Orlando City vs. Colorado Rapids: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

Welcome to your match thread for tonight’s match-up between Orlando City (1-2-2, 5 points) and the Colorado Rapids (0-3-2, 2 points) at Orlando City Stadium. It’s the one and only meeting between the two sides this season.

This is Orlando’s first game against a Western Conference opponent this season.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of the match.

History

Orlando City is 3-0-1 in the all-time series (2-0-0 at home) and has out-scored the ‘Pids, 6-1, in the four previous meetings and 4-0 in the two prior match-ups in Orlando.

The last time the two teams met, the Lions came from behind to win 2-1 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on April 29 of last year. That was the last time Orlando had won a road game prior to the victory at New York Red Bulls two weeks ago. Cristian Higuita and Yoshimar Yotún (pen.) provided the offense in the victory last year.

Orlando City won, 2-0 at home, as part of a four-game winning streak overall in 2017, which was also the fifth consecutive victory to open Orlando City Stadium. Carlos Rivas and Kaká provided all the offense in that 2017.

The 2016 meeting ended in a 0-0 draw at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. The 2015 meeting at the Citrus Bowl saw the Lions defeat the Rapids, 2-0. Rivas came on for an injured Brek Shea in that match and turned the game around. Kaká and Cyle Larin scored for Orlando City.

Overview

The Lions enter the weekend on a three-game home winless streak. Orlando last won in Orlando City Stadium in regular-season play in the home finale last Oct. 21 against the Columbus Crew. Orlando City is 0-2-1 at home in 2019.

Meanwhile, the Rapids haven’t won yet in 2019 and are 0-2-0 on the road after losses at Seattle and Dallas, which are not the easiest places to win under the best of circumstances. Colorado last won on the road last year on Oct. 13 at Minnesota and are 0-2-1 since then.

If the Lions are going to get their first home win of the season, they’ll need to turn around the season trend of falling behind by multiple goals at Orlando City Stadium, which they’ve done in all three prior home matches.

The Rapids bring a familiar face to town with them in the form of Kei Kamara, who has an annoying habit of scoring goals against Orlando and he loves to antagonize Lions fans. His two goals on the season lead all Rapids. Another face to watch is rookie Andrei Shinyashiki, a Montverde Academy product who showed well at the MLS Combine earlier this year. He’s already scored a goal this season, appearing in all five of Colorado’s games in 2019 (one start). Diego Rubio is Kamara’s primary strike partner and the Orlando defense will have to find him whenever the Rapids are on the attack.

Orlando will again be without defender Alex De John (hamstring) but both Tesho Akindele (hamstring) and Will Johnson (concussion protocol) are close to returning. For the ‘Pids, center back Tommy Smith will be out due to red card suspension from late in last week’s game. Center back Kortne Ford, has been out since the preseason. Niki Jackson (hip) is also out and  Keegan Rosenberry (shoulder), Kellyn Acosta (knee), Sam Nicholson (quad), and Rubio (back) are all listed as questionable for Colorado.

Mandatory Match Content

• Our Intelligence Report gets more in-depth about the Rapids with help from Abbie Lang of SB Nation’s Colorado blog, Burgundy Wave.
• This week's PawedCast includes our key match-ups and score predictions, plus an exclusive interview with Orlando Pride Head Coach Marc Skinner.

Official Lineups:

Orlando City (3-5-2)

Goalkeeper: Brian Rowe.

Defenders: Robin Jansson, Lamine Sané, Carlos Ascues.

Wingbacks and Midfielders: Joao Moutinho, Sacha Kljestan, Nani, Sebas Mendez, Ruan.

Forwards: Tesho Akindele, Dom Dwyer.

Bench: Adam Grinwis, Kyle Smith, Kamal Miller, Uri Rosell,Josué Colmán, Chris Mueller, Santiago Patino.

Colorado (4-4-1-1)

Goalkeeper: Tim Howard.

Defenders: Dillon Serna, Deklan Wynne, Kofi Opare, Keegan Rosenberry.

Midfielders: Cole Bassett, Kellyn Acosta, Jack Price, Nicolas Mezquida.

Forward: Benny Feilhaber.

Forward: Kei Kamara.

Bench: Clint Irwin, Sebastian Anderson, Sam Vines, Alex Sjoberg, Bismark Boateng, Sam Nicholson, Andre Shinyashiki.

Referees

Ref: Jair Marrufo.

AR1: Corey Rockwell.

AR2: Logan Brown.

4th: Elvis Osmanovic.

VAR: Daniel Radford.

AVAR: Kyle Longville.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m. ET.

Venue: Orlando City Stadium — Orlando, FL.

TV: My65.

Radio: 104.1 FM Real Radio (English), La Nueva 990 (Spanish).

Streaming: ESPN+, YouTube TV.

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 the person 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.

Enjoy the match! Go City!