Luis Suarez returns from ban as Inter Miami aims to leapfrog NYCFC in standings
Luis Suarez returns to the Inter Miami roster on Wednesday night against New York City FC after serving a three-game suspension for spitting on a member of the Seattle Sounders staff following the Leagues Cup final three weeks ago.
He rejoins the team for an important conference matchup, as Miami can leapfrog NYCFC into third place in the East with a victory. Only six games remain in the regular season, and Inter Miami sits in fifth place, with three games in hand, determined to climb into the top four to secure home-field advantage for the playoffs.
Both teams won over the weekend, with New York currently fourth in the standings after a 2-0 win over Charlotte FC. Miami, led by two goals and an assist from Lionel Messi, beat D.C. United at home. Messi leads the MLS Golden Boot race with 22 goals in 22 games.
Wednesday’s match could be particularly challenging for Miami because it is being played on the narrow, cramped outfield at Citi Field, the home of the New York Mets. Messi and his teammates are at their best when they have space to create and pass. The confines of Citi Field will make that more difficult.
NYCFC, which normally plays at Yankee Stadium and is accustomed to playing on a baseball outfield, is 3-0 at Citi Field this season, and has not conceded a single goal in those games.
The last time Inter Miami played there, before Messi and his Barcelona teammates arrived, the team lost 3-0 to NYCFC in the opening round of the 2022 playoffs.
“We will prepare as always, we can’t control anything about the field or its dimensions,” Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano said Tuesday morning. “We are playing against a team with good results of late, a team on a very good stretch. It will be a very tough match.”
Having Suarez back in the attack will give Miami more options.
“Obviously Luis, throughout his entire career he’s gotten used to playing, so I can imagine that he is highly motivated and excited to play again,” Mascherano said.
“He’s trained with the team all this time. Yes, maybe some days, especially before matches, when training is perhaps a little short, he does something more, but Luis had been accumulating many, many matches, so the rest has also been good for him.”
Tadeo Allende broke out of a scoring slump and gave Miami a 1-0 lead over D.C. over the weekend after collecting an exquisite long pass from Messi. Allende said he had put in a lot of work, physical and mental, during the slump, and it was “a big relief, as a forward, to score again after so long.”
Forward Fafa Picault, who missed the past few games with a thigh injury, is traveling with the team and could make his return against NYCFC on Wednesday or on Saturday at Toronto (4:30 p.m. Apple TV). Inter Miami will fly directly from New York to Toronto.
Telasco Segovia will miss the game while serving a suspension for yellow-card accumulation.
Miami has struggled on the road recently, earning only one point in the last three games away from Chase Stadium and has given up three or more goals in six MLS road games this season.
“Earlier in the season, we had good results away from home, but clearly, one of our objectives now is to improve how we have been playing on the road of late,” Mascherano said. “Our past few road games we did not play well.”
Inter Miami has a crowded schedule coming up with four games over the next 11 days. After the road games at New York and Toronto the team returns to Chase Stadium on Sept. 30 to play the Chicago Fire and then hosts the New England Revolution on Oct. 4.
This story was originally published September 23, 2025 at 4:04 PM.