Columbus Crew v Inter Miami: Preview, expected line-ups, stats and where to watch

Columbus Crew face Inter Miami in the MLS on Sunday. Read our in-depth preview here.

Columbus Crew v Inter Miami: Preview, expected line-ups, stats and where to watch
Major League Soccer, Round 27
Columbus Crew COL
2 – 1
Full Time
Inter Miami
venue
ScottsMiracle-Gro Field
referee
Victor Rivas
Josef Martínez 28′ (Pen) Jamal Thiare 90+8′
ball
Lionel Messi 33′

Preview for Columbus Crew v Inter Miami

Inter Miami will look to strengthen their position near the top of the MLS Eastern Conference when they travel to ScottsMiracle-Gro Field to face Columbus Crew on Sunday night.

The Crew moved up to 13th with a 2-0 win over CF Montreal last weekend, while Miami were held to a 2-2 draw by San Diego FC and remain second in the East on goal difference.

Columbus still have plenty of ground to make up if they are to reach the MLS playoffs for a fourth successive season.

Laurent Courtois’ side are seven points below the play-offs with four teams between them and a place in the post-season, leaving little room for further dropped points.

Columbus have never completed an MLS regular season unbeaten against Miami, but a win or draw on Sunday would change that record for the first time.

Miami’s recent league form has also been below the standards they set earlier in the campaign.

The Herons have gone four MLS matches without a win, drawing their last four fixtures, and three of those games saw them surrender a second-half lead.

That run has seen Miami lose ground on Eastern Conference leaders Nashville, although they remain second and have a chance to strengthen their position in the race for home advantage in the play-offs.

The Major League Soccer Table

Major League Soccer 2026

USA

Eastern Conference

# Team Played Won Drawn Lost GF GA GD Pts Last 5
1 Nashville SC 27 18 6 3 55 21 34 60
W W D L D
2 New England Revolution 27 14 4 9 45 36 9 46
L W W W L
3 Inter Miami 27 12 10 5 64 50 14 46
L D D D W
4 Charlotte 27 12 7 8 47 38 9 43
L W D W D
5 Chicago Fire 26 12 6 8 46 38 8 42
W L L D D
6 Philadelphia Union 27 11 6 10 54 44 10 39
W W W W W
7 Orlando City SC 27 10 4 13 48 64 -16 34
L L W W W
8 New York Red Bulls 27 9 6 12 34 51 -17 33
L W W L D
9 New York City FC 27 8 9 10 41 36 5 33
D L W L D
10 FC Cincinnati 26 8 9 9 55 64 -9 33
L D D L L
11 DC United 26 6 12 8 34 42 -8 30
D L D W D
12 Columbus Crew 27 8 5 14 39 43 -4 29
W W L L W
13 Toronto FC 27 6 11 10 39 51 -12 29
L L L W D
14 Atlanta United FC 27 7 6 14 32 45 -13 27
D W D L L
15 CF Montreal 27 6 6 15 34 54 -20 24
W L L L L
  • Position 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 : Promotion – MLS (Play Offs: 1/8-finals)
  • Position 8, 9 : Promotion – MLS (Play Offs: 1/16-finals)

Team News for Columbus Crew v Inter Miami

Columbus will again be without Wessam Abou Ali, who continues to recover from a cruciate ligament injury.

Chase Adams, Nicholas Hagen, Steven Moreira, Cole Mrowka and Gonzalo Tapia are also unavailable after being called up for international duty.

Inter Miami will be without Tadeo Allende due to a knee injury, while Israel Boatwright remains sidelined with a cruciate ligament problem.

Yannick Bright is suspended after collecting enough yellow cards.

Miami also have several players away with their respective national teams, including Alexander Shaw, Dayne St. Clair, Daniel Pinter, Loven’s Delinois, Matias Galarza, Rodrigo De Paul, Fricio Caicedo and German Berterame.

Expected line-ups for Columbus Crew v Inter Miami

Columbus Crew: Schulte; Farsi, Bailly, Zawadzki, Amundsen; Lennon, Gomes, Habroune, Mendez; Rodriguez, Martinez.

Inter Miami: Rios Novo; Mura, Micael, Falcon, Reguilon; Ayala, Casemiro, Morales; Plambeck, Suarez, Silvetti.

Columbus Crew Inter Miami

3-4-3
Tactical Formation
3-4-3
28 Schulte
3 Bailly
25 Zawadzki
18 Amundsen
23 Farsi
16 Habroune
7 Chambost
21 Zaroury
10 Méndez
77 Martínez
8 Rodríguez
10 Messi
9 Suárez
56 Pinter
4 Mura
7 Paul
42 Bright
3 Reguilón
2 Luján
5 Casemiro
16 Micael
34 Novo

Substitutions

  • 4 R. Camacho
  • 24 E. Bush
  • 17 S. Bangoura
  • 19 J. Thiaré
  • 2 M. Herrera
  • 50 T. Karumanchi
  • 26 L. Giaccone
  • 11 B. Lennon
  • 12 Cesar Ruvalcaba
  • Idoh Zeltzer-Zubida 47
  • Ezequiel Abadia-Reda 76
  • D. Ayala 22
  • L. Barraza 13
  • M. Falcón 37
  • Riquelme Fillipi 11
  • S. Morales 20
  • P. Plambeck 59
  • D. Sumalla 70

Recent Form & Stats for Columbus Crew v Inter Miami

  • Columbus are seven points below the current MLS playoff line.
  • The Crew have lost three of their last four home league matches.
  • Columbus have dropped 19 points from seven MLS matches in which they scored first this season.
  • Miami have drawn their last four MLS matches.
  • Miami have scored in each of their last six MLS matches.
  • Inter Miami have won three of their last four away meetings with Columbus.
  • Lionel Messi leads MLS with 20 goals and 13 assists.

Recent Results : Columbus Crew

  • Major League Soccer
    Columbus Crew COL
    W 2 – 1 2026-09-28
    Inter Miami
  • Major League Soccer
    CF Montreal MON
    W 0 – 2 2026-09-20
    Columbus Crew COL
  • Major League Soccer
    Columbus Crew COL
    L 0 – 1 2026-09-13
    New York Red Bulls YOR
  • Major League Soccer
    DC United UNI
    L 2 – 1 2026-09-10
    Columbus Crew COL
  • Major League Soccer
    Columbus Crew COL
    W 3 – 0 2026-09-06
    Colorado Rapids COL

Recent Results : Inter Miami

  • Major League Soccer
    Columbus Crew COL
    L 2 – 1 2026-09-28
    Inter Miami
  • Major League Soccer
    Inter Miami
    D 2 – 2 2026-09-21
    San Diego
  • Major League Soccer
    Inter Miami
    D 2 – 2 2026-09-13
    Nashville SC
  • Major League Soccer
    Chicago Fire CHI
    D 1 – 1 2026-09-10
    Inter Miami
  • Major League Soccer
    Inter Miami
    W 7 – 1 2026-08-30
    CF Montreal MON

Where to Watch Columbus Crew v Inter Miami: TV and online streams

Columbus Crew v Inter Miami will be shown live in the UK on Apple TV. The match will kick off at 12am BST on Monday, September 28, with the game starting at 7pm ET on Sunday, September 27.

Prediction for Columbus Crew v Inter Miami

Neither side arrives in particularly strong league form, with Columbus fighting to close the gap to the play-off places and Miami looking to end a run of four consecutive draws.

The Crew have home advantage and are coming off a win in Montreal, but Miami’s record in this fixture gives them reason to be confident.

Match Prediction

Columbus Crew
1 – 1
Inter Miami