Inter Miami attendance is up 35 percent from last year, big crowd expected vs Orlando

Inter Miami returns home Saturday against state rival Orlando City, the third game in a week for both teams.

While the schedule is hectic, Miami coaches and players are eager to get back on the field after a 2-1 road loss to Nashville SC on Wednesday in which the team played “the poorest first half” of the season, in the words of coach Phil Neville.

Miami failed to take a single shot before intermission, and its only goal of the night came from Dixon Arroyo in the closing minute of extra time. That goal was not much consolation, as Miami dropped from sixth place to 11^th in the East.

“We had a hard time keeping possession of the ball, we need to be better with the ball against Orlando,” assistant coach Jason Kreis said. “We need to affect more defensive work on their part rather than just losing the ball and being under pressure. A lot of that is road mentality versus home mentality. At home we expect things to be different.”

Miami has won four of six home games this season, including an upset of conference leader New England Revolution last Saturday. Before the loss to Nashville, Inter Miami had won five games in a row across all competitions — three league games, two U.S. Open Cup.

“It’s been a while since we’ve suffered defeat,” Neville said Wednesday night. “We need to bounce back against Orlando. It’s a big game, a great game to bounce back in and the team will be ready.”

Miami brings a record of five wins, seven losses and no ties (15 points) into the game. Orlando is 4-4-4 (16 points) and coming off a pair of ties against Columbus and New York City FC. Orlando is in 10^th place, one spot ahead of Miami. Only three points separate last place from eighth place.

Among the Orlando players to watch is 6-4 Austrian forward Ercan Kara, who has scored three goals during the past four games.

“We lost, and we were mad, but this group has a good mentality and now we have an important game against our rival,” Miami forward Leo Campana said. “We need to get those three points. I hope the stadium will be packed. Our fans will be really important for this game.”

Inter Miami is averaging 17,061 fans through six games at 18,000-seat DRV PNK Stadium this season, an increase of 35 percent from last year. Average attendance in MLS this season is 21,746 with Atlanta (47,213), Charlotte (37,598) and Seattle (30,999) as the top three.

Center back Sergiy Krystsov (calf) is questionable for the game, midfielder Rodolfo Pizarro (hamstring) is out and midfielder David Ruiz is unavailable as he is on national team duty with Honduras at the U20 World Cup in Argentina. Ruiz, a 19-year-old Little Havana native, was an impact player during Miami’s win streak.

“We will miss David, he is a young player who he given us a lot in the games he played, but we have quality on the bench with players who can help us,” said Campana.

Forward Robbie Robinson, the No. 1 draft pick in 2020, has yet to play this season as he has been dealing with a recurring calf injury; but he posted a photo of himself doing an individual workout on the practice field this week and his caption was a clock, indicating he is getting closer to a return. The injury-plagued Robinson played just eight games last season and had one goal and one assist.