Martino benched Messi for the match against the New York Red Bulls, but he started him in the match against Nashville SC. Even though Messi scored a rare blank in the Herons’ scoreless tie, the summer addition is expected to start for LAFC after Martino said as much before the game.

QUOTE: “I don’t imagine in this very important match with the last champion that it is a match that Messi needs to rest up,” he told reporters. The Red Bulls were the club we had to stop at, and he played 30 minutes there; that’s how we’ve handled things all week, and he’ll play again tomorrow.

LAFC are currently in second place in the Western Conference, therefore Martino has warned his team that they will be a formidable challenge.

“In my opinion, LAFC is one of the best teams in the league, it is the last champion,” he said. They have a very solid central duo and a team that is supporting all the individualities, so tomorrow’s game will be a great challenge for us. Carlos Vela is a decisive player within the team structure, as are [Denis] Bouanga and Illie.

Messi and Miami were held to a scoreless stalemate by Nashville SC in their last match, but they still need to win out if they want any chance of making the playoffs. The Herons have become better since Messi joined the team, and they are now on a 10-game win streak, but they are still 10 points away from a playoff berth.