Los Angeles FC vs Inter Miami CF Predictions

• Los Angeles FC won the Supporters Shield but were eliminated from the play-offs by Seattle Sounders.
• This is Inter Miami’s first game in their history as they enter their inaugural season.
• LAFC scored 85 times last season, an incredible 2.5 goals per game.
• Inter Miami have no previous records with this being their first-ever competitive game.

Los Angeles expects but can the Black and Gold replicate success?

Last season saw Los Angeles FC break all sorts of records as they ran away with the Western Conference and Supporters Shield in just their second MLS season. They were eliminated by eventual winners, Seattle Sounders, in the Western Conference final, just missing out on a MLS Cup appearance in what was one of the most successful seasons for a MLS team ever.

A huge part of their success was the form of Carlos Vela, with the attacker scoring 34 goals in 34 games as well as assisting a further 15 goals on his way to being named MVP. The squad has, understandably, not been changed much by head coach Bob Bradley and the experienced manager has trimmed the fat from the squad, with Kenneth Vermeer joining the team to add some much-needed experience in goal.

Last season, LAFC scored 85 times, averaging 2.5 goals a game and seeing matches featuring them average 3.6 goals a game. Their defensive record was just as impressive, conceding only 37 goals, the lowest total in the entire league. Their season was incredible from start to finish but they have a lot to live up to in 2020.

Inter Miami enter the league backed by David Beckham

Inter Miami enter their first-ever competitive game against the toughest opposition possible with LAFC welcoming them to the Banc of California Stadium. Expectations are low in the short term with Inter Miami expected to operate near the lower end of the table in their first season; but in the long term they are already being linked to some top-quality players and expectations will rise quickly.

The biggest challenge facing head coach, Diego Alonso, could be getting a whole new team of players gelling quickly; but he’s done well in mixing some experienced MLS players with a couple of quality additions from South America and Europe. Lee Nguyen and Matias Pellegrini will be the creative outlets in the side, while Julian Carranza will be expected to find the goals to make Inter Miami a success in season one.

Anything other than a home win would be a huge shock

This looks like a total mismatch on paper, with the all-conquering LAFC coming up against a side that hasn’t even played a competitive game in their history. It’s hard to assess Inter Miami due to their lack of history but it would be difficult to see them taking anything from this game as they continue to get to know each other as a group.

We’re backing LAFC to pick up the win here but such is their dominance, we expect them to pick up a very comfortable victory. Both the LAFC win and the over 2.5 goal market are too short to represent any real value so we’re going to combine the two to maximise value with our prediction being LAFC to win and over 2.5 goals in the match.

LAFC should really have a comfortable time of things this weekend but we can see Inter Miami putting up a bit of a fight in their inaugural MLS encounter. Ultimately, the home side should be too strong for the Florida outfit to overcome and we’re predicting this game ends with LAFC as easy winners, with a 3-1 scoreline.