Inter Miami midfielder Mota out 4-6 months with knee injury
Inter Miami CF’s midfield must weather another massive injury blow. The club announced Thursday morning . The 29-year-old Brazilian got hurt in the fifth minute of Miami’s 2-1 win at the Columbus Crew last weekend and played the remainder of the match. Mota’s setback follows news in mid-March that captain and fellow deep-lying midfielder Gregore suffered a foot injury and could be out through mid-September. With Mota’s recovery timeline, he could be sidelined through roughly the same time period or longer.
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*The Plusometer is a scientific way to quantify the potential watchability of any given game on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, but can and will also be used for all other channels. Using the elements of "Potential for very good/entertainingly bad soccer," "Chances created," "Narrative," "Aesthetics" and "Totally subjective bonus points," I assign each element a score out of 10 and each game a score out of 50. Twenty-five is average potential. Fifty is greatest game of all-time potential. Yes, I do actually calculate each game. No, I don't know why. Respect for the form, maybe?
Charlotte FC vs. New York City FC - Sat., 7:30 pm ET
WATCH ON: Apple TV - Free
Plusometer Score: 27/50
Should be a good crowd. Should be a decent game. Should be… uh… blue?
Inter Miami CF vs. Atlanta United - Sat., 7:30 pm ET
WATCH ON: Apple TV - MLS Season Pass
Plusometer Score: 23/50
With Jean Mota’s injury, Inter Miami have lost their two most important midfielders. Rodolfo Pizarro is doubtful as well. This could be an interesting stretch for the Herons. And it might be just the kind of game Atlanta need to get their own midfield back into form.
CF Montréal vs. Orlando City SC - Sat., 7:30 pm ET
WATCH ON: Apple TV - MLS Season Pass
Plusometer Score: 22/50
Montréal haven’t been too bad as of late! Especially at home. This could be a tougher test for the Lions than they might be expecting. Or, also, it could be not that.
New York Red Bulls vs. Philadelphia Union - Sat., 7:30 pm ET
WATCH ON: Apple TV - MLS Season Pass
Plusometer Score: 29/50
The MLS Connoisseur’s Refined Palette game of the week. It’s for those of you that want to check in on the stats and see both teams have completed like 53% of their passes. I, for one, love this game.
Houston Dynamo FC vs. Real Salt Lake - Sat., 8:30 pm ET
WATCH ON: Apple TV - MLS Season Pass
Plusometer Score: 28/50
The “Houston are actually maybe good?” storyline continues to be very fun. Tune in while you can in my opinion.
Nashville SC vs. Chicago Fire FC - Sat., 8:30 pm ET
WATCH ON: Apple TV - MLS Season Pass
Plusometer Score: 25/50
Hello, fans of low-scoring games. Hi. Yes. You. This one. This is it. This is for you. You’re welcome.
LA Galaxy vs. Colorado Rapids - Sat., 10:30 pm ET
WATCH ON: Apple TV - MLS Season Pass
Plusometer Score: 21/50
If you’re still interested in seeing whether the Galaxy can dig themselves out of this hole, you can turn into this one. Otherwise… things just kind of feel bleak right now for LA. Maybe this is a turn-the-corner game?
Portland Timbers vs. Austin FC - Sat., 10:30 pm ET
WATCH ON: Apple TV - MLS Season Pass
Plusometer Score: 23/50
The Timbers took another big injury blow this week, losing midfielder David Ayala for the season. We’ll see how they respond against an Austin team that just hasn’t been on the level this year.
Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. Minnesota United FC - Sat., 10:30 pm ET
WATCH ON: Apple TV - MLS Season Pass
Plusometer Score: 25/50
The Whitecaps continue to play pretty good ball while seriously underperforming their underlying numbers. I don’t know if a game against a stingy Minnesota team is the right setting to get them going, but I remain very intrigued by the possibility they might eventually get it together and climb up the standings.
Seattle Sounders FC vs. Sporting Kansas City - Sun., 4:30 pm ET
WATCH ON: Apple TV - Free, FOX
Plusometer Score: 27/50
The last time these two teams played, Jordan Morris scored four times. That was pretty fun. You should check in on this one just to see if that’s happening again. And hey, doesn’t this one seem just lopsided enough to go full MLS and have SKC pull out their first win of the season? I’m just saying.
FC Cincinnati vs. D.C. United - Sat., 7:30 pm ET
WATCH ON: Apple TV - MLS Season Pass
Plusometer Score: 38/50
D.C. United have picked up three straight wins! Those three wins have come against… Montréal, Orlando and Charlotte.
I’ll just say this will be a little more of a test. Either way, the Black-and-Red look good as of late. At least effective. If they can give Cincy a game at TQL Stadium, then it might just be time to start buying into D.C. as an Audi MLS Cup Playoffs-caliber team.
Toronto FC vs. New England Revolution - Sat., 7:30 pm ET
WATCH ON: Apple TV - MLS Season Pass
Plusometer Score: 31/50
The underlying numbers and general vibes continue to suggest Toronto are at least a little better than their current record. A win over an excellent New England team would go a long way towards convincing me that “Toronto actually good?” is a sentiment worth having.
FC Dallas vs. St. Louis CITY SC - Sat., 8:30 pm ET
WATCH ON: Apple TV - MLS Season Pass
Plusometer Score: 35/50
You’ve got an early playoff preview here. These two are destined for the postseason. Are they destined for anything more than that? I don’t know, but it doesn’t quite seem like it so far.
Watching Dallas work through the St. Louis press could be… well, it doesn’t really seem ideal for Dallas to be honest. Unless of course they just take the blueprint everyone else has been following as of late and just let St. Louis have the ball. This should be an interesting barometer for both teams a third of the way through the season.
San Jose Earthquakes vs. LAFC - Sat., 7:30 pm ET
WATCH ON: Apple TV - MLS Season Pass
Plusometer Score: 40/50
I’m all in on San Jose as a playoff team and have been since the first half of the season against Atlanta. This is something a little more difficult. But they’re at playing before a big Levi’s Stadium crowd, they’ve got quality across the board and they should be up for the fight against a 2023 Concacaf Champions League finalist. This could be the best-played game of the weekend. It could also be yet another reminder that the gap between LAFC and the rest of the league feels pretty wide as of late.
- San Jose forward Espinoza named MLS Player of the Month: Cristian Espinoza, arguably one of Major League Soccer's most unheralded stars, is unheralded no more after winning MLS Player of the Month honors for April. The Argentine forward has been at the forefront of the San Jose Earthquakes' 2023 turnaround under new manager Luchi González, hitting his stride in April as the league's only player to score or assist in each of their five matches during the month.
- MLS is mourning the passing of MLS and FIFA referee Terry Vaughn.
- Jon Arnold (!) profiled Cristian Espinoza, whose MVP form has put a spotlight on the resurgent San Jose Earthquakes.
- Vancouver Whitecaps FC goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka seeks a path to the World Cup through MLS success.
Good luck out there. Find the right person to hug.
