Facing Nashville
The Lions took on the 2020 expansion side three times last year, playing to an even record of 1-1-1 through the trio of contests. City earned its first victory over Nashville SC just shy of a year ago, taking a 3-1 victory on Aug. 26, 2020 in the inaugural matchup between the two clubs. After Dave Romney opened the scoring in the 16th minute, Chris Mueller would find an equalizer five minutes later before a second-half brace from Daryl Dike would decide the match in favor of the Lions.
In the Music City
Wednesday will serve as just the second time the Lions will make the trip to the Music City, the first of which coming on Sept. 2, 2020. That match resulted in a 1-1 draw, with City’s lone goal on the night coming off the foot of Benji Michel, who ripped a shot off from outside the area into the left side netting for a stunner of a finish.
Captaining the Form
Lions captain Luis Nani looks to continue his impressive run of form as of late, leading the side in goal contributions with a total of 15 on the year. The Portuguese international has contributed a goal or an assist in each of the Lions’ last three MLS matches, earning Team of the Week honors from each such performance.
A Chance at History
Head Coach Oscar Pareja has a chance to tie the Club’s all-time coaching wins record with a victory at Nashville on Wednesday, looking to match former head coach Jason Kreis with his 22nd win at the helm in all competitions. If he does, Pareja will have reached that mark in 17 less matches coached, leading the Lions for the 48th time on Wednesday while Kreis broke the record in his 65th coaching appearance.
A Peek at the Standings
Wednesday’s match will see two sides square off who sit within a point of one another in the Eastern Conference standings, with Nashville currently sitting in third with 31 points followed by the Lions with 30. While trailing by a point, City does hold a game in hand over Wednesday’s opposition, having taken the pitch 18 times this year in league action as opposed to Nashville’s 19.
Milestone Tracker
- Nani’s next goal will be his 10th for the 2021 season, which would make him the second player in Club history along with former forward Cyle Larin to record multiple double-digit goal seasons for the Club in the MLS era.
- Tesho Akindele is two goals away from 20 in his Orlando City career.
- Akindele’s next assist will set a new career-high of 5 in a single season.
- Pedro Gallese’s next clean sheet will be his 9th in all competitions, which would see him pass Brian Rowe for second in club history. Joe Bendik has the record with 13 clean sheets.
- Ruan’s next assist will be the 10th of his Orlando City career.
