Less than a year after knocking them out of the US Open Cup, Orlando City will welcome Nashville SC to Exploria Stadium on Saturday in the sixth match of the MLS regular-season for both teams.
A 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Union moved the Lions up to fourth in the Eastern Conference with eight points, one more than the Boys in Gold, who were beaten 1-0 by FC Cincinnati, their second successive defeat by that score.
Match preview
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Two goals in the opening 10 minutes was all Orlando needed to get the better of Philadelphia last weekend as they ended the second-longest home-winning run in league history (13 games).
That was the first time they scored in the opening half of a match all year, while their only two triumphs this season have occurred when scoring first.
After ending one home winning streak, the Lions have a chance to start a new one themselves, going winless in four consecutive matches played at Exploria Stadium in all competitions.
They have only suffered one defeat in the Magical Kingdom against Nashville, while they defeated them 7-6 in a penalty shootout at the US Open Cup last year as Oscar Pareja's men went on to win that trophy, their first as a franchise.
Heading into 2022, this team had sold many of their big names, but it was the opposite this past off-season as the club spent a lot of money in free agency.
Many faces in Orlando this year may be new, but the approach under Pareja remains the same as the Lions usually allow teams to come to them, soaking up pressure while creating their share of turnovers and catching opponents in transition.
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Even with the 2022 MLS Golden Boot winner on the field for the entire 90 minutes last Saturday, Nashville continue to struggle in the attacking third, having failed to find the back of the net in three of their five games played this season.
The Boys in Gold may not be scoring as much in the early going, but they have shown tremendous poise on the back end, only turning the ball over 15 times within 40 metres of their goal, while none of those mistakes has led to shots.
That should not come as a surprise given what we have seen from this group under Gary Smith, who have made a few tweaks to their roster each season but still look relatively the same tactically since entering the league, playing a cagey style which relies on a couple of players to create and score.
Something else we have seen from them consistently of late is their ability to preserve points when in a position to claim them, unbeaten in the regular season after scoring first since August 2021.
They have only triumphed once domestically in Orlando, erasing a 2-1 deficit in the final few minutes back in 2021, winning by a 3-2 score.
Nashville are winless in their two road matches played so far in 2023, while a draw or loss this weekend would equal their longest run without a triumph as the visitors from last season.
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Team News
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Ercan Kara remains a question mark for the Lions as he is dealing with a right thigh injury, while Pareja had numerous players missing last week because of the international window, including Thomas Williams, Facundo Torres, Favian Loyola, Pedro Gallese, Michael Halliday, Alex Freeman and Wilder Cartagena.
Gallese is three appearances away from catching Joe Bendik for the most all-time by an Orlando City keeper, Robin Jansson is two caps shy of the all-time mark for this franchise in the MLS-era set by Chris Mueller (127), while Rodrigo Schlegel could reach 80 caps in all competitions for them on Saturday.
This weekend, Martin Ojeda has a chance to become the first Orlando player to score in three straight MLS encounters since Daryl Dike, as he and Ivan Angulo both netted last weekend in their victory over the Union.
Last Saturday, Anibal Godoy made his first appearance for Nashville since suffering an issue in his upper body at the beginning of the season, while Randall Leal and Nick DePuy are each dealing with lower body injuries.
In the loss to Cincinnati, CJ Sapong, a former loanee at Orlando City, made his first start of the season for the Boys in Gold, Jan Gregus made a second successive appearance, Teal Bunbury collected his 342nd career MLS cap, while Dax McCarty has a chance to make his 400th career regular-season start in the league this weekend.
The league MVP and Golden Boot winner from 2022, Hany Mukhtar, who is still goalless on the campaign, led the team with five chances created against Cincy, Fafa Picault led them in shots with four and Jack Maher had their highest pass accuracy at 92.3%.
Orlando City possible starting lineup:
Gallese; Halliday, Schlegel, Jansson, Petrasso; Pereyra, Araujo; Ojeda, Cartagena, Torres; Enrique
Nashville SC possible starting lineup:
Willis; Moore, Zimmerman, Maher, Lovitz; Picault, McCarty, Davis, Shaffelburg; Sapong, Mukhtar
We say: Orlando City 0-0 Nashville SC
When these sides lock horns, the game is usually pretty tight as they are both defensive-minded units who are great at closing off space in the attacking third, and we do not expect many chances for either side on Saturday.
How to watch
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Top tip
Joel Lefevre
