Chattanooga FC heads to the Sunshine State to face off against Inter Miami CF II on Friday, May 8 at 7:00 p.m. ET.
Chattanooga FC prepares for its first of two back-to-back away matchweeks and hopes to return to winning ways when it visits Inter Miami CF II on Friday.
CFC goes into the matchweek following a physical contest last Saturday against regional rivals Huntsville City FC that saw the Boys in Blue fall 2-0 at Finley Stadium. Newcomer Alexis Arrúa made his debut for the club in the 67th minute.
Chattanooga now sits 10th in the Eastern Conference and fifth in the Southeast Division standings as its record fell to 3-4-1 (10 pts.). The focus shifts forward to Friday's matchup, which is the first of three slated against Miami this season. Chattanooga will host Miami on July 4 before concluding the series on the road to close out the month on July 31.
Out of the six previous matchups, CFC leads the overall head-to-head 3W-1L-2D (2SOW).
Coach's corner
Interim Head Coach Richard Dixon previewed the match with Inter Miami II and what kind of match he is expecting on Friday evening.
"With any team that we play, we want to make sure we're aware of their strengths and weaknesses," said Dixon. "For us, it's just how we're going to mitigate them out of posession by breaking lines and finding runners in the half space, which is what they want to do and overload the last line.
"It's about finding a good balance of when we go and press the football versus when to find a good mid-block shape and force them to play the ball over the top or play in our press. They're a young team, obviously with really good individuals."
Know the opponent
Inter Miami CF II is looking for its first victory of the season after playing to a 0W-5L-3D (1SOW) record through eight matches. Miami currently sits 16th in the Eastern Conference and eighth in Southeast Division standings with a total of four points.
Miami comes into Friday after a 3-1 loss to Columbus Crew 2 on May 3 that saw forward Idoh Zelter-Zubida score his fifth goal of the season. Preston Plambeck and Mateo Saja pace the group with two goals each, while Theo Vorenkamp leads the team with three assists.
Match info
Venue: Inter Miami CF Stadium | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Kickoff: 7:00 p.m. ET, Friday, May 8
Broadcast: MLSNEXTPro.com / OneFootball TV | Talent: Jake Griffith
Team uniforms for Friday's match
Referees
Head Referee: Mario Maric
Assistant Referee 1: Diego Lucio
Assistant Referee 2: Amelia Graytock
4th Official: Sebastian Ocampo
