Three Potential Lineup Changes That Could Spark Orlando City

Orlando City SC has been sailing on complicated waters recently. After a very promising season start, the Lions have been struggling to find their best game during the past month, although last night’s win helps. With a reasonably deep roster at his disposal, this might be the time when Head Coach Jason Kreis tries to make some lineup changes to try to revert the unfavorable situation.

Sometimes, when a team is having a hard time, a couple of slight switches could be enough to fix some key issues and change things in a very quick way.

In Orlando’s case, the team’s priority now should be improving its offensive production. The team’s back line is not at its best as well, but it seems that having Jose Aja and Jonathan Spector back at central defense could get things going for the Lions.

Assuming that Kreis might be thinking about shaking things up a little bit, here are a few options he could consider:

Making Kaká a SuperSub

Orlando had its best moment so far in the beginning of the season, when the team won five of its first six games. Coincidentally, Kaká was sidelined with a hamstring injury at the time. So, why not to get back to what already worked once?

This does not mean that the Brazilian is performing badly, as he recorded three goals and an assist since he returned to action, or that he’s not a viable starter anymore, but perhaps going back to a formation and a lineup that succeeded earlier in the season could make things better for the Lions. And having such a commodity as Kaká to use when needed doesn’t sound bad, right?

 A Three-Man Back Line

In Jonathan Spector, Jose Aja and Tommy Redding, Orlando City has three starting caliber center backs. The initial plan was clearly having two of them on the field and the other one as a backup, but what if they all played together on a three-man back line? This is obviously not an immediate solution, as Redding is out with the U.S. U-20 National Team, but Leo Pereira could probably be an option there for now.

This formation would probably make the Lions stronger on the defensive end and on set pieces. On the other hand, having three players staying at home would free up the wingbacks to support Kaká (or whoever starts at center attacking midfielder) and Carlos Rivas on chance creation. Considering that Scott Sutter has already proved his value on the attacking third and that Victor ‘PC’ Giro has shown glimpses of offensive talent, the team could also improve its production on the opposition’s field with this formation.

A Three-Man Front Line

Kreis could also bet on having three forwards on the field as a strategy to increase the team’s offensive game. Cyle Larin would remain as the striker, with Rivas and Giles Barnes playing wide open. With these players, Orlando could also count on high pressure to force the opponent’s defenders to make mistakes and create offense out of defense.

This system would arguably weaken Orlando City’s midfield’s defensive power, especially if Kaká was kept as the attacking midfielder. Perhaps having the veteran on the field for 60-70 minutes and bringing in Luis Gil, who is capable of playing on both sides of the ball, after that could be enough to keep the team’s intensity throughout the entire match.

None of three presented options are necessarily the best choices for Orlando long-term and all of them may look too simple at a first glance, but with the team struggling to find its best game in recent weeks, a change, even if temporary, could be enough to push the Lions up in the standings again.