New York City FC vs. Inter Miami CF 10/17/22 - Major League Soccer Picks & Predictions

New York City FC hosts Inter Miami CF on Monday in round one of the MLS Cup playoffs. New York City FC finished third in the Eastern Conference table at 16-7-11 on 55 points with a goal difference of +16. New York is playing for the seventh consecutive time in the postseason. Three of New York's last five matches played during the playoffs have ended in penalties.

New York won each of its final three matches of the last regular season but prior to that had just one victory over a 10-match stretch that included two draws and seven losses. New York has had four streaks of three wins or more and three streaks of at least four consecutive winless matches. Talles Magno, Heber and Gabriel Pereira each scored seven goals to lead NYCFC, while Santiago Rodriguez was the leader in assists with 11.

Inter Miami CF finished sixth in the Eastern Conference table at 14-6-14 on 48 points with a goal difference of -9. Inter Miami has reached the playoffs for the first time in a full-schedule season. Miami played in the postseason in 2020 but that was with a reduced schedule. Miami had just two victories over its first 15 road matches with three draws and 10 losses.

However, Miami won its final two matches of the season on the road with victories over DC United and Toronto. Miami has won  two straight matches on the road just twice in club history with the other being in 2021 with victories at Cincinnati and Toronto. Gonzalo Higuain is the leading goal scorer for Miami with 16 and Leonardo Campana has scored 11. Bryce Duke is the leader in assists with five.