Lion Links: 4/8/16

Good afternoon Mane Landers! We are all gearing up for tonight’s Major League Soccer fixture between Orlando City and the Philadelphia Union, but for the time being take a look at the new edition of the Lion Links!

Is Baptista Finally Making his Debut?

Brazilian striker Julio Baptista is poised to make his debut wearing Orlando City’s kit tonight against the Philadelphia Union. He’ll likely come off the bench to help replace an injured Cyle Larin, who has been on a terrific run of form until pulling his hamstring. He underlined his excitement by praising the level of MLS in a recent interview and we are ready to see him combine with his Brazilian compatriot Kaká and Italian midfielder Antonio Nocerino!

Louisville City FC's Scouting Report on Orlando B

With Orlando B in action in Saturday against former Lions USL affiliate Louisville FC, in their USL commitment, the latter have made a breakdown in a form of a scouting report of Orlando B. Among the threats from Orlando B, they mentioned Mikey Ambrose and Pierre DaSilva, as despite Orlando have only scored one goal in their opening two matches, these couple of players have been performing well for the club.

USMNT climbs up in the FIFA Rankings

The USMNT has climbed up one position in the FIFA Rankings, which were released Thursday. Jurgen Klinsmann's side now occupies the 29th spot, just behind the Czech Republic, Russia and CONCACAF rivals Costa Rica and Mexico, among other nations. It's somewhat surprising the team improved its position at all with some of the inconsistent performances recently,

USMNT Youth Sensation Pulisic Eyed by Jurgen Klopp

Fresh from a USMNT cap, Borussia Dortmund youngster Christian Pulisic is being eyed by Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp, who is ready to snatch him from his former German club. The American wonderkid has been gaining lot of playing time in recent matches, but with the German side possessing a lot of quality players, Liverpool might be a good option for him to gain regular playing time.

An Emotional "You'll Never Walk Alone"

As Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool crossed swords together in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League quarterfinals in Germany, both sets of supporters joined together to sing the famous soccer anthem "You'll Never Walk Alone," leading to an emotional warm-up for the encounter. Watch it and take it in.

That's it for today, Mane Landers. Enjoy your match day!