Making their first appearance in the CONCACAF Champions Cup (CCC) round of 16, Cavalier will aim to cause a massive upset beginning on Thursday when they travel to Chase Stadium to face the tournament favourites Inter Miami in the first leg of that tie.
In the opening round, the Herons ousted Sporting Kansas City 4-1 on aggregate, while the reigning Jamaican Premier League champions earned a bye into this phase by capturing the 2024 Caribbean Cup.
Match preview
After a tight opening leg victory (1-0) in the cool conditions of Kansas City, Miami left no doubt in that return engagement, going up 3-0 at half time and advancing comfortably.
That means they are in the last 16 of this tournament for a second consecutive season, having advanced beyond this stage a year ago against Nashville SC (5-3 on aggregate).
Over the weekend, Javier Mascherano won his first MLS match as manager of this team, with the Herons defeating the Houston Dynamo 4-1.
Their 3-1 victory at home versus SKC last month was the first time the Argentine boss had won a match at home in normal time since taking charge of this team in late November 2024.
On Thursday, Miami can claim their first-ever Champions Cup victory against a non-MLS opponent, losing both of their quarter-final fixtures versus Monterrey at this tournament a year ago.
Since their 0-0 draw after 90 minutes with Peruvian side Universitario in late January, the Herons have netted a combined 20 goals in their last seven encounters, be it in friendlies, the regular season or this tournament.
For the first time, Cavalier are within two games of the Champions Cup quarter-finals after a narrow victory in the final of the 2024 CONCACAF Caribbean Cup last year.
Rudolph Speid enjoyed a great spell in charge of the Kingston-based squad last season, helping them win the league for the first time since 2021, claiming victory in their final three matches of that competition.
The 2024-25 campaign, however, has been a little tougher for them as they currently sit fourth in the table, 18 points below the leaders Mount Pleasant.
Cavalier are riding a three-match winning run away from home into this clash, with all of those victories coming in the Jamaican Premier League by a combined margin of 7-2.
At the previous Caribbean Cup, they failed to win their two matches played outside Jamaica, losing the second leg of their final tie at Cibao, who are from the Dominican Republic (2-1), but lifting the trophy on away goals (2-2 aggregate).
This will only be the second time they face an MLS side in this competition with Cavalier losing 6-0 on aggregate to FC Cincinnati last year, including a 4-0 defeat in Cincy.
- W
- D
- W
- W
- D
- W
- D
- W
- L
- W
Team News
In their weekend triumph over the Dynamo, Miami were without Marcelo Weigandt and Fafa Picault, both of whom sat out because of hamstring strains, while Ian Fray was red carded in that match but is eligible to play on Thursday.
Lionel Messi was also rested on Sunday but is likely to return to the fold on Thursday, having scored in each CCC match versus Sporting, with Tadeo Allende and Luis Suarez also netting in leg two of that tie.
On the Cavalier side, Shaquille Stein and Dwayne Atkinson played a big part in them making the Champions Cup last 16, with the former finishing as the top scorer of that tournament with eight goals, two more than the latter.
Jalmaro Calvin levelled their previous league contest against Chapelton with 20 minutes remaining before Stein notched the winner seven minutes from the end.
Inter Miami possible starting lineup:
Ustari; Fray, Aviles, Allen, Alba; Allende, Ruiz, Busquets, Segovia; Messi, Suarez
Cavalier possible starting lineup:
Barclett; Frazer, Laing, Talbert, Morgan, Ainsworth; Atkinson, Watson, San Millan; Oneil, Stein
We say: Inter Miami 6-0 Cavalier
It has been over a week since Cavalier last played a competitive fixture, and a side with little experience at this level could be in for a harsh reality against a ruthless Miami team that have rarely shown mercy to their opponents this year.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
body check tags ::
Previews by email
