Orlando City vs. Ponte Preta: How to Watch, TV Listings, Open Thread and More

This is your open thread for tonight's international friendly between Orlando City and Ponte Preta from Brazil's Serie A. The oldest club in Brazil's top flight, Ponte Preta earned promotion this year by finishing second in Serie B last season.

The Lions will get some of their regulars some much-needed rest tonight, while giving Head Coach Adrian Heath a look at some youngsters and backups in action against quality competition. Orlando has failed to score in its last two matches and has struggled in general to find the net at home, with just one goal in the Citrus Bowl and that came on a free kick on opening night.

It’s a chance tonight to watch the Lions play without any pressure. The team won’t feel the need to press without any points on the line and it’ll be a chance to relax, take a deep breath and just play their game. Look for youngsters like rookie center back Conor Donovan to see a lot of time.

There are no worries over yellow card accumulation or playoff positioning at stake tonight. It's time to just have fun and play soccer. As the Lions do that, we should just sit back and enjoy watching them.

Here is your required reading for tonight:

• Austin Siegel’s Intelligence Report gives you some background on Ponte Preta.
• Andrew Marcinko posted our match preview.

There was no PawedCast this week because I've been sick and I'm a big baby when I'm sick. #Truth

Official Lineups:

Here are the lineups for tonight's match:

Orlando City (either a 4-4-2 or possibly a 4-3-2-1)

Goalkeeper: Earl Edwards Jr.

Defenders: Luke Boden, Seb Hines, Conor Donovan, Rafael Ramos

Midfielders: Cristian Higuita, Amobi Okugo, Harrison Heath, Kevin Molino

Forwards: Kaká, Bryan Rochez

Bench: Josh Ford, Brek Shea, Sean St. Ledger, Tyler Turner, Estrela, Sidney Rivera, Eric Avila, Cyle Larin, Danny Mwanga.

Ponte Preta (3-5-2)

Goalkeeper: Marcelo Lomba

Defenders: Rodinei, Pablo, Tiago Alves

Midfielders: Gilson, Fernando Bob, Josimar, Paulinho, Renato Caja

Forwards: Biro Biro, Rildo

Bench: Matheus, Jeferson, Renato Chaves, Adrianinho, Juninho, Borges, Roni

How to Watch:

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

Venue: Orlando Citrus Bowl, Orlando, FL

TV: MY65 WRBW (locally) with Tom Traxler and Kevin Hartman

Radio: 104.1 FM Real Radio (English), La Grande 1030 AM (Spanish)

Streaming: None

Twitter: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow along at @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. If you're new, 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.