Orlando City (8-5-7, 31 points) vs Toronto FC (3-8-10, 19 points)
When: Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Exploria Stadium, Orlando, Fla.
Radio: 96.9 The Game (English), Acción 97.9 FM (Spanish)
Facing the Reds
The Lions will look to make it seven matches unbeaten against the Reds on Tuesday night, riding a six-game unbeaten streak dating back to 2019. Three of those victories have come at Exploria Stadium, however the Lions served as the home side in only two of the contests, as Toronto utilized Exploria Stadium for a brief period back in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through three victories in downtown Orlando against Toronto, the Lions hold a +6 goal-differential after last year’s 4-0 shutout victory in the City Beautiful.
Last Time in The City Beautiful
The Reds return to downtown Orlando for the first time since September of last year in a match that saw the Lions take a 4-0 shutout victory in front of their home crowd. Designated Players Facundo Torres and Ercan Kara each found the back of the net in the contest, while former Lions Tesho Akindele and João Moutinho also had an impact on the evening, the former capping off the scoring in the match and the latter forcing an own goal just after halftime.
El Cuervo Effect
Designated Player Facundo Torres found the back of the net for the sixth and seventh times this campaign on Saturday night against Chicago, taking sole possession of the team lead in goals scored this season on the night. With the brace on Saturday Torres became the third player in Orlando City history to find the back of the net 15 times at age 23 or younger, joining former Lions Daryl Dike and Cyle Larin.
"El Pulpo’s” Posts
Goalkeeper Pedro Gallese maintained his impressive run of form on Saturday night, not allowing a goal in the run of play for the fourth-consecutive match. Gallese had to tally just two saves against the Fire, their only goal of the night coming from the penalty spot. The last time “El Pulpo” allowed a goal in the run of play came on May 27 in a 1-1 draw against Atlanta, posting shutouts against the New York Red Bulls, Colorado Rapids and Seattle Sounders following that fixture.
Defending the Fortress
City enters Tuesday’s match riding a six-game unbeaten streak at home, having gone 3-0-3 since April 29 in The City Beautiful. The side holds a +6 goal-differential in that stretch, with Facundo Torres having found the back four times to lead a group of six-different goalscorers throughout the Lions’ current run. Tuesday will serve as City’s last MLS regular-season contest at home ahead of the Leagues Cup break, next set to host St. Louis CITY SC in the inaugural meeting between the two sides in league play on Aug. 26.
Milestone Tracker
- Rodrigo Schlegel sits one appearance away from his 90th in Orlando in all competitions.
- Ercan Kara sits two appearances away from 50 in all competitions as a Lion.
- Antonio Carlos sits five appearances away from 100 in all competitions in purple.
