Orlando City (9-5-7, 34 points) at Real Salt Lake (8-7-6, 30 points)
When: Saturday, 9:30 p.m.
Where: America First Field, Sandy, UT
Radio: 96.9 The Game (English), Acción 97.9 FM (Spanish)
Everything you need to know for Orlando City at Real Salt Lake in "The Road Ahead" driven by Audi:
Milestone watch
-- Oscar Pareja became the sixth coach to win 150 MLS regular season games in his career with Orlando City’s 4-0 victory over Toronto FC on Tuesday night. 47 of Pareja’s 150 wins have come with Orlando City.
-- With Orlando’s next win, Pareja will have achieved double-digit victories in all 11 of his MLS seasons, including an 11-4-8 record in the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. Pareja’s teams have reached the playoffs in 8 of his first 10 seasons as an MLS head coach.
-- Ercan Kara is two goals away from 20 in his Orlando City career. His next goal will tie him with Daryl Dike and Benji Michel for eighth in the club’s MLS era. Kara’s next appearance will be his 50th for the club.
-- Facundo Torres’ next goal will tie Tesho Akindele for sixth on the all-time scoring list, with Chris Mueller two goals ahead in fifth.
-- Pedro Gallese’s next clean sheet will be his 30th in all competitions for Orlando City. Gallese and the Lions have not allowed an open play goal in any of El Pulpo’s last five appearances.
Stats and storylines
-- Orlando City is rolling right now, with just one loss in the club’s last 11 matches. The Lions have scored multiple goals in seven of their past 11 games, and all five of their wins over that stretch have come by multiple goals.
-- With another assist on Tuesday night, Martín Ojeda is now tied for fifth in the league with eight helpers, just two behind MLS leaders Thiago Almada and Cucho Hernández.
-- Duncan McGuire has re-taken the MLS lead in goals per 90 minutes from Atlanta’s Giorgos Giakoumakis, scoring seven times in just 685 MLS minutes. McGuire is now tied with Facu Torres for the team lead in scoring.
-- César Araújo and Dagur Dan Thórhallsson both scored their first MLS regular season goals in Tuesday night’s drubbing of Toronto FC. Araújo’s only previous goals for the club came during his legendary performance in the 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semifinal against the New York Red Bulls, when his brace helped power Orlando to a 5-1 win. Thórhallsson’s goal was his first in a purple shirt.
-- Federico Bernardeschi became the fifth opposing player sent off in Orlando City’s past seven games on Tuesday. The Lions have won all four games in which their opponents received a red card. Orlando is fourth in the league in fouls won this year after leading MLS last season.
SERIES HISTORY
All-time vs. Real Salt Lake - 2-1-3, +2 GD (1-1-1, 0 GD away)
MLS only vs. Real Salt Lake - Same
- 2015 - D 1-1 (A)
- 2016 - D 2-2 (H)
- 2017 - W 0-1 (A)
- 2018 - W 3-1 (H)
- 2019 - L 2-1 (A)
- 2020 - D 0-0 (H)
Meet the opponent: Real Salt Lake
-- Orlando City has not played Real Salt Lake since February 25, 2020, the final game played at Exploria Stadium prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. That game ended 0-0, meaning the last goal scored in the series came from Nani more than four years ago, in April 2019.
-- Antonio Carlos and Pedro Gallese both made their Orlando City debuts against Real Salt Lake in 2020, helping the Lions to a clean sheet.
-- RSL is the only team in MLS with a better road record than Orlando City, going 6-3-2 away from home this season. However, the Claret and Cobalt have been awful at home, with a 2-4-4 mark at America First Field. Only RSL’s Rocky Mountain Cup rivals Colorado have a worse home record.
-- Salt Lake could make a pair of multi-million dollar debuts on Saturday night. Colombian striker Cristian “Chicho” Arango, who scored 30 goals in 51 MLS appearances and won an MLS Cup with LAFC, will be available for selection for the first time after signing from Pachuca as a Designated Player. RSL also signed midfielder Nelson Palacio from Atlético Nacional for a reported seven figure fee to fill one of their U-22 Initiative slots.
