Orlando City (16-7-9, 57 points) vs. New England Revolution (11-7-10, 52 points)
When: Saturday, 7:30 PM
Where: Exploria Stadium, Orlando, FL
Radio: Real Radio 104.1, (English), Acción 97.9 FM (Spanish)
Everything you need to know for Orlando City vs New England Revolution in "The Road Ahead" driven by Audi:
Milestone watch
-- Rodrigo Schlegel’s next appearance will be his 100th as an Orlando City player. Schlegel will become the fourth defender on the current roster to reach the century mark, following Robin Jansson, Kyle Smith, and Antonio Carlos.
-- Orlando City’s next goal will be its 51st of the MLS regular season, setting a new single-season record for the Oscar Pareja era. City’s single-season goals record is 55, set back in 2016, meaning the Lions need six goals in their last two matches to pass it.
-- Iván Angulo’s next appearance will be his 50th for Orlando City in all competitions. Angulo is one of three Lions who has appeared in every MLS regular season match this year, along with Jansson and Martín Ojeda.
Stats and storylines
-- Orlando City should have a chance to wrap up the second seed in the Eastern Conference and CONCACAF Champions Cup qualification this weekend. The Lions enter the matchday three points clear of Philadelphia for second place. Both teams have two matches remaining. Columbus and New England (Orlando’s opponent this weekend) can both finish as high as second as well.
-- As far as the Triple C (formerly known as CCL), the final two slots for MLS clubs are available to the highest-ranking teams in the Supporters’ Shield standings who haven’t already qualified. FC Cincinnati (Shield winners), St. Louis CITY (Western Conference first place), Inter Miami (Leagues Cup winners), Nashville SC (Leagues Cup runners-up), Philadelphia Union (Leagues Cup third place), and the Houston Dynamo (U.S. Open Cup winners) have already locked in their places. As of this writing, Orlando and Columbus would receive the final two regular season slots. The MLS Cup winner will also get a spot.
-- Robin Jansson was named to the MLS Team of the Matchday for a dominant defensive display against Nashville on Wednesday night. Jansson finished the match with a team-high four clearances, a team-high ten recoveries, and a tackle won while winning four of his five duels. Nashville did not put a shot on target and mustered just 0.36 expected goals in the match.
-- Duncan McGuire made history with his tenth goal of the regular season on Wednesday, becoming the fifth college draft pick to score double digit league goals as a rookie. The others are former Orlando City star Cyle Larin, current FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan, Seattle and USMNT winger Jordan Morris, and former Jamaican international Damani Ralph.
-- Pedro Gallese broke his own club record with his tenth clean sheet of the regular season on Wednesday night. Gallese is riding a two-match shutout streak and has not allowed a goal in 218 minutes.
-- Martín Ojeda and Mauricio Pereyra both reached double digit assists on the year with their helpers on McGuire’s goal. Ojeda has managed it with just 15 starts on the year, while it’s the third straight year Pereyra has hit ten or more assists.
SERIES HISTORY
All-time vs. New England - 3-8-7, -12 GD (3-2-5, - GD home)
MLS only vs. New England - 2-7-7, -11 GD (2-1-5, - GD home)
- 2015 - D 2-2 (H), L 3-0 (A)
- 2016 - D 2-2 (H), D 2-2 (A), W 3-1 (H)
- 2017 - L 4-0 (A), W 6-1 (H)
- 2018 - D 3-3 (H), L 2-0 (A)
- 2019 - W 2-1 a.e.t. (H/USOC), L 4-1 (A), D 3-3 (H)
- 2020 - L 1-3 (H/MLS Cup Playoffs)
- 2021 - L 2-1 (A), D 2-2 (H)
- 2022 - D 1-1 (A), L 0-3 (H)
- 2023 - L 3-1 (A)
Meet the opponent: New England Revolution
-- Orlando City snapped an eight-match, three-year winless streak against Nashville SC on Wednesday night – now they get to try again against New England on Saturday. The Lions have not beaten the Revolution since a 2-1 extra-time win in the 2019 U.S. Open Cup. The teams have played eight times since, with the Revs taking five of the contests and the other three ending in draws.
-- Gustavo Bou (5 G/4 A in 7 matches) and Carles Gil (4 G/8 A in 9 matches) have feasted on Orlando City over the years. New England’s eight-game unbeaten run against the Lions coincided directly with Bou’s arrival, and the Argentine – who played for Oscar Pareja at Club Tijuana in 2019 – added another goal and assist to his ledger against the Lions back on June 17. Gil also scored a goal in New England’s 3-1 win.
-- Robin Jansson and Duncan McGuire are the two current Lions with goals against the Revs. McGuire scored his goal this year at Gillette Stadium, while Jansson’s came in last year’s away tilt.
-- New England is currently coached by Clint Peay, the former boss at Revolution II in MLS NEXT Pro. Peay played in MLS in the late 1990s for D.C. United and spent more than a decade coaching in the college ranks before jumping to the USMNT staff in 2012. Peay left the national team program in 2019 to spend a year at USL Championship side North Carolina FC before taking the Revolution II job in 2020.
