Welcome to your match thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City (11-13-5, 38 points) and D.C. United (7-9-12, 33 points) at Inter.co Stadium (7:30 p.m., Apple TV). This is the second of the two scheduled MLS matches this season between the Lions and the Black and Red.

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

History

The Lions are 9-10-3 against D.C. in the all-time league series since the club joined MLS, and 9-10-4 in all competitions. Orlando is 6-4-1 at home in MLS games against D.C. and 3-5-3 away in all competitions against United.

The most recent meeting between the sides took place on D.C. United’s home grounds back on April 25, when the hosts beat the Lions 3-2. Jackson Hopkins’ early goal put D.C. up 1-0 at the break, but Justin Ellis and Tyrese Spicer scored after halftime to put the Lions out front. However, the team’s leaky defense couldn’t hold the advantage, giving up goals to Louis Munteanu and Kye Rowles in the final six minutes of normal time to hand D.C. the win.

The final meeting of last season also took place at Audi Field on Sept. 13, 2025. Hopkins and Alex Freeman exchanged goals on either side of halftime but the Lions could not take advantage of 33 minutes with a man advantage after Lukas MacNaughton was sent off and the game ended in a 1-1 draw.

The other meeting last season took place in Orlando on March 22. All three of Orlando City’s Designated Players — Luis Muriel, Martin Ojeda, and Marco Pasalic — scored goals, as did Freeman, and Javier Otero won 4-1 in his first MLS start. However, a MacNaughton goal in stoppage time spoiled Otero’s shutout bid.

Orlando City swept the season series in 2024. The teams met on July 6 in Orlando, with the Lions running roughshod over visiting United in a 5-0 win on the night when Kaká became the first player inducted into the Legends Terrace at Inter&Co Stadium. Ojeda, Robin Jansson, Ivan Angulo, Facundo Torres, and Ramiro Enrique all got on the scoresheet, with three of those goals coming before United center back Lucas Bartlett was sent off for denying Angulo a goal-scoring opportunity late in the first half. 

The Lions visited Audi Field on April 13, 2024. United went ahead twice in the match on goals by Christian Benteke and Gabriel Pirani and led the game late. Dagur Dan Thorhallsson equalized in the first half, and David Brekalo made it 2-2. Duncan McGuire’s well-timed breakaway goal in stoppage time lifted Orlando to a 3-2 road win.

Prior to Orlando’s 2024 sweep, the Black and Red had managed four consecutive results in the series (3-0-1). The last meeting in 2023 took place in Orlando on April 22, 2023, with D.C. scoring twice in the second half to snap a 1-1 deadlock and win, 3-1. Taxiarchis Fountas, Donovan Pines, and Benteke scored for D.C. to more than offset McGuire’s strike.

These teams squared off just a few weeks before that in D.C., splitting the points in a 1-1 draw on March 11. McGuire scored his first MLS goal but Chis Durkin leveled things late in a match that was sandwiched between Orlando City’s two legs of Concacaf Champions League play against Tigres UANL.

D.C. swept the season series in 2022, despite being a terrible team that “won” the league’s Wooden Spoon by no small margin. The meeting in D.C. that year took place July 31 and saw Orlando City dominate the first half but miss multiple chances to put the game away early. The Lions were wasteful, taking only a 1-0 lead into stoppage time thanks to Junior Urso’s first-half goal, only to fall 2-1 on stoppage-time strikes by Durkin and Fountas.

The teams also met on Independence Day at Exploria Stadium that season, with D.C. putting together a performance out of nowhere in a 5-3 road win. Fountas netted his first MLS hat trick and Kimarni Smith and Nigel Robertha added their first goals. Torres, Ercan Kara, and Alexandre Pato scored for Orlando, threatening to bring the Lions back, but Orlando could never get on level terms.

The teams met twice in 2021, including Oct. 2 at Exploria Stadium. Daryl Dike scored deep in stoppage to lift the Lions to a 2-1 home victory. Jansson scored a first-half goal off a corner kick scramble to offset an early Julian Gressel strike. The first match of 2021 took place on May 16 in D.C., with the Lions winning 1-0 on an early Mauricio Pereyra goal. That win snapped United’s 3-0-1 streak in the series in league play and 3-0-2 in all competitions dating back to City’s previous most recent win over D.C. back in 2017.

The teams did not meet in what was an odd 2020 season.

D.C. United swept the season series in 2019, winning 1-0 at Audi Field back on June 26, 2019. Wayne Rooney’s wondergoal from his own half of the pitch caught Brian Rowe napping. The Lions fell 2-1 at home on March 31, 2019, with set pieces ruining the night for Orlando. You might recall the controversy that surrounded the winning goal, with then-coach James O’Connor visibly upset after the match. Steve Birnbaum scored the first on a set piece and 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 Rowe on the play as the ball sailed into the net.

D.C. was 1-0-2 in three total meetings (two in league play) in 2018. 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 and Red went 2-1-0 in the first three meetings back in 2015.

Overview

Orlando City is coming off a disappointing 3-3 road draw at Toronto FC on Wednesday. A win was moments away after the Lions came back from two deficits on goals by Martin Ojeda (from the spot) and Antoine Griezmann, and a late goal by Dike seemed like it might lift the Lions to a rare road win. However, Orlando conceded late, as it has done so many times, allowing Matheus Pereira an easy rebound goal on the cusp of stoppage time. It was a costly two dropped points, as the Lions had a chance to further distance themselves from the teams below the line and didn’t use all available subs despite playing the second of three games in eight days.

Orlando is 8-4-2 at home, having won its last four in the purple palace, and the Lions will need the home crowd support tonight as they try to go eight points clear of 12th-place D.C. and keep pace with the teams chasing them for the last spot in the top seven — the playoff places that avoid the MLS Wild Card play-in game.

D.C. enters tonight off a 2-1 home win over the New York Red Bulls on Wednesday despite playing the final 22 minutes down a man after Lucas Bartlett picked up his second yellow card. Tai Baribo scored early from the spot and Silvan Hefti struck deep in first-half stoppage time to snap D.C.’s four-game winless skid (0-2-2). United enters just 2-4-7 on the road and 0-3-4 in the last seven matches away from home. However, the lack of wins on the road draws attention away from the fact that teams have often been held to a single point in their own building against tonight’s opponent.

Baribo is by far D.C.’s biggest weapon with 15 goals and an assist on the season, and he’s had success previously against Orlando while with the Philadelphia Union. Orlando will have to do a better job of tracking runners than it has in several recent games or Baribo will eat alive a back line that will be missing Jansson (foot surgery), Griffin Dorsey (back), and Vinicius Nogueira (shoulder). Whoever plays at the back will need to be calm and decisive on the ball and pass accurately against D.C.’s press and must transition to defensive responsibilities quickly if the ball turns over.

The Lions will be without the aforementioned Jansson (foot), Dorsey (back), and Nogueira (shoulder) in addition to Spicer (foot). D.C. will be without Bartlett (suspension), Munteanu (lower body), Hosei Kijima (lower body), and Gabe Segal (lower body).

Match Content

• Our most recent episode of The Mane Land PawedCast includes our match preview, key matchups, and predictions for the game.

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Official Lineups

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

Defenders: Zakaria Taifi, Iago, David Brekalo, Ivan Angulo.

Midfielders: Martin Ojeda, Wilder Cartagena, Luis Otavio, Eduard Atuesta.

Forwards: Antoine Griezmann, Daryl Dike.

Bench: Javier Otero, Adrian Marin, Nolan Miller, Braian Ojeda, Joran Gerbet, Tiago, Harvey Sarajian, Marco Pasalic, Justin Ellis.

D.C. United (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Sean Johnson.

Defenders: Keisuke Kurokawa, Kye Rowles, Sean Nealis, Silvan Hefti.

Midfielders: Joao Peglow, Andre Dozzell, Kimito Nono, Jared Stroud.

Forwards: Tai Baribo, Brandon Servania.

Bench: Alex Bono, Matti Peltola, Nikola Markovic, Kamil Castillo, Gavin Turner, Conner Antley, Nathan Ordaz, Jackson Hopkins, Oscar Avilez.

Referees

REF: Pierre-Luc Lauziere.
AR1: Jeremy Kieso.
AR2: Justin Howard.
4TH: Chris Penso.
VAR: Younes Marrakchi.
AVAR: Kathryn Nesbitt.

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How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m.

Venue: Inter.co Stadium — Orlando.

TV/Streaming: Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish), Nossa Rádio 1160 AM-WRLZ (Portuguese).

Social Media: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow along at our Bluesky Social account (@themaneland.bsky.social), as well as Orlando City’s official Twitter feed (@OrlandoCitySC).

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Enjoy the match. Go City!

Orlando City sits seventh in the Eastern Conference, and while five points separate the Lions and the three teams immediately outside the playoff picture, things are far from comfortable. OCSC just battled one of those teams, Toronto FC, to a draw, and will welcome the other two, D.C. United and New York City FC, to Inter.co Stadium on back-to-back Saturdays.

There are six teams within six points of Orlando, and while OCSC has five more games to play, two of its opponents (FC Cincinnati and D.C. United) have a game in hand. All this is to say that at this stage of the season, small moments, decisions, and mistakes can have a huge effect on the outcome of the campaign. Wednesday’s 3-3 draw with Toronto FC provided an ample reminder of that fact.

The starting lineup for that game was an interesting one to say the least. With Robin Jansson unavailable due to a knock, and Griffin Dorsey out with a lingering back issue, Iago started next to David Brekalo at center back, while Ivan Angulo got the start at right back. I have no issue with Iago getting the start, as this roster isn’t exactly overflowing with proven options at center back. Angulo playing right back was the much more curious of Martin Perelman’s decisions for me, and not because I have anything against Angulo. He has not so quietly taken over Kyle Smith’s role as a guy who has played just about every position this year, and for the most part has done anywhere from good to serviceable in the process.

Rather, why put Angulo in that position when you have Zakaria Taifi, a right back by trade, ready and available? The 21-year-old hasn’t been perfect with the senior team this year, but he’s actually used to playing the position, and that counts for something. Angulo is at his best when using his speed to chase guys down and recover the ball, but tends to struggle defending 1-v-1 and with his defensive positioning because, well, he’s a winger by trade. Playing Taifi at fullback and Angulo in the midfield would have freed up the Colombian to make more of an impact higher up the field. Plus, the man tasked with covering when the right back went forward, Eduard Atuesta, isn’t exactly known for his defensive prowess either. Putting Angulo and Atuesta on the same side and saddling them with a lot of defensive responsibilities created a vulnerability in the Orlando lineup, and it isn’t remotely surprising that all three of Toronto’s goals either started or were finished on the Lions’ right flank.

To be fair, it’s possible that playing Taifi at right back wouldn’t have made a difference. After all, the defense has been giving away goals at an alarming rate regardless of who’s back there this season. I just struggle to get on board with the decision to not deploy a natural right back, particularly one that’s played just under 850 league minutes this year.

The other thing that stuck out to me was the substitution patterns, particularly during the later stages of the game. While I liked the decision to bring on Daryl Dike with the team chasing the game, as well as throwing Braian Ojeda on after the Lions went ahead in an attempt to inject fresh legs into the midfield, I have questions about how things went the rest of the way. For one thing, while Taifi eventually entered the game in place of Atuesta after Toronto had equalized, why not make that change immediately after Orlando took the lead? I understand wanting to keep Atuesta on while chasing a winner, but with how shaky OCSC looked on its right flank, effectively closing down the game was probably going to take more than simply bringing on Ojeda.

Then there’s the fact that two substitutions went unused altogether, basically three if you account for the fact that Atuesta came off in the fourth of five minutes of stoppage time. Orlando is in the midst of playing three games in eight days and may not have Justin Ellis or Jansson available at the weekend after both missed out on the midweek game. With a massive game against D.C. United looming large on the horizon, you want to be as fresh as possible, but Harvey Sarajian is the only player who got any meaningful sort of rest after coming off in the 67th minute. The Lions didn’t have the strongest possible bench with Tyrese Spicer, Marco Pasalic, Ellis, Jansson, and Dorsey all unavailable for various reasons, but I wouldn’t have minded seeing the likes of Joran Gerbet, Bernardo Rhein, or Tiago make appearances to spell some of the starters—especially once Dike’s goal hit the back of the net.

At the end of the day, while a road draw perhaps isn’t the worst result in the world considering the team’s struggles away from home this season, the fact that Orlando dropped two points late is brutal, however you slice it. Those two extra points would have given the Lions four points of breathing room between the Lions and the chasing pack, and to keep the majority of the starters on for so long but still end up dropping points is an extra kick in the teeth. It’ll hurt even more if the team looks tired and flat on Saturday and can’t get the job at home against a D.C. United side that’s breathing down its neck.

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Of course, it’s worth pointing out that in soccer, as in life, there are no guarantees. We have no way of knowing whether starting Taifi would have fixed Orlando’s issues on the right side, or if he and other defensive subs coming on immediately after Dike’s goal would have prevented Toronto’s winner. We should have a better idea Saturday night if leaving two subs in the chamber was a bad idea, but it’s also possible that if Orlando does use all of its changes that the team doesn’t claw itself out of the 2-1 hole it was in. Regardless, I think there’s something to be said for putting yourself in the best possible position to succeed at this point in the year. I don’t think OCSC did that during Wednesday’s game, and the decisions made during that contest could well hurt the Lions on Saturday as well. Here’s hoping that isn’t the case. Vamos Orlando!

Orlando City’s sloppy defense continued to play a part in the season as the right defensive flank play cost three goals in a 3-3 draw at Toronto FC. Martin Ojeda scored from the spot while Antoine Griezmann and Daryl Dike added goals to finish level with the hosts.

Let’s take a look at how Orlando City’s players rated in their matchup against Toronto FC.

Starters

GK, Maxime Crepeau, 6 — Crepeau’s save preceding Toronto’s third goal wasn’t deflected into a great area, but he was making a diving save and made an effort to push it wide. He had no help clearing the deflection. Otherwise, the Canadian stopped a 1-on-1 that eventually led to the second goal but the goal wasn’t on him. He had five saves on the night and completed 91% of his passes.

D, Vinicius Nogueira, 5.5 — Nogueira was unable to clear the follow-up action preceding Toronto’s second goal, but I don’t know that he had much of a chance at it. Otherwise, Nogueira was mostly unnoticeable, which is fine for a fullback. He did muscle Toronto plays off a ball or two showing us a bit of what he can bring. He picked up a yellow in the 82nd minute for a late tackle. He completed 82% of his passes and had two tackles.

D, Iago, 5.5 — Iago showed all of his youth with mistake after mistake but also showed his flashes of potential with his headed assist to Griezmann for the second goal. He wasn’t directly responsible for any of the goals but didn’t show up for them either. He was beaten for the shot that led to the second Toronto goal, but he was put in a bad spot by Ivan Angulo’s soft back pass that Niklas Dorsch picked off. Iago completed 95% of his team-leading 65 passes and had four clearances.

D, David Brekalo, 5.5 — When playing out of the back, your center backs are going to get a lot of action. Like Iago, Brekalo wasn’t directly responsible for any of the goals but also didn’t help. He had the most defensive contributions at 12, the most touches at 79, and passed at an 89% clip, but he recorded zero tackles. For someone who touched the ball as much as he did, he was mostly invisible, which is fine for a center back — except when the team gives up three goals.

D, Ivan Angulo, 5 — Angulo was responsible for Toronto’s second goal with an ill-advised back pass outside the 18 that Iago couldn’t get to and Toronto capitalized. Angulo slots in at right back when the lineup is pressed for bodies and rarely does it go well. He’s not great at it and, when Eduard Atuesta is his cover, it compounds the problem. It was also Angulo’s man who followed up Crepeau’s save to score the third goal. Throw that in with Angulo’s assist on Dike’s goal and we have difficulty picking a score. Angulo hit 85% of his passes, had one shot on target, and added two tackles and four recoveries. He was good in the attacking end and poor in the defensive end, and his score reflects that.

MF, Harvey Sarajian, 5 — Sarajian battled and made some runs but wasn’t able to convert his one chance early. He was perfect on his 18 passes but had the fewest touches by almost half. The rookie lost the ball five times but he completed his lone long ball. He was subbed out for Daryl Dike in the 67th minute.

MF, Wilder Cartagena, 5.5 — Cartagena had marks in almost every category on the stat sheet but did not stand out to the casual viewer. He connected well, completing 96% of his passes, and contributed on defense with a tackle, a clearance, and a recovery but did not make his mark on the game. He was subbed out in the 85th minute for Braian Ojeda.

MF, Luis Otavio, 6 — Otavio played a bit more of the enforcer role compared with Cartagena. He made his presence felt in the middle with four tackles and won 55% of his ground duels. He only completed 83% of his passes but helped manage the central midfield. Any problems came from the flanks and weren’t on him.

MF, Eduard Atuesta, 4.5 — For some reason, Atuesta was assigned to cover the right defensive flank when Angulo got forward. That proved to be a bad tactic time after time and nowhere more obvious than on the first Toronto goal. Atuesta failed to mark Lewis Morgan — the only attacking player nearby — at the back post, which gave Morgan a free header to put in the back of the net. The veteran midfielder only completed 84% of his passes, when that is arguably his main skill, had zero tackles, and recorded only one interception. He was subbed off in the third minute of extra time for Zakaria Taifi.

F, Martin Ojeda, 6.5 — Ojeda didn’t know much about it, but it was his cross attempt that led to the penalty that he converted himself to score Orlando’s first goal. His cross was a bit lucky to catch Matheus Pereira’s outstretched arm, but that’s why you put the ball into attacking areas. Otherwise, he’s still finding his fit with Griezmann as he wasn’t able to generate much else offensively. He completed 74% of his passes with two key passes, put one of his two shots on target, but had only two touches in the box. He added a clearance on the defensive end.

F, Antoine Griezmann, 7 (MotM) — It’s a little repetitive for Griezmann to be Man of the Match, but he finished with a goal and an assist, had a dangerous pass to Sarajian early, converted the headed pass from Iago for the second goal, and perfectly dummied the ball from Angulo (who had originally received the ball from Griezmann) to give Dike his goal. He hit only 63% of his passes, but three of them created scoring chances. He also made two successful crosses and completed 11 passess into the final third as he continues to pace Orlando’s offense. On the defensive end, he contributed a clearance off a set piece.

Substitutes

F, Daryl Dike (67′), 6.5 — Dike came on for Sarajian and started to show his physical presence. As the season has worn on, fans have started to get a little frustrated with his lack of impact, but that can be the life of a target forward at times. After all, clearing space for Angulo’s game winner Saturday against Columbus doesn’t show up in the box score. Dike finally showed his quality in the 83rd minute, finishing a good pass from Angulo with an unstoppable shot to briefly give the Lions the lead. He connected on six of his seven passes, won all but one of his duels, and had the same number of touches in the opposition box as Martin Ojeda at two in 67 fewer minutes.

M, Braian Ojeda (85’), N/A — It was good to see Braian Ojeda return to the field for the first time since Aug. 1. He was six-for-six passing and added a clearance. His time on the field wasn’t enough to garner a grade, but his return will help the team see out the rest of the season.

D, Zakaria Taifi (90+4′), N/A — Taifi subbed in for Atuesta in the fourth minute of added time to provide an actual right back in that slot, but by then Toronto had equalized. He recorded only two touches and missed his only pass in his brief appearance. There’s no grade for him on such a short cameo, but I’m fairly confident he would’ve earned a higher grade than Atuesta had Taifi started.

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That’s what I’ve got for the players in a back-and-forth but eventually disappointing game. Let us know how you saw the game in the comments below, and don’t forget to vote for your Man of the Match.