Lionel Messi will look to continue his sizzling play Thursday when he leads Inter Miami into a clash against Robert Lewandowski and the host Chicago Fire.
Inter Miami (12-4-7, 43 points) cling to second place in the Eastern Conference despite a 1-2-3 stretch over their last six matches. The Herons reside five points ahead of third-place Chicago (11-6-5, 38 points), which has gone unbeaten (3-0-3) in its last six.
More than 61,000 tickets have been sold for the rare visit from Messi, who became the first player in MLS history to record 30 goal contributions in three separate seasons when he notched two assists in Inter Miami's 2-2 draw against Atlanta United on Saturday. The 39-year-old Argentine shares the MLS lead with 18 goals to go with his league-best 12 assists.
Brazilian star Casemiro scored in his second straight match and Luis Suarez also tallied against Atlanta.
"As a team, things haven't gone our way lately," Inter Miami midfielder Telasco Segovia said Tuesday. "We've had chances we have not finished. But we're a team with very good players, and we will get ourselves out of this. They are a strong team, in third place, playing well, and we want to beat them to widen the gap."
Suarez tallied twice to help the Herons overcome an early own goal in a 3-2 victory over the Fire on July 22 in Miami. The Herons played without Messi (post-World Cup break) in that match and spoiled Lewandowski's MLS debut.
The Fire collected their third straight draw with a 4-4 stalemate with Toronto FC on Saturday.
Lewandowski, 38, had a goal and an assist to boost his totals to five and two, respectively, in his eight MLS appearances since arriving from FC Barcelona.
"These are the games it's really easy to get up for, the games you mark on your calendars at the beginning of the year," said Fire coach Gregg Berhalter. "Miami's used to playing in front of a lot of people, but I have to say, since Robert arrived, we've been playing in front of packed stadiums also."
Maren Haile-Selassie tallied twice against Toronto to give him a team-best 15 goal contributions (seven goals, eight assists). He has scored four goals in the Fire's last three matches.
Wednesday's match is expected to be memorable for 22-year-old defender Noah Allen, who played 90 league matches for Inter Miami before he was loaned to the Fire last week.
The Herons again will turn to Guillermo Hoyos on the sideline as new head coach Cristian "Kily" Gonzalez awaits his work visa.