This Saturday at 7:30 pm ET, FC Cincinnati and Inter Miami will clash in an epic showdown set to shake the foundations of the MLS. Broadcast live on Apple TV – MLS Season Pass, this isn’t just any game; it’s a battle of titans that could define the season’s trajectory.

Inter Miami has been the team to beat. Under Tata Martino’s leadership, they’ve racked up an impressive 47 points, topping both the Supporters’ Shield and the Eastern Conference. Even without stars Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez, who are representing their countries in the Copa América, the team hasn’t skipped a beat. Four consecutive 2-1 victories show that the machine is well-oiled.

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On the other side of the pitch, we find the formidable FC Cincinnati, the current Supporters’ Shield champions. Led by the brilliant Luciano Acosta, who has already tallied 9 goals and 15 assists this season, Cincinnati means business. The Argentine, MLS MVP in 2023, is a true playmaking and finishing machine. Additionally, the return of USMNT defender Miles Robinson adds an extra layer of solidity to the team’s defense. Just two points behind the leader, Cincinnati is entering the field with fire in their eyes, ready to take the lead.

But hold on, it’s not all smooth sailing for Inter Miami. The team will be missing two key players: Jordi Alba and Diego Gómez, both suspended due to accumulated yellow cards. This could be a tough blow for Martino, who will need to tweak his strategy to compensate for these losses. However, if there’s one thing we’ve learned this season, it’s that underestimating Inter Miami is a grave mistake.

Inter Miami, with their upward trajectory and talent-laden roster, faces their biggest test yet. FC Cincinnati, determined to prove their success was no fluke, aims to solidify their top position. The two teams have distinct but equally effective playing styles.

Coaches play a crucial role here. Tata Martino, with his vast experience, knows that a game like this demands more than tactics; it requires heart and emotional intelligence. On the other hand, Cincinnati’s leadership must be surgical in exploiting the weaknesses of a depleted yet resilient Inter Miami.

So, what can we expect from this clash of giants? Will the absence of Messi and Suárez make a difference? Can Inter Miami maintain their momentum without Jordi Alba and Diego Gómez? And FC Cincinnati—will Luciano Acosta continue his brilliant season and lead his team to victory?

MIAMI — A 13-year-old boy was rushed to the hospital early Friday morning after he was struck by what appeared to be stray bullets the night of the Fourth of July.

Ljamyn Gray Jr. was brought into the hospital with a non-life-threatening bullet wound in his shoulder.

“My arm felt heavy and I looked at it and saw blood,” he told CBS News Miami.

Gray Jr. said he was with his friend on Independence Day when they were watching the fireworks near the apartment complex where he lives at Northwest 72nd Street and 14th Avenue. He was then shot at around 11:18 p.m., Miami-Dade Police told CBS News Miami.

“I ran to my dad and he pulled the bullet out,” Grey Jr. said.

“He came running around the corner, upstairs to me because I was sitting on the stairs in front of my porch,” said Ljamyn Gray Sr., the boy’s father. “He was like ‘Dad, something hit me in the arm!’”

When Gray Sr. took a closer look at his son’s injury, he saw the blood and found the bullet.

Video shared with CBS News Miami shows the Grays in the living room, tending to his wound with fireworks still exploding in the background, when the family decided to bring him to the hospital.

“It could have been a lot worse,” Gray Sr. said. “He could have been hit in the neck, in the head, in his chest, and he couldn’t have been here.”

“We have stray bullets that are just getting fired off,” he added. “Where young ages keep [getting] their hands on guns? How, we don’t know.”

Gray Jr. wasn’t the only person struck by a stray bullet on the Fourth of July — a 39-year-old woman was hospitalized in critical condition after she too was hit by one in Homestead.

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Two victims were transported to the hospital after Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said a shooting occurred in northwest Miami-Dade Friday afternoon.

It happened near the 7300 block of Northwest 36th Street, just east of the Palmetto Expressway.

MDFR said they were responding to a medical call reportedly involving a shooter.

Sky 10 flew over the scene where a person was being airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center following the shooting.

MDFR also confirmed that medics took a second person to JMH and another individual was assessed and treated for minor injuries at the scene.

MDFR did not release any information about the fourth victim involved in the shooting.

Police said they are looking for a white Audi with “several subjects.”

Authorities have not confirmed the victims age and identity nor have they announced any arrest or arrests at this time.

This is a developing story. Watch Local 10 News at 3 p.m. or refresh the page for the latest information.