Inter Miami Oppo Research: Colorado Rapids

+ Update on Messi and a timeline of Robert Taylor's return.

photo credit: Colorado Rapids

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Hey guys! Welcome back to another edition of “Oppo Research” where I give you all a preview of every opponent Inter Miami will have during the 2024 MLS regular season.

This weekend, the Herons will take on the Colorado Rapids. It will be the first time in club history that Miami will play the Western Conference side.

After the 1-1 draw last week against NYCFC, the men in pink will undoubtedly look forward to potentially getting back into the win column on Saturday.

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• Manager: Chris Armas

• Projected Formation XI vs. Inter Miami: 4-2-3-1

• Previous Result: 3-2 win vs. LAFC

• Current Record: 2W-2D-2L

• Key Players:

  • Djordje Mihailovic, 25, attacking midfield. Going to be Colorado’s main danger man in attack. The US international is coming off an impressive two-goal performance against LAFC and will look to continue his good form.

  • Cole Basset, 22, central midfield. 1/2 of the Rapids’ double pivot in midfield, expect Basset to do the dirty work through the center of the park.

  • Zach Steffen, 29, goalkeeper. The ex-Manchester City goalie will be the man between the sticks for Chris Armas. Though he may not be as highly rated as he once was in the past, Steffen is still plenty good enough to stymie Miami’s attack on Saturday.

  • Rafael Navarro, 23, forward. Though the Brazilian has only scored once so far this season, Miami will need to keep close tabs on the attacker if they want to keep a clean sheet.

• Weaknesses:

Like, seemingly, every other MLS team, Rapids fans on Reddit seem to be worried about the team’s inconsistency:

“We seem to be losing games we ought to win and winning ones we’d normally be expected to lose. Djordje has been very concerning but hopefully after tonight he’ll be more in form and maybe this team will really start to click,” one fan said after their late comeback win over LAFC.

Another supporter took the opposite approach, stating that the Rapids have the talent to be a top team, but just need to get things together:

“I think what any Rapids fan should really want is for them to be enjoyable to watch — worth the time, respectable, play with some character. That’s what they look like right now, so I think the credit has to go to Armas. It’s not one or two guys carrying the load. It’s everybody showing up.”

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Updates on Messi, Robbie Taylor:

According to the Miami Herald, Robert Taylor will be out for a few weeks with a Grade One hamstring strain.

Regarding Messi, the coaching staff hasn’t ruled him out of the match against the Rapids. The Argentine trained with the full group, feeling better with each training session. He could potentially play some minutes this Saturday should he feel fit enough.

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Do you think Miami will get a good result against the Rapids this weekend? Let’s discuss it in the comments!