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The legendary Lionel Messi is back in action Sunday, May 18, when Inter Miami hosts Orlando City SC in MLS action. Messi has scored five goals and two this season for Inter Miami, which is coming off a 3-3 draw with San Jose. Orlando is also coming off a draw, an 0-0 affair with the Chicago Fire. 

Kickoff from Chase Stadium is set for 7 p.m. ET. Inter Miami are -110 favorites (wager $110 to win $100) on the money line in regular time at DraftKings Sportsbook, while Orlando City is +250 (wager $100 to win $250). A draw is +275 and the total is 3.5 (Over +150, Under -175). 

Before making any Inter Miami vs. Orlando City bets of your own, make sure to see what expert Jon Eimer has to say about this contest, including his top MLS picks. Eimer is a high-volume bettor who has vast knowledge of leagues and players across the globe. Since joining SportsLine, he has covered the English Premier League, Serie A, the FA Cup and much more. Eimer finished 2023 as SportsLine's top soccer expert with a 248-234-12 (+25.93u) mark.

Here is Jon Eimer's full analysis and best bets for Inter Miami vs. Orlando City:

Inter Miami vs. Orlando City best bets

  • Both teams to score + Over 2.5 goals. -120 (1u)
  • Orlando City to score in the first half +110 (1u)
  • Orlando City to score in the second half -125 (1u)

Miami's struggling recent form

I know that every time we see this Miami side take the pitch we want to talk about the all stars. Lionel Messi, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and more still are with the hosts. When we see so many big names, we want to almost automatically bet on them. And while that's not a bad strategy, we need to talk about their recent form. Inter Miami is having a decent season, however, they have only won one of their last six matches across all competitions, which was a 4-1 victory over New York Red Bulls. This is a team that is scoring goals, but its poor defense has made it difficult for this team to secure any points. They conceded four goals to Minnesota, three goals to San Jose, four goals to FC Dallas and five goals to Vancouver over two matches in the CONCACAF semi-final. Expect Miami to score goals like they always do, but their defensive form will continue to make them hard to back.

Poor defense on both ends 

We've already talked about Inter Miami's lack of defense in recent months, and the problem with this match is that Orlando isn't much better. Miami have conceded 18 goals in 12 games, while Orlando has conceded 16 over their 13 matches. Both sides are pumping goals in this season and are heavily relying on their offense to get the job done. Orlando have seen a total of 15 goals in their last three matches after a series of nil-nil matches. Both of these teams will be desperate to correct their form and turn things around, but I can't pick a winner between these two teams, and the only thing I want to bet on here is goals.