Orlando City vs. D.C. United: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

Welcome to your match thread for a Wednesday evening match-up between Orlando City and D.C. United at Audi Field. Sure, it’s a little early, but it’s never too early to prep for a match. This is the second of the two scheduled MLS matches between the clubs this season, with the Lions having already hosted the Black & Red back on March 31.

History

The Lions fell 2-1 at home back in that March affair, with set pieces ruining the night for Orlando. You might recall that controversy surrounded the winning goal, with James O’Connor visibly upset after the match.

“Since I’ve been here we’ve had it in game after game — Columbus away last year, D.C. had an incident, New York at the start of this year,” he said pounding the table in his postgame press conference. “How many more times? The players go out and give an incredible second-half performance — absolutely incredible — and yet we come off and we lose the game again through no fault of our own. How many more times?

“So for me, when I look at it, it’s like yeah we’ve got VAR, but why bother? They don’t even look. And you look at it and the whole stadium can see. It’s mind boggling stuff.”

Steve Birnbaum scored the first on a set piece and Wayne Rooney scored the second on a free kick that he took from wherever the hell he wanted rather than where the foul occurred. Frederic Brillant bulldozed Orlando keeper Brian Rowe as the ball sailed into the net. Such is life in MLS.

The Lions are 4-5-1 against D.C. in the all-time league series since the club joined MLS, and 4-5-2 in all competitions. Orlando is just 1-3-0 at D.C. in league play and 1-3-1 in all competitions.

D.C. was 1-0-2 in three total meetings (two in league play) last season. The two teams met on opening day 2018 and the Lions posted a dramatic late 1-1 draw on Stefano Pinho’s 93rd-minute goal. Orlando went down to 10 men 41 minutes into the match when PC was sent off. The teams met in U.S. Open Cup action on June 20 at the Maryland SoccerPlex and again drew 1-1, but the Lions advanced to the quarterfinals thanks to a 4-2 penalty shootout win. Luciano Acosta put the hosts ahead but Justin Meram equalized on a rainy night and that was it for the scoring until the shootout. United won that game at Audi Field on Aug. 12 of last year by a 3-2 score. Cristian Higuita was sent off after video review with 40 minutes remaining. And two other controversial reviews went D.C.’s way. I guess what I’m saying is to prepare for VAR.

Orlando swept the two league meetings in 2017, the teams split two lopsided games in 2016 — with each team winning at home — and the Black & Red went 2-1-0 in the first three meetings back in 2015.

Match Overview

D.C. finished 2018 as one of the hottest teams in MLS and then picked right back up to start 2019, although things have leveled off after a good start. United’s record stands at 7-4-6, entering Wednesday’s match third in the Eastern Conference standings. United are 4-2-3 at Audi Field this season but are winless in their last five league games (0-1-4), with draws in their last three — the last two at home.

It’s a rematch of Nani vs. former Manchester United teammate Rooney. D.C.’s star man got the better of the first match-up, with Nani missing a seemingly easy header and Rooney getting a goal and an assist.

Oniel Fisher (knee) and Chris Odoi-Atsem (hip) are the only players listed on United’s injury report and both will miss the match. Paul Arriola is with the USMNT at the Gold Cup and Junior Moreno is taking part in Copa America, so neither will be available for D.C.

Orlando City will be without Cristian Higuita (hamstring), who O’Connor said would be out a couple of weeks. Dillon Powers is not listed on the injury report despite going off with an apparent knock in last week’s U.S. Open Cup match. However, both Joao Moutinho and Adam Grinwis are questionable with quad injuries. Sebas Mendez is still with Ecuador, Kamal Miller and Will Johnson are still with Canada, and Greg Ranjitsingh is still with Trinidad & Tobago. Danny Acosta is back after not signing the last paperwork for his Honduras transfer and Mason Stajduhar could be in the 18 as he’s been recalled from Tulsa.

Mandatory Match #Content

• Our Intelligence Report tells us more about United from Ben Bromley of SB Nation’s D.C. blog, Black and Red United.
• This week’s PawedCast will drop tomorrow, so be ready. It’ll have our key match-ups and predictions for the game.

Official Lineups

Orlando City (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: Brian Rowe.

Defenders: Kyle Smith, Robin Jansson, Lamine Sané, Ruan.

Midfielders: Carlos Ascues, Sacha Kljestan, Dillon Powers.

Forwards: Nani, Tesho Akindele, Chris Mueller.

Bench: Mason Stajduhar, Danilo Acosta, Shane O’Neill, Alex De John, Santiago Patino, Benji Michel, Uri Rosell.

DC United (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Bill Hamid.

Defenders: Joseph Mora, Steve Birnbaum, Frederic Brillant, Leonardo Jara.

Defensive Midfielders: Russell Canouse, Chris Durkin.

Attacking Midfielders: Lucas Rodriguez, Luciano Acosta, Ulises Segura.

Forward: Wayne Rooney.

Bench: Chris Seitz, Jalen Robinson, Donovan Pines, Griffin Yow, Zoltán Stieber, Quincy Amarikwa, Chris McCann.

Referees

Ref: Alex Chilowicz.

AR1: Jeff Hosking.

AR2: Jason White.

4th: Lukasz Szpala.

VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero.

AVAR: Steve Taylor.

How to Watch

Match Time: 8 p.m. (ET).

Venue: Audi Field — Washington, D.C.

TV: My65.

Streaming: ESPN+, YouTube TV.

Radio: FM 96.9 The Game (English), La Nueva 990 (Spanish).

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.
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• Keep it somewhat clean and fair when criticizing players / officials. You never know who might be reading.
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Enjoy the match! Go City!