Lionel Messi. Vasha Hunt-USA TODAY Sports

Soccer best bets: Messi, Miami massively backed favorites at Cincinnati

Originally posted on Field Level Media | Last updated 8/23/23

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will play in a major semifinal for the second time in eight days when they visit FC Cincinnati on Wednesday night in the U.S. Open Cup.

Messi and the Herons will be only four days removed from their remarkable run to win the inaugural 2023 Leagues Cup, defeating Nashville SC on penalties following a 1-1 draw in Saturday night's final.

QUICK PICK

It will be Miami's third consecutive road match and Cincinnati may represent, arguably, its toughest opponent yet.

Cincinnati currently leads the race for the MLS Supporters' Shield, awarded at the end of the season to the team with the best regular-season record. They have taken an impressive 34 out of 36 possible points in 12 league home games, being held to a draw only by New England on July 1.

Miami opened as the -105 favorite at BetMGM, but those odds have lengthened to +130 while 91 percent of the match bets and 93 percent of the money wagered has backed the Herons. Cincinnati has drawn just 7 and 4 percent of the action, respectively, while its odds have shifted a bit from +170 to +150.

The public sentiment is clearly backing Messi and Miami, and for good reason. But Cincinnati has an outstanding home record as it attempts to avoid consecutive losses for the first time this year across all competitions.

Our Pick: FC Cincinnati 2, Inter Miami 1

PROP PICK

Messi to Score Anytime Goal (-125 at BetMGM): Messi has 10 goals through his first seven games in Miami, so it's difficult to pick against him extending the hot streak if he told Martino he's ready to play. This has been the book's second-most popular prop pick for the match, just ahead of Messi at +400 to score at least twice.

Most Popular Messi Props

--Lionel Messi to score anytime goal (-125)

--Lionel Messi to score 2 or more goals (+400)

--Lionel Messi to score 1st goal (+320)

--Lionel Messi to score 3 or more goals (+1400)

This article first appeared on Field Level Media and was syndicated with permission.

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