Columbus Crew vs Inter Miami: Preview, predictions, team news | OneFootball

The Leagues Cup Round of 16 begins as reigning champions Inter Miami travel up north to take on current MLS Cup winners Columbus Crew.

Columbus made their way into the Round of 16 after their 4-0 thrashing of Western Conference club Sporting Kansas City at Lower.com Field. Star forward Diego Rossi was at the double while new midfielder Dylan Chambost bagged a late goal in his debut for his new team.

Miami's Round of 16 clash against Canadian side Toronto FC was anything but straightforward. The Herons just couldn't pull away from Toronto despite Jordi Alba grabbing and eye-popping four assists, and Miami will look to keep the momentum rolling when they take on the Crew as they await the return of Lionel Messi.

Here's 90min's preview of Columbus vs Inter Miami.

Columbus Crew vs Inter Miami H2H record (Last Five Games)

Last meeting: Inter Miami 2-1 Columbus Crew (19 June 2024) - MLS

Current form (all competitions)

How to watch Columbus Crew vs Inter Miami on TV and live stream

Columbus Crew team news

DeJuan Jones scored on his debut / Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

One of the Crew's newest additions in DeJuan Jones returned from a hamstring injury in time to make his debut against Sporting KC as he bagged a goal after coming on in the second half.

Columbus Crew predicted lineup vs Inter Miami

Columbus Crew predicted lineup vs Inter Miami ( 3-4-2-1 ): Schulte; Moreira, Camacho, Amundsen; Farsi, Nagbe, Zawadzki, Arfsten; Matan, Rossi; Hernandez.

Inter Miami team news

Miami are still without Messi / Megan Briggs/GettyImages

The Herons are still waiting on the return of the superstar Messi as the veteran forward is still dealing with an ankle injury. The Barcelona legend is on track to return later this month to help his team's quest in repeating as Leagues Cup champions.

Defender Hector Martinez -- who's on loan from Argentinian giants River Plater -- is set to miss the match through suspension after he picked up a second yellow card and was sent off in the first half against Toronto.

Inter Miami predicted lineup vs Columbus Crew

Inter Miami predicted lineup vs Columbus Crew ( 4-3-3 ): Callender; Weigandt, Busquets, Alba; Rojas, Bright, Redondo; Gressel, Suarez, Gomez.

Columbus Crew vs Inter Miami score prediction

Everything is pointing to an absolute classic on Tuesday night at Lower.com Field as two of the highest-scoring teams in MLS face off with a trip to the Quarter-finals at stake.

While Miami can match Columbus' attack even without Messi in the side, they don't have the same stable defense that the Crew have -- which could very well be the difference maker. The Crew will just about edge out Miami to kick out the current holders of the competition as they eye another piece of silverware under Wilfried Nancy.

Prediction: Columbus Crew 3-2 Inter Miami