever Conference final. Meanwhile, they come up against an NYCFC side riding high after knocking out the Supporters' Shield-winning Philadelphia Union with a 1–0 result in their Eastern Conference semifinal clash.
The winner of Saturday's matchup earns a spot in MLS Cup on Dec. 6 against the winner of the Western Conference, which pits San Diego FC and Vancouver Whitecaps FC against each other later on Saturday.
Here is Sports Illustrated’s guide to the Eastern Conference final.
What Time Does Inter Miami vs. New York City FC Kick-Off?
- Location: Fort Lauderdale
- Stadium: Chase Stadium
- Date: Saturday, Nov. 29
- Kick-Off Time: 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT
New York City FC vs. Inter Miami Head-to-Head Record (All-Time)
- Inter Miami: 2 wins
- New York City FC: 7 wins
- Draws: 4
Previous Meeting: New York City FC 0–4 Inter Miami (Sept. 24, 2025)—MLS Regular Season
Current Form (All Competitions)
How to Watch Inter Miami vs. New York City FC on TV
Inter Miami Team News
Inter Miami are playing the best soccer they have since Lionel Messi joined the team and are the heavy favorites of the four remaining teams in the 2025 MLS Cup playoffs. Yet, they will need to navigate past New York City FC first to earn that honor––and if they do, they’d welcome the final showdown to their home turf as well.
If Miami do not win MLS Cup, it would make 2025 just the second year in Messi’s career not to win a team trophy. At the same time, there’s an added intensity to their approach with the looming retirement of Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, who have been among the team’s best performers in the playoff run so far.
Fans should expect a very similar, if not identical lineup to that one that played against Cincinnati, with the only potential change being Ian Fray returning to the starting right back role, after Marcelo Weigandt played there against Cincinnati, due to Fray’s slight injury while representing Jamaica.
So far, it has been a playoffs where Javier Mascherano has notably grown as a manager. Although the adjustment to not start a struggling and immobile Luis Suárez was initially forced due to suspension, he stuck with 19-year-old Mateo Silvetti up top last match, and it paid off.
Look for Messi to be relied upon once again and to build on his six goals and six assisi in four matches so far. He should be able to continue playing through the lines, primarily targeting Silvetti and Tadeo Allende as well.
On the injury side, Miami will only miss David Ruiz and Ryan Sailor.
Inter Miami Predicted Lineup
Inter Miami Predicted Lineup vs. NYCFC (4-3-3): Ríos Novo; Fray, Maximiliano Falcón, Noah Allen, Alba; De Paul, Busquets, Baltasar Rodriguez, Allende, Messi, Silvetti
New York City FC Team News
New York City FC would have a much better chance in this game if they could turn to leading scorer Alonso Martinez. Unfortunately for manager Pascal Jansen’s side, the talismanic forward suffered a season-ending injury while playing World Cup qualifiers with Costa Rica.
It leaves NYCFC without many options when it comes to goalscoring. In the semifinal, 38-year-old Maxi Moralez stepped up with the winning strike, but he has not been as consistent as years past with him reaches the twilight of his career.
Should they find victory, one of summer signing Nicolas Fernández or Hannes Wolff will likely need to hit the scoresheet. Fernández will need to work off Moralez up front, while Wolff may have to gamble with a more attacking approach to bring out the qualities that got him 11 regular-season goals in 33 games.
Outside of the potential of those three, things get dire on the attack side. That’s where the importance of defense comes in. Maybe NYCFC can grab two goals, and conceding just one is a possibility, while a clean sheet seems impossible against a Miami side scoring at a record clip.
Coming off a five-save performance against Philadelphia, expect U.S. men’s national team backstop Matt Freese to be called upon several times throughout the match, likely on some very difficult opportunities as well.
Lineup wise, don’t expect too many changes from the game against Philadelphia, other than midfielder Aidan O’Neill coming back into the squad after serving a suspension.
On the injury front, they will be without Martinez, Keaton Parks, Malachi Jones, or Andrés Perea.
New York City FC Predicted Lineup
New York City FC Predicted Lineup vs. Inter Miami (4-4-2): Freese; Gray, Martins, Haak, Raul; Ojeda, O'Neill, O'Toole, Wolf; Fernández Mercau, Moralez
Inter Miami vs. New York City FC Score Prediction
Inter Miami won't be able to play through New York City FC in the same ways they did against Nashville SC and FC Cincinnati, but they simply have too much talent playing too well right now. At the same time, it's hard to see where NYCFC will get enough goals and there's little chance, even with Freese, that they keep a clean sheet.
More goal contributions for Messi in his stellar form as Alba and Busquets look towards hosting MLS Cup in their final match.
READ THE LATEST MLS NEWS, TRANSFER RUMORS AND GOSSIP
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Inter Miami vs. New York City FC: MLS Cup Eastern Conference Final–Preview, Predictions and Lineups .
