Orlando City vs. NYCFC: How to Watch, Live Stream and More

This is your open thread for tonight’s match between Orlando City SC and New York City FC, which itself is a preview of the March 8 opening day game at the Orlando Citrus Bowl (minus about 60,000 screaming fans in purple). The two expansion teams meet up in a game that feels like a little more than a typical preseason affair.

The Lions are playing in their fifth preseason match of the 2015 campaign, compared to just the third for NYCFC. While Orlando City has yet to lose in preseason, the Lions have only one win to go with three draws. The boys in purple have a 2-2 draw with BK Hacken, a 0-0 draw with Toronto FC and a 1-1 tie against D.C. United to go with a 4-0 victory over FC Dallas.

New York has 2-0 victory over St. Mirren and a 2-0 loss to Brondby in its first two outings as a franchise.

Here's all the important stuff you'll need to know to enjoy today's match:

Lineups:

Orlando City (4-2-3-1):

Goalkeeper: Donovan Ricketts

Defense: Brek Shea, Sean St. Ledger, Aurelien Collin, Rafael Ramos

Defensive Midfield: Amobi Okugo, Cristian Higuita

Attacking Midfield: Lewis Neal, Kaká, Kevin Molino

Forward: Bryan Rochez

New York City FC (4-4-2 w/ midfield diamond):

Goalkeeper: Josh Saunders

Defense: Chris Wingert, Jason Hernandez, Andres Mendoza, Josh Williams

Defensive Midfielder: Andrew Jacobson

Left Midfield: Ned Grabavoy

Right Midfield: Mehdi Ballouchy

Attacking Midfield: Sebastian Velasquez

Forwards: Tony Taylor and David Villa

How to Watch:

Match time: 7:30 p.m. (ET)

Venue: Blackbaud Stadium, Charleston, SC

TV: None.

Streaming: Catch it here on the Charleston Battery's YouTube channel.

Twitter: If you can't catch the stream, you can follow @footyamerica and @themaneland, as well as Orlando City's official Twitter feed (@OrlandoCitySC).

Match thread rules:

This is your live thread for posting comments on the match. So use our comments section below to talk about the game in real time with other supporters. Our match thread rules haven't been well established yet, as we're still fairly new. If you're new as well, welcome to our happy home! While you're here, please observe a few basic rules:

• Absolutely no links to illegal streams. They can get us in trouble, and no one wants that.
• Try not to be “that guy” who spews nothing but venom and hate for the team. It’s ok to be critical, and, let’s face it, sometimes even the best teams can be frustrating to watch, but being overly negative relentlessly can sap the enjoyment for others.
• Keep it somewhat clean and fair when criticizing players / officials. You never know who might be reading.
• Do unto others in the match thread, the way you would have others do unto you. We are a fun community and want to keep it this way. We have a moderator, but we’d rather let him enjoy the game instead of having to play babysitter.
• Finally, we don’t have a rule against profanity but don’t abuse the non-rule. Also, any language that is sexist, racist, or homophobic in nature will be swiftly deleted and you may lose posting privileges. We’re all in this together.