ATLANTA — Atlanta United begins the Leagues Cup Group Stage on Tuesday when it faces Inter Miami CF at DRV PNK Stadium.
The match is set to kick-off at 7:30 p.m.
Leagues Cup is a World-Cup style competition in which all 47 MLS and LIGA MX clubs have paused their respective league seasons as attention turns to the start of the official Concacaf competition. The Leagues Cup Final will be played on August 19. The Leagues Cup 2023 champion and the second and third-place finishers will qualify for the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup.
Atlanta holds a 3-4-3 all-time record against Inter Miami CF in MLS regular season play. This will be the second meeting between the teams in 2023 as the Miami won the first match, in MLS play, 2-1 on May 6 at DRV PNK Stadium.
Atlanta will host Cruz Azul in its second and final Leagues Cup group stage match on Saturday, July 29 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The top two teams from each of the 15 groups will advance to the Round of 32.
Atlanta ranks second in MLS with 14 goals from set pieces this season while Miami has conceded a league-high 15 goals. Tuesday's match will also feature two of the league's best free kick artists. Thiago Almada leads MLS with three goals from direct free kicks this season while Lionel Messi scored from his first free kick opportunity in his Miami debut.
Giorgos Giakoumakis continues to lead MLS in goals per 90 minutes (min. 500 minutes) at a rate of .92, as the MLS All-Star has scored a team-best 10 goals in 977 minutes.
Miami is coming off a 2-1 victory against Cruz Azul at DRV PNK Stadium on Friday in the group's first match. After goals from Robert Taylor and Uriel Antuna left the match level in stoppage time, Messi scored the game-winning free kick to give Miami three points in the group.
