D.C. United Expecting Reaction From Messi and Inter Miami After Five-Game MLS Winless Run
Weiler Braces for a Backs-to-the-Wall Miami
D.C. United head coach Rene Weiler is steeling his side for a backlash when they travel to Nu Stadium on Saturday to face an Inter Miami team desperate to halt a five-game winless run in MLS.
Miami have not won any of their last five league matches, drawing four in a row before slipping to a 2-1 defeat at the Columbus Crew on September 27. Despite that slump, Weiler is under no illusions about the threat Javier Mascherano's men will pose once MLS action resumes following the international break.
"First, Miami are a good team. And they lost their last game against Columbus, which makes the task a little more complicated than it already was," Weiler told reporters. "They haven't had the best results lately, so they have to show a reaction. There's no option for them other than to win against us."
The D.C. boss added: "So, it will be a tough game, a great game featuring good players. The weather conditions and all the rest will be the same for both teams.
"We hope we can play a good game, and of course, we need the best performances from all our players, otherwise it will be more than just difficult."
Messi Brilliant, But Miami Stalling
Miami's struggles have come in spite of Lionel Messi's extraordinary output. The Argentine captain has been directly involved in at least one goal in 10 straight matches in all competitions for the club, racking up 10 goals and five assists in that span. It is the eighth time in his career he has registered a goal contribution in 10 or more consecutive club games, and the second time he has done so for Miami, having previously enjoyed an 11-game streak between February and May 2024.
Messi also scored on his final appearance for Argentina in midweek, an emotional farewell outing, as reported on October 9. According to a FotMob snapshot from the 2026 MLS season, Messi has 21 goals and 11 assists in 24 league appearances this term.
Even so, the Herons' form has deserted them. Their barren sequence began after a 7-1 demolition of CF Montreal on August 29 and now stands at four draws and one defeat, following on from an October 2026 report in which head coach Kily Gonzalez blamed refereeing decisions during the Columbus loss.
The Playoff Picture
Miami sit third in the Eastern Conference but their hopes of reclaiming the Supporters' Shield are effectively over, with the club 14 points behind Nashville SC and only seven regular-season games remaining.
D.C., meanwhile, are 11th in the East, two places and three points adrift of the playoff spots. They have gone three matches without a win — two draws and a defeat — since beating the Crew 2-1 in early September, most recently playing out a 3-3 draw with the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Yet they remain firmly in a congested postseason scrap: every team between seventh and 13th in the Eastern Conference is separated by just five points.
"We want to try to become better daily. That is the main reason we have the training sessions, and we spoke about the young players – there are different skills they have to improve," Weiler said. "Then, we'll try to become better as a team. But we had some players away from the team in the last two weeks. We'll also have to manage the workload because our squad is tight and we have a lot of games in a row."
Players to Watch
Inter Miami – Lionel Messi
Always the headline act, Messi heads into the weekend having contributed a goal or assist in each of Miami's last five MLS games. Remarkably, this is the first time in his career that his side has gone winless in five straight league matches while he has appeared, across 655 career games in LaLiga, Ligue 1 and MLS.
D.C. United – Tai Baribo
Baribo has been D.C.'s chief goal threat this year, netting 14 times — eight more than their next-most prolific player, Louis Munteanu, on six goals. The broader attacking numbers make grim reading for the visitors: since the beginning of the 2025 season, D.C. United have scored just 64 goals in 60 matches, fewer than any other MLS team.
By contrast, Messi — despite playing 52 fewer games — has been involved in 19 more regular-season goals than the entire D.C. squad since the start of last year, with 83 (50 goals, 33 assists).
Head-to-Head and Prediction
Miami have won four of their last five meetings with D.C. (one draw), including the last two in a row, after winning just one of the teams' first seven encounters (two draws, four defeats). The Herons have also won all three matches against D.C. in which Messi has featured, including a 2-1 victory in Baltimore on March 7.
History weighs heavily in Miami's favour, too: D.C. have won only two of their last 15 regular-season matches (nine draws, four defeats) since a 2-0 win over New York City in early May, and their 11 victories since the start of last season are the fewest in MLS in that period.
Opta's win probability model makes Kily Gonzalez's side overwhelming favourites:
- Inter Miami – 63.7%
- D.C. United – 17%
- Draw – 19.3%
Match prediction: Inter Miami win.