Inter Miami and Cincinnati face off for the second time in 10 days as Inter Miami look to pull level with the other sides in the Eastern Conference, having missed a few games to compete in the Club World Cup. Cincinnati ran out 3-0 winners in that meeting just under two weeks ago, but this match could be a more competitive encounter when considering the home and away records of these sides. 

Inter Miami have avoided defeat in eight of their 10 home games this season, scoring 24 goals across these fixtures (2.4 per game) but also conceding 16 (1.6 per game). Inter Miami have also seen BTTS in four of their last five matches.

Cincinnati boast the best away record in the Eastern Conference having won eight of their 13 games on the road. Interestingly, only one of these games has ended in a draw. Cincinnati may have scored 18 goals across these games, but they also shipped 17, which indicates a similar sort of situation to Inter Miami, increasing the chances of both teams finding the back of the net here.

Charlotte have found a pocket of form in recent weeks, which has aided their chances of qualifying for the Championship playoff at the end of the regular season. They’ve won each of their last three games - which includes two home victories. Charlotte’s home record is really impressive, they’ve won eight of their 11 games at home this season, losing just twice. This success is largely built off their solid structure at the back, only Nashville (9) and New York City (10) have conceded fewer goals at home.

By contrast, Toronto have struggled on the road this season. Robin Fraser’s side have managed to win just three of their 10 away games this season and haven’t been the most prolific across these games, with just 15 goals scored on their travels this term. This is a record that is unlikely to trouble the secure backline of Charlotte here.

The most recent meeting between these sides took place at the start of June and saw Charlotte run out 2-0 winners in a comfortable victory. Their dominance should be even clearer here when looking over their home record and recent form. Of the last five head-to-head meetings, Toronto have only come out on top on one occasion.

The battle at the top of the Eastern Conference in the MLS is one of the most exciting in recent history. Cincinnati currently lead the way with 48 points, but there is only a four point gap between the league leaders and Columbus in fourth, as well as a seven point gap between Cincinnati and Inter Miami, which could be cut further when Inter Miami have caught up from the games they missed at the Club World Cup. 

Philadelphia are right at the heart of this battle and have been the most convincing side in the Eastern Conference so far in my opinion. Recent back-to-back 1-0 losses against Nashville and Columbus did derail their progress slightly, but they appear to have found their feet again with two wins and a draw from their last three outings. Philadelphia have only lost one game at home this season, winning eight of their 12 assignments. 

They welcome a Colorado side that is progressing steadily in the Western Conference, but have struggled on the road this season. Colorado have only won two of their 11 games away from home this term - the most worrying part about this record for head coach Chris Armas is that they’ve only managed to score 13 goals across these games, which is far below the firepower required to compete with this Philadelphia side.

Vancouver have led the way in the Western Conference for the majority of the season but are now being more closely pursued by the likes of San Diego and Minnesota, who have managed to close the gap to Vancouver, setting up an interesting clash at the summit of the Western Conference. 

Vancouver have only lost two of their 10 home games this season, winning six of these encounters. They’ve scored 22 goals across these games (2.2 per game) which will be their main weapon here in picking apart a Kansas City side that have only won three of their 11 away games this season.

The most recent meeting between these sides took place in July last year and saw Vancouver run out 2-1 winners in a fairly comfortable victory. Kansas City have only come out on top in one of the last five head-to-head meetings between the sides.