Buoyed by the return of captain Jonathan Osorio and Richie Laryea from Copa America and having finally snapped a nine-game winless run, Toronto FC looks to consolidate a post-season position with 10 games remaining in the MLS regular season.
The playoff push starts with two challenging road games, however, as John Herdman's team visits Inter Miami on Wednesday and CF Montreal on Saturday.
Toronto (8-13-3, 27 points) currently sits eighth in the Eastern Conference and needs to pick up points if it wants to separate itself from the pack chasing the eighth- and ninth-place wild-card berths. Nashville (6-9-8, 26 points) currently occupies ninth.
Montreal, Atlanta, D.C. United, New England and Chicago go into weekend play in 10th through 14th place, respectively, with Montreal just one point below Toronto and Chicago five points adrift. And all but D.C. have at least a game in hand on TFC.
Toronto snapped a six-game losing streak and nine-game winless run (0-7-2) with a 2-1 comeback win Saturday at BMO Field over the slumping Philadelphia Union. Herdman's team had not won in league play since a 5-1 decision over Montreal on May 18.
Osorio and Laryea have missed TFC's last seven games while away with Canada. Laryea, meanwhile, has seen just 81 minutes of action with Toronto this season due to a hamstring injury that required surgery.
Their return means Herdman can finally see "a bit of depth" in his squad.
"You can start looking at two games ahead," he said. "Miami's always going to be a tough game on the road, but we've got a six-point match on the Saturday against Montreal. That's a massive game given where both teams are in the standings.
"So for us, we're excited. There's a lot of energy in the building, particularly with the two Canadian lads returning and returning with a bit of glory and some records that they've been able to make. And bringing that energy in. But the team is pretty upbeat after the weekend as well."
Miami (14-4-5 47 points) sits second in the East and Supporters' Shield standings and had occupied first before its last outing, a 6-1 drubbing July 6 at FC Cincinnati that caused the teams to swap places in the standings.
Toronto will avoid two of Miami's biggest stars.
A distraught Lionel Messi exited in the 64th minute of Sunday's Copa America final with an apparent ankle injury. The 37-year-old Argentine icon still got to hoist the trophy after the World Cup champions edged Colombia 1-0.
Asked about the possibility of Messi being available to face Toronto, Miami coach Tata Martino said, through an interpreter: "I think there is none, based on how I see the ankle."
The league's official injury report confirmed that later Tuesday, with Facundo Farias and Nicolas Freire also out. Midfielder Benjamin Cremaschi is away on international duty, gearing up for the Paris Olympics with the United States.
Former Barcelona star Sergio Busquets is suspended after being sent off in the 62nd minute of the Cincinnati loss, shown a second yellow card after complaining about the first.
Missing five starters, Miami conceded six goals for the first time in club history in Cincinnati.
Veteran forward Luis Suarez is back and healthy for Miami after scoring a stoppage-time equalizer Saturday against Canada that forced a penalty shootout in the Copa third-place game, eventually won by the South Americans.
Toronto's injured list includes wingback Tyrese Spicer and midfielders Brandon Servania and Alonso Coello.
Miami leads the league with 51 goals, averaging 2.22 a game, compared to Toronto which ranks 22nd at 1.33 goals a game. Miami has scored 28 of those goals at home, which is just four fewer than TFC's total at home and on the road.
"We know they'll score goals at home regardless of who goes there," said Herdman. "So this is a tough match. Even without their DPs (designated players), they've been able to show a cutting edge in their home matches."
Miami went 4-1-0 without Messi and Suarez.
Toronto, which is 2-7-3 away from BMO Field in league play this season, ranks 25th in the league is scoring on the road averaging 0.75 goals a game.
Herdman said he will be careful with Laryea's minutes, While the Toronto DP saw action in all six of Canada's Copa America games, he has played the full 90 minutes just once this season — and that was last time out against Uruguay when he served as Canada captain.
But he expects the fiery Laryea to make a difference.
"When he's dialed in, on both ends defending and attacking, he's top- top-level," said Herdman.
Miami leads the overall series with Toronto with a 6-2-0 record with both TFC wins coming in Toronto. Miami won 4-0 the last time the two met, last September at Chase Stadium.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 16, 2024.
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
