Orlando City (9-9-6, 33 points) vs New York City FC (11-9-4, 37 points)
When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m
Where: INTER&Co Stadium, Orlando, FL
TV: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
Radio: 96.9 the Game FM, (English), Mega 97.1 (Spanish)
Everything you need to know for the Lions' Saturday night match vs NYCFC in "The Road Ahead" driven by Audi:
Milestones
- Against NYCFC this weekend, Orlando City will attempt to win five games in a row for just the fourth time in club history and for the third consecutive season. The Lions had six-game win streaks in 2018 and 2023 and a five-game run in 2022.
- Martín Ojeda will look to become the second Orlando City player ever to record a goal contribution in six consecutive matches on Saturday. Daryl Dike was the first to do it, scoring or assisting in his final six games for the club from October 20-November 23, 2021.
- Facundo Torres is in line for multiple milestones in the coming weeks:
- With 50 MLS regular season goal contributions (31 G/19 A), Torres ranks second in club history, surpassing Cyle Larin and Mauricio Pereyra (49 each) with his brace over the weekend. Torres is one away from catching Nani (51) for the club record.
- Torres is currently tied for fourth in club history with 22 assists. The Uruguayan is two assists from catching Chris Mueller in third and four away from Nani in second.
- As far as goals, Torres is now in sight of Larin, who has been the club’s all-time leading goalscorer since his rookie year in 2015. Facu needs six more goals to tie Larin’s record 44-goal haul from 2015-17.
- Nicolás Lodeiro is one assist away from 10 for the MLS regular season and three away from matching Mauricio Pereyra’s club record for a single MLS campaign (12, 2023). It would be Lodeiro’s seventh MLS regular season with double digit assists.
- Lodeiro has 10 assists in all competitions this year, putting him two shy of the all competitions record, which is also 12, held jointly by Pereyra in 2023 and Torres in 2022.
- Pedro Gallese is five saves away from 400 as Orlando City goalkeeper.
Stats & Storylines
- Orlando City’s historic scoring run added another chapter on Wednesday night when the Lions put three goals past Nashville SC. The Lions have scored 21 goals in their past seven games, setting yet another club record, this time for the most in a seven-game span in club history.
- Orlando City has scored 11 goals over the past three games while conceding just once, turning a -9 season goal differential to +1 in just 11 days.
- Nine different players have scored during the seven-game run, during which Orlando City is 5-1-1. Facundo Torres leads the way with six goals in that stretch, Ramiro Enrique has scored three – all in the past three games – and Duncan McGuire, Iván Angulo, and Martín Ojeda have all added two each.
- Under Oscar Pareja, Orlando City has a 15-7-6 record in the month of July, including 8-1-1 between 2023 and 2024.
- The Lions currently boast the second-longest winning streak in Major League Soccer, trailing only the Seattle Sounders, who have won five in a row. Orlando’s haul of 15 points over its last six games is rivaled only by Seattle (16), Columbus (16), Portland (15), and Miami (15).
- With three consecutive road wins this month, Orlando’s away record since the start of 2023 is now 16-9-8. The Lions have the second-most away wins in the league over that span, only trailing FC Cincinnati.
Series History
All-time vs. NYCFC - 7-9-9, -14 GD (4-2-7, -1 GD home)
MLS only vs. NYCFC - 7-9-7, -14 GD (4-2-5, -1 GD home)
2015 - D 1-1 (H), L 5-3 (A), W 2-1 (H)
2016 - W 0-1 (A), D 2-2 (A), W 2-1 (H)
2017 - W 1-0 (H), W 1-2 (A), L 0-3 (H)
2018 - L 2-0 (A), L 3-0 (A), L 0-2 (H)
2019 - D 2-2 (H), D 1-1 (A), D 1-1 (5-4) (H/USOC)
2020 - W 3-1 (N), D 1-1 (H), D 1-1 (6-5) (H/MLS Cup Playoffs)
2021 - D 1-1 (H), L 5-0 (A)
2022 - W 2-1 (H), L 2-1 (A)
2023 - D 1-1 (H), L 2-0 (A)
2024 - L 4-2 (A)
Meet the opponent: New York City FC
- Orlando City lost their away game at NYCFC for the fourth consecutive season on June 28, falling behind 3-0 in the first half en route to a 4-2 defeat at Yankee Stadium. Since that game, Orlando City has not dropped a single point and has outscored its opponents 13-2. NYCFC, meanwhile, is 1-1-2 in four matches since the last meeting, giving up seven points in the table to Orlando in that time.
- The Pigeons did enjoy a nice result on Wednesday night, rallying from a 2-0 halftime deficit to draw Atlanta 2-2 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. After featuring for just six minutes all season prior to Wednesday night, Talles Magno came off the bench to win and score the equalizing penalty for NYCFC.
- NYC was missing some big pieces in Atlanta. DPs Thiago Martins and Santiago Rodríguez were both left out of the matchday squad for unknown reasons, while starting fullbacks Kevin O’Toole and Tayvon Gray are both injured and defensive midfielder James Sands missed out due to yellow card accumulation. Sands should be back for the weekend, with the status of the others to be determined.
- NYCFC attacking midfielder Maxi Moralez has been a thorn in the Lions’ side over the years, recording 6 G/6 A in 14 matches in all competitions against Orlando City. Moralez, 37, has largely been coming off the bench since his return from a torn ACL this spring, playing the second half on Wednesday night in Atlanta.
