Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami teammates, fresh off a 5-0 romp against Orlando City, take a break from the Major League Soccer season on Thursday to face Nashville SC on the road in the first leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16.

The second leg is at home at Chase Stadium on March 13. Teams advance based on the aggregate result of the two games; so, it is, in essence, a 180-minute game.

A quick primer, for those needing it:

Twenty-seven club teams from 10 countries are participating in the regional tournament. Five teams earned direct qualification to the Round of 16 (including Inter Miami, by winning Leagues Cup). The winner of the June 2 final takes home $5 million in prize money and qualifies for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, being held in the United States.

In other words, it’s a real big deal. Miami coach Tata Martino has stressed the importance of the “ConcaChampions” competition since the opening day of the preseason, so expect him to line up his strongest players.

Messi, Luis Suarez and Sergio Busquets will likely start, as they have the first three games of the league season. Jordi Alba is battling a bad cold, did not practice on Tuesday, and Martino would not say if he traveled with the team. “You would have to ring the doorbell at his house to find out if he is here or there,” Martino said, adding that opponents should be kept guessing until the game roster is announced for competitive reasons.

One thing is for sure: Inter Miami and Nashville had two intense games last August, and Nashville’s defensive style vs. Miami’s high-octane offense should once again be an intriguing matchup (9 p.m., FS2 in English, TUDN in Spanish). In the Leagues Cup final last summer, Miami won after a thrilling 10-9 penalty kick shootout. Eleven days later, the teams ended up deadlocked 0-0 in a league game.

“My memory of those games is how intense they were, and how evenly matched the teams were, and I’m expecting the same kind of game this time,” Martino said. “Obviously, neither team has the same roster now, but I remember the transition game of [Hany] Mukhtar and (Sam) Surridge when they were left open, we’d lose the ball and have to defend them in big space.”

The big question this time is whether Gary Smith’s team will have Mukhtar and Surridge on the field

Nashville has been without Mukhtar (hamstring) and Surridge (left shoulder) early this season, and the attack has suffered. Nashville finished in 0-0 tie against the New York Red Bulls on Feb. 25, and 1-1 against the Colorado Rapids last Saturday.

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