Pascal Jansen says Saturday's opening game against Inter Miami is the moment his New York City FC team have been preparing for.

Jansen has replaced Nick Cushing, who left NYCFC after a run to the Conference Semifinals in last season's MLS playoffs.

NYCFC were beaten by their local rivals, the New York Red Bulls, who went on to finish as runners-up to the LA Galaxy in the MLS Cup final.

They start their 2025 campaign with a trip to Chase Stadium to face MLS Supporters' Shield holders Miami, who are also under new management, with Javier Mascherano having replaced Gerardo Martino.

Mascherano will be overseeing his former Barcelona team-mates Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets this term, as Miami aim to build on a record-breaking campaign in 2024.

Jansen, though, will not be overawed when going up against MLS' most consistent team from last term.

"This is the moment that we're preparing for," he said.

"Once we started on the first day, we mentioned February 22 is the moment to be ready as a team.

"So we're progressing every day, and we'll be ready once February 22 is there in order to be competing again in MLS.

"My vision is to mould a team that is compatible for every game in MLS. To be more consistent throughout the MLS competition.

"So that's a big challenge, but the chemistry being there helps.

"Having young players on the roster who have grown during the past season and will be more mature this season helps a lot.

"I must say, the learning capacity and the openness and the willingness to exchange new ideas has been fantastic so far. That is something that we're looking forward to once we start to be competitive again next week."

Miami were in action on Wednesday, beating Sporting Kansas City 1-0 in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup first-round tie with a Messi goal, in a match that took place in temperatures of -13 Celsius. 

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Inter Miami - Lionel Messi

Messi is of course Miami's talisman, having scored 23 goals and set up a further 13 in all competitions last season.

Stopping the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner is easier said than done, of course, and NYCFC's defenders will have their work cut out trying to do so.

NYCFC - Hannes Wolf

Wolf enjoyed a fine season in 2024, and contributed to 11 goals in all competitions for NYCFC (five goals, six assists).

He created 74 chances, which ranked behind only Santiago Rodriguez (85) within NYCFC's squad.

MATCH PREDICTION: INTER MIAMI WIN

Miami have won only one of their 11 all-time meetings with New York City (D3 L7), though the last three meetings have all ended in draws. 

The Herons are big favourites for this one, though.

They collected an MLS-record 74 points during the 2024 regular season while also equalling the competition's wins record (22 – also the New England Revolution in 2021). Miami set another MLS record by recording nine come-from-behind wins last season.

NYCFC will begin their season on the road for the 11th time in their 11 MLS seasons. They have lost its season opener in each of the last five years, failing to score in the last three.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Inter Miami – 54.4% 

New York City – 22.1%

Draw – 23.4%