Cincinnati vs Inter Miami – Preview, CIN v MIA predicted lineups, will Lionel Messi play?

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will look for a fifth consecutive away win on Wednesday evening when they visit FC Cincinnati, which too often settles for a draw.

After a 3-4 home loss to Orlando City on May 2, in which Miami gave up a three-goal lead, the Herons returned to form in a 4-2 win at Toronto FC on Saturday afternoon.

And after an exceptionally difficult first spring in Major League Soccer (MLS) for Sergio Reguilon, in which knee and hamstring problems limited the Spaniard to four appearances in all competitions, the former Tottenham and Atletico Madrid full-back scored his first goal in a 23-minute shift from the Toronto bench after Messi’s fourth assist of the season.

Getting more regular contributions from the 29-year-old Reguilon could help Miami become a more consistent team on both ends of the court. His predecessor at left-back Jordi Alba was one of Messi’s most trusted confidantes during the 2023/25 seasons.

And now Reguilon believes he is in a position to do just that.

“I am in a serious and focused moment, I just want to spend as much time as possible on the field,” he said in Spanish. “I was a little frustrated with this start. But now I think I can see the light. I feel good again, my body feels good and recovered. So now it’s about finding the consistency I’ve been longing for.”

Cincinnati is undefeated – with four draws – in its last six games and gave back a two-goal halftime lead in a 2-2 draw against Charlotte FC on Saturday. Still, there were moments of promise on Wednesday night that manager Pat Noonan believes can translate into success.

“There were good stretches of one- and two-touch play where we moved from left to right and moved after the pressure in a coherent way, where it allowed us to control some of the transition moments and really connect with our play,” Noonan said.

Kevin Denkey and Evander combined to score 13 goals in their 22 appearances together. The defensive end has been the struggle, with Cincy allowing multiple goals in seven of the last nine league games.

(with input from Reuters)

Cincinnati vs Inter Miami predicted lineups:

FC Cincinnati: Celentano; Smith, Miazga, Robinson; Bucha, Valenzuela, Evander, Nwobodo, Ramirez; Dem, Denkey

InterMiami: St Clair; Mura, Falcon, Lujan, Reguilon; DePaul, Ruiz, Segovia; Messi, Suarez, Silvetti

Published on May 13, 2026