+1.62 - Overwhelming Open Cup XI
Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja rolled out several major changes to his team for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Semifinal against the New York Red Bulls, moving Mauricio Pereyra into a double pivot in central midfield, slotting Alexandre Pato in Pereyra’s usual spot as the No. 10, and using Facundo Torres on the left wing with Júnior Urso on the right and Benji Michel at center forward. It paid off huge as the Lions won 5-1, and it was even better from a chance creation perspective in last Sunday’s sophomore outing against D.C. United. At the point when Mauricio Pereyra exited the game with a minor knock in the 55th minute, the Lions had posted 1.69 expected goals while conceding just 0.07 expected.
0 - Home Field Advantage
Orlando City earned a 1-1 draw with the New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium last time, but remains winless in seven trips to Patriot Place all-time. Fortunately for the Lions, they get the Revs at home on Saturday, where Orlando is unbeaten against New England in six regular-season games. There is something of an asterisk to this note, though, as the Revs did knock City out of the Audi 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs at Exploria Stadium, their only win in Orlando in any competition.
246 - Bruce Almighty
New England manager Bruce Arena made history earlier this season, passing the legendary Sigi Schmid for the most wins of any coach in MLS history. Now up to 246 regular-season wins, Arena also holds the record for most postseason wins (35) and MLS Cups (5). Oscar Pareja currently ranks sixth all-time with 135 MLS regular-season victories.
50 - Bringing Defenses to Gil
Revolution playmaker Carles Gil, the 2021 Landon Donovan MLS MVP, once again stands atop the league’s assist leaderboard, tied with Philadelphia Union’s Kai Wagner and FC Cincinnati’s Luciano Acosta with 11 helpers on the season. Including playoffs, Gil has 50 assists since coming into the league in 2019, more than any other player in MLS in that period.
