Will Messi play today? Potential lineups for Inter Miami vs Atlanta United in MLS

Inter Miami and Atlanta United face off in Major League Soccer, and all eyes are on Lionel Messi.

Inter Miami have just two games left in the Major League Soccer regular season. The first comes this Saturday against Atlanta United at Chase Stadium, and unexpectedly, Lionel Messi could feature in the match.

The forward had joined Argentina’s training camp earlier this week ahead of their upcoming friendlies against Venezuela and Puerto Rico. However, on Friday night, it was announced that Leo would not take part in the first match and would instead be a spectator in the stands at Hard Rock Stadium.

Indeed, Messi watched from the sidelines as his teammates defeated Venezuela 1-0 thanks to a goal from Giovani Lo Celso, without even being on the bench. “It was my decision for Leo not to play,” explained head coach Lionel Scaloni after the match. “We wanted to test Lautaro (Martinez) and Julian (Alvarez)… We hope Leo can be available for the next game.”

With that in mind, speculation quickly grew over Messi’s potential involvement in Inter Miami’s match on Saturday. Being in the same city and having not played a single minute for Argentina, the forward is clearly available to feature. That now appears likely—especially considering Messi shared his usual matchday post on Instagram earlier today.

Inter Miami projected lineup

While the Herons are no longer in contention for the Supporters’ Shield, their two remaining regular-season games still carry significance. If they win both—against Atlanta United and Nashville SC—they will secure second place in the Eastern Conference, which would give them a more favorable playoff path.

With that goal in mind, head coach Javier Mascherano is expected to field his best available XI. The projected Inter Miami lineup: Oscar Ustari; Marcelo Weigandt, Gonzalo Lujan, Tomas Aviles, Jordi Alba; Baltasar Rodriguez, Sergio Busquets, Yannick Bright, Tadeo Allende; Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi.

Atlanta United projected lineup

Unlike Inter Miami, Atlanta United have nothing left to play for this MLS season. They sit second-to-last in the Eastern Conference standings with just 27 points, far from the play-in spots.

Head coach Ronny Deila’s projected lineup: Jayden Hibbert; Ashton Gordon, Stian Gregersen, Juan Berrocal, Dominik Chong Qui, Pedro Amador; Tristan Muyumba, Adyn Torres, Steven Alzate; Emmanuel Latte Lath, Jamal Thiare.