Orlando City and Cruz Azul will meet for the first time with a place in the Leagues Cup last 16 at stake on Friday at Inter & Co Stadium.
A 5-4 shootout victory over Atletico San Luis in their previous encounter enabled the Lions to finish first in the East 2 table, while Los Celestes defeated the Philadelphia Union 5-3 on penalties and wound up second in East 4.
Match preview
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The 2024 Leagues Cup group phase was nearly a carbon copy for Orlando City from the previous one, finishing top of their group once again with five points.
Oscar Pareja's men, however, failed to win in 90 minutes when leading in the second half for the second time in their previous three competitive fixtures.
Since the beginning of July, the Lions have shown much more consistency across the board, without a defeat in their last seven matches played across all competitions, five of which were victories in normal time.
Orlando City have never lost a Leagues Cup contest on home soil, though they have only won one knockout game in a CONCACAF tournament at home, defeating Canadian Premier League side Cavalry 3-1 in the second leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup tie in February.
After winning just one of their first nine Major League Soccer home fixtures this year, the Lions head into this encounter on a five-match unbeaten run across all competitions at Inter & Co Stadium.
They have never won a Leagues Cup knockout fixture, losing 4-1 versus Inter Miami at this stage last year and suffering a 1-0 defeat to Santos Laguna in the 2021 quarter-finals.
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Cruz Azul did not make it easy on themselves in the opening round, going to penalties in both encounters, but their victory on Sunday enabled them to slip past Charlotte FC for second.
As a result, they have a chance to redeem themselves at this tournament after crashing out in the round of 32 last year on penalties against Charlotte.
Martin Anselmi's men have not lost a match in 90 minutes since a 1-0 defeat to Club America in the second leg of the recent Liga MX Clausura final.
Since that defeat, this team have managed to find the back of the net in every one of their competitive fixtures and have not lost a game when doing so since May, when Monterrey beat them 2-1.
You have to go back to the 2019 Leagues Cup for the last time they won a knockout fixture at this tournament when they lifted the trophy for the first and only time to date.
La Maquina have never lost a knockout fixture at this tournament versus an MLS opponent, defeating the Chicago Fire (2-0) and Los Angeles Galaxy (2-1) in 2019 en route to becoming champions with a 2-1 win over Tigres.
Team News
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In their previous encounter, the Lions were without Michael Halliday, who is still recovering from a knee problem, Mason Stajduhar is out for the season after suffering a serious injury, while Kyle Smith will be suspended following his straight red card in the opening half.
Duncan McGuire was back in the Orlando fold last weekend after being on international duty at the Olympics with the United States, entering with 12 minutes remaining in place of Ramiro Enrique.
Enrique had their only goal last Sunday, while Pedro Gallese made the only stop in the shootout to give his side the extra point.
On Sunday, Cruz Azul were once again without Carlos Vargas, who was recovering from a broken foot, which could be healed by Friday.
Two changes were made to their starting 11 from their first to second match at this tournament, with Erik Lira and Alexis Gutierrez replacing Carlos Rodriguez and Andres Montano.
Carlos Rotondi notched their only goal against the Union, while Kevin Mier stopped Daniel Gazdag in the shootout to give his side the victory and propel them into the knockout stage.
Orlando City possible starting lineup:
Gallese; Thorhallsson, Brekalo, Jansson, Santos; Araujo, Cartagena; Torres, Ojeda, Lodeiro; McGuire
Cruz Azul possible starting lineup:
Mier; Sanchez, Ditta, Guerrero, Piovi, Rotondi; Romo, Rivero, Faravelli; Giakoumakis, Sepulveda
We say: Orlando City 1-1 Cruz Azul (Orlando City advances on penalties)
This may be the toughest match to call in this round as both sides boast some strong attacking pieces and outstanding goalkeeping, but the home crowd may give the Lions a slight edge.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
