Inter Miami Oppo Research: New York Red Bulls

+ Plus a list of players unavailable due to international duty

photo credit: New York Red Bulls

---

Welcome back to another edition of “Oppo Research” where I preview every opponent Inter Miami will face during the 2024 MLS regular season campaign.

It’s been a minute since I’ve done this, mainly because Miami’s schedule has been so tight that I didn’t want to spam everyone’s inbox with semi-daily newsletters, haha!

Unless you all would like that, then it’s something that I can think about doing!

Anywho, this weekend, the Herons take on the New York Red Bulls. However, due to injuries and international duty, they’ll have to do so without Messi and several other players.

Conversely, the Red Bulls will also be without a myriad of their key players.

---

• Manager: Sandro Schwarz

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

• Previous Result: 3-0 loss to the Columbus Crew

• Players Out Due to International Duty: John Tolkin (LB), Daniel Edelman (CM), Carlos Coronel (GK), Emil Forsberg (CM), Noah Eilie (CB), Cory Burke (FWD.)

• Incoming Transfers:

  • Emil Forsberg, 30, attacking midfielder. Joined RBNY after eight years at RB Leipzig.

  • Noah Eile, 21, center-back. The 6’5’ defender is an absolute unit. He arrived to MLS after spending his development years at Malmo.

  • Dennis Gjengaar, 20, winger. U22 signing for the Red Bulls. Not quite a starter, but has the talent to work his way into the starting eleven.

• Key Players:

  • Lewis Morgan, 27, winger/forward. A familiar face to Inter Miami supporters. The Scotland international played for the Herons from 2020 to 2021 before being traded to the Red Bulls just ahead of the 2022 season.

  • Andres Reyes, 24, center-back. Like Morgan, Andres Reyes is another player who donned the pink and black of Inter Miami in the 2020 season. Both Lewis and Andres will likely be starting against their former team this weekend.

  • Frankie Amaya, 23, midfielder. Amaya is a crafty midfielder who likes to carry the ball from deep into the final third, sort of like a deep-lying playmaker. Will likely be the focal point of attack alongside Lewis Morgan with Forsberg out.

• Weaknesses:

  • After scouring the Red Bull Subreddit after their loss to the Crew, many fans expressed frustration at the defense, specifically right-back Kyle Duncan, for their subpar performances:

“Duncan got destroyed on the right-hand side tonight. Gonna be a long season for him after the other teams watch this game’s tape,” one fan said.

“Duncan was horrible, Reyes wasn’t good either. Stroud shouldn’t be played so high up the field; he possesses no attacking threat,” another supporter echoed.

---

The Herons Go International

Here are all the players that will miss Inter Miami’s weekend clash vs. NYRB:

• Drake Callender (USA)

• Diego Gomez (Paraguay)

• Federico Redondo (Argentina U23s)

• David Ruiz (Honduras)

• Shanyder Borgelin (Haiti)

• Israel Boatwright (Dominican Republic)

• Lionel Messi (injured)

• Nicolás Freire (injured)

• Leonardo Campana is questionable with an adductor injury.

---

How do you think Inter Miami will do against the Red Bulls? Let’s discuss it in the comments!