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Orlando City vs. D.C. United: Player Grades and Man of the Match

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3 years ago

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The Cardiac Cats are back as Orlando City scored in stoppage time to win 2-1 over D.C. United and climbed back up the Eastern Conference standings. Both of Orlando’s goals came from corner kicks as Robin Jansson and Daryl Dike found the back of the net to overcome an early goal by Julian Gressel.

Let’s dive into how each Lion performed in the team’s first win since Sept. 4.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 5 — Gallese was beaten at the near post by Gressel’s powerful shot from distance that seemed to catch the Peruvian goalkeeper off guard. El Pulpo also had a nervy moment early in the second half when he couldn’t handle a cross into the box, but D.C. ultimately wasn’t able to capitalize on the opportunity. Apart from those moments, it was a fairly quiet night for Gallese as he had one save and 26 touches. He completed 15 of his 19 passes for a 79% rate and was accurate on three of his seven attempted long balls. While he hasn’t had a clean sheet since a scoreless match with Inter Miami on Aug. 27, this was the first time since that match that Orlando hasn’t conceded multiple goals in a game. Gallese will join Peru for World Cup qualifiers during this international break.

D, João Moutinho, 6 — Moutinho was fairly involved when on the field, but was taken off at halftime. He had 50 touches in Orlando’s first half and 40 passes at an 83% completion rate. His only attempted cross was unsuccessful as Orlando’s other playmakers weaved most of the team’s chances. Defensively, Moutinho had a tackle, an interception, and a clearance. If his substitution was due to an injury concern, at least he has time to recover as Orlando’s next game isn’t until a road trip to face FC Cincinnati on Oct. 16.

D, Robin Jansson, 7.5 (MotM) — The Swede did a great job following through on a corner kick to score Orlando’s first goal, slamming the ball into the net after Hamid made a save. It was Jansson’s second goal of the season as he continues to make an impact on set pieces. On the defensive side of things, Jansson had three interceptions and a defensive block to limit D.C.’s chances alongside Antonio Carlos. He had 63 touches and completed 87% of his passes. Jansson is the Man of the Match for helping Orlando respond to Gressel’s goal with one of his own and also clamping down on a D.C. offense that scored 12 goals in the previous four games leading up to this match.

D, Antonio Carlos, 7.5 — Carlos led the Lions with seven interceptions as he used great vision and his large frame to cut off passes and regain possession. He also had a tackle and three clearances to help keep D.C.’s offense quiet. He made an important defensive play in the 40th minute to prevent an Ola Kamara breakaway. The center back completed 50 of his 52 passes for a 96% success rate, which is fantastic considering D.C.’s high press to try to force mistakes. Carlos was calm, cool, and collected with 70 touches in the match and no committed fouls — important since he entered the match one yellow card shy of a suspension. His two shots came late in the match as Orlando hunted for a winner. Both were deflected, with the first going out for the corner that led to Dike’s goal.

D, Ruan, 5.5 — The right back’s crossing ability still leaves something to be desired as he was unsuccessful on all three of his attempts. However, one of those crosses was a low effort to Dike that had to be forced out for the corner that resulted in Orlando’s first goal. Ruan seems to be getting better at cutback passes into the box after sprinting down the right side rather than trying to loft the ball in front of goal for someone to head in. He had three tackles and his quickness allowed him to chase down loose balls before D.C. players could reach them. He got beat down his side a couple of times and gave the ball away in his own end a few times in the first half, which affected his score. Ruan played every minute and finished with 68 touches while completing 75% of his 44 passes.

MF, Sebas Mendez, 7 — The Ecuadorian midfielder led the Lions with 97 touches and also had 90 passes at a great 96% success rate. Mendez’ role was crucial for the Lions to get past D.C.’s press as he served as an outlet for passes to help build possession. He had two interceptions and a clearance to help solidify Orlando’s defense in the center of the field. While he didn’t make much of an impact on offense beyond helping the Lions string together passes, his presence allowed players like Mauricio Pereyra and Nani to push higher upfield.

MF, Junior Urso, 5.5 — While Urso made a great play by safely intercepting a low cross in front of goal without putting it into his own net, that initial chance for D.C. was created by Urso’s dispossession and his attempted clearance didn’t end the danger. It was a series of moments that happened for Urso in the match as he tended to turn the ball over and then hustled to make up for it. He also gave away a couple of unnecessary free kicks in his defensive half. He played all 90 minutes and had 77 touches while completing 50 of his 60 passes for an 83% success rate. Urso had a tackle, an interception, and a blocked shot in the match. Offensively, he was able to get enough behind his header from a corner to force a save from Hamid, with Jansson there to put it away. That was one of his two shots and the other was deflected late in the match for a corner. Urso has played every minute of Orlando’s past five games so the international break comes at a great time for the Bear.

MF, Benji Michel, 5.5 — The Homegrown Player used his speed to make great runs throughout the match, flying under the radar a bit to find good spaces. His only shot came in the 35th minute as a great ball by Nani found him in the box. Michel made a nice cutback to shake his defender, but his shot skipped just wide of goal. He didn’t have any key passes and his only cross was unsuccessful. He finished with 36 touches in 82 minutes of action and chipped in with a clearance and an interception when defending.

MF, Mauricio Pereyra, 6.5 — Pereyra did well pulling the strings for Orlando’s offense before coming off in the 71st minute for Silvester van der Water. Both of Pereyra’s two key passes were from corner kicks, including the great service that led to Orlando’s goal. He also attempted two crosses in open play but neither found their target. Pereyra also had a shot, but it was deflected. He finished with 60 touches and completed 83% of his 46 attempted passes.

MF, Nani, 6.5 — The captain was most productive in the first half. Nani made two key passes to set up good opportunities for Orlando and also had two shots, although both were deflected. His only cross of the match was unsuccessful and he shifted to a central role once Pereyra was subbed off. Nani wasn’t able to get much going in the second half and was taken off in the 81st minute for fresher legs. He had 61 touches, three clearances, a tackle, and 44 passes at an 84% success rate. Nani hasn’t scored or made an assist in his past five appearances, but this was his longest shift during that stretch and he will have time to rest before Orlando’s next match.

F, Daryl Dike, 7 — With two defenders covering him, Dike literally rose to the occasion in the final moments of the match to head the ball into the underside of the crossbar and into goal for the game-winner. Dike was outright unstoppable whenever the ball was in his vicinity during the match, using his strength to get past defenders and making two clearances with his head as well. His goal was one of his two shots, the other going off-target early on in the match. D.C. was determined to lock him down and he ended the game with just 26 touches and seven passes at a 100% completion rate as Orlando struggled to get him involved when D.C. dug in its heels in the second half. Regardless, Dike gave Orlando all three points with his late winner and has scored in three straight matches against the Eastern Conference’s toughest opposition.

Substitutes

D, Emmanuel Mas (46’), 6 — The left back came on for Moutinho at halftime and ended up leading the Lions with four tackles and three clearances. He did well on both sides of the ball and came alive on offense once Mueller joined the fray as the pair used their speed and footwork to attack the left side. Mas had 64 touches and was successful on 85% of his 41 passes. It was a solid outing from the Argentine defender.

MF, Silvester van der Water (71’), 5 — Van der Water came on for Pereyra and wasn’t able to make much of an impact with no shots or key passes. His only cross was unsuccessful and he finished with 13 touches and eight passes at a 75% success rate. It wasn’t his best outing, but he wasn’t terrible by any means and helped switch the flow of play when needed.

MF, Andres Perea (81’), N/A — Coming on late for Mendez, Perea completed 14 of 15 passes for a 93% success rate and had 15 touches. He wasn’t involved much in the team’s late push for a goal as D.C. was still capable of going on the counter if Orlando’s attack fell apart. While he didn’t play enough minutes to be graded, he still earns some bonus points for giving Dike a pair of sunglasses during his goal celebration. But where did he get them?

F, Tesho Akindele (81’), N/A — The Canadian nearly scored the winner in the 88th minute with a sliding shot to put the ball on target, but Hamid came up with a great save from his knees and it was cleared off the line. It was his only shot of an otherwise quiet performance as he only had three touches and one pass, which he completed.

MF, Chris Mueller (82’), N/A — It was Mueller’s first appearance since a cameo on Sept. 15 and the winger tried to make the most of his few minutes on the field. He had 26 touches and completed nine of his 13 passes for a 69% completion rate as he worked to make something happen while both of Orlando’s Designated Players were off the field. Mueller delivered the team’s only successful cross in open play, had two key passes, and was also successful on three of his five corner kicks, including the game-winning assist. His corner kick for Orlando’s winner was sublime as he delivered a great ball into traffic for Dike to reach and flick towards goal. With Mueller leaving the team after this year and only a few home games left this regular season, it will certainly be a moment to remember.

That’s how I saw things play out in Orlando’s 2-1 win at home. Make sure to weigh in on how you feel about the grades in the comments below and to vote for who you think deserves the title of Man of the Match.

Polling Closed

PlayerVotes
Junior Urso44
Ruan31
Mauricio Pereyra3
Other (Comment Below)6

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Orlando City

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

The Lions look to right the ship on the road in Philadelphia.

Published

9 hours ago

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May 11, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Welcome to your match thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City SC (2-5-3, 9 points) and the Philadelphia Union (3-2-5, 14 points) at Subaru Park (7:30 p.m., MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+). This is the first of two regular-season meeting between the Eastern Conference clubs in 2024, with the Union scheduled to make the return trip to Orlando on Oct. 2.

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

History

Orlando City is 5-7-6 in the 18 MLS meetings with the Union since the club joined Major League Soccer in 2015, and 6-8-6 in all competitions. The Lions are 3-5-1 against the Union on the road in league play and 3-6-1 away against Philadelphia in all competitions.

The teams last met on June 21, 2023 in Orlando, with the Lions blowing a two-goal lead in a controversial 2-2 draw. Duncan McGuire and Martin Ojeda scored early in each half, only to see Jack McGlynn score on a cross into the box that missed everyone and got past Mason Stajduhar at the far post, followed by a rocket shot by Jose Martinez from distance. Ivan Angulo’s would-be game winner by Ivan Angulao was chalked off after a questionable foul call in the buildup against Ercan Kara.

The teams met in Philadelphia most recently on March 25, 2023 with the Lions jumping out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Angulo and Ojeda. Former Lion Andres Perea pulled one back but the Lions held on for a 2-1 road win. The victory snapped Philadelphia’s incredible 24-match home unbeaten streak.

The Union put the Lions to the sword in the last meeting of 2022, a dominant 5-1 win by Philadelphia on Sept. 10 of that year. That was Orlando’s first match since winning the U.S. Open Cup title three days earlier. Joao Moutinho’s own goal started the scoring and the Union got goals from Mikael Uhre, Daniel Gazdag (penalty), Alejandro Bedoya, and Jack Elliott. Perea, who was then still a Lion, scored for Orlando but the team was trailing by 4-0 at the time.

The Eastern Conference foes met on July 23, 2022 at Exploria Stadium. Two controversial video review decisions went against Orlando that night and the Lions were wasteful with their chances in an evenly matched 1-0 Philadelphia win. Gazdag scored the game’s only goal off a set piece.

The teams also met in U.S. Open Cup play on May 10, 2022, with the Lions winning 2-1 at home. Kara and Perea hoisted Orlando to a 2-0 lead. Stuart Findlay pulled one back late, but the Lions saw it out and advanced.

On Sept. 19, 2021 the Union prevailed 3-1 at Subaru Park, largely due to a brace by Kacper Przybylko after he got away with what appeared a clear elbow to the face of Rodrigo Schlegel. Instead of being sent off and/or conceding a free kick to Orlando City, the Union scored on the ensuing play and went on to win the match. The teams met in Orlando on July 22, 2021 and the Lions got goals by Benji Michel and Perea on the team’s only two shots on target to win 2-1. Przybylko, who had feasted on Orlando since arriving in Philadelphia, pulled one back for the visitors but the Lions hung on.

The teams faced each other in the group stage of the MLS is Back Tournament in 2020 in the only meeting to date that did not take place in either side’s home stadium. The game ended in a 1-1 draw after a Mauricio Pereyra goal canceled out a strike by Ilsinho. That draw allowed the Lions to win Group A in the competition and they went on to reach the final.

The Lions and Union tangled in what was then known as Talen Energy Stadium on July 7, 2019, with the teams drawing, 2-2. Dom Dwyer and Santiago Patino brought Orlando back from 1-0 down but Przybylko poached a goal in the 90th to capture a share of the points for the Union. That match was postponed by MLS on the night it was set to take place — a move that Orlando City fought against — and instead was played the next day.

The two teams had met just a few days earlier on July 3, ending in Orlando’s 3-1 home loss against the Union. Chris Mueller and Przybylko swapped goals in the first half before Robin Jansson was sent off just prior to the break. Afterwards, the 10-man Lions gave up two more goals — to Przybylko and Fafa Picault — and then went down another man with Sacha Kljestan seeing red.

The teams drew 2-2 in a wild finish on Sept. 1, 2018 in Orlando. Just when it looked like Picault had lifted the Union to victory with a strike in the 88th minute, Scott Sutter equalized in stoppage time to salvage a point for the Lions. Dwyer and Cory Burke also scored in that match. The Lions prevailed over the Union in Philadelphia on April 13, 2018 by a 2-0 score. Dwyer and Mueller provided the offense. Orlando and Philadelphia also met that season in U.S. Open Cup play, with the Union capturing a 1-0 home win back on July 18, 2018 on a goal by Bedoya.

The teams split their two matches in 2017, with the home side prevailing both times. The Lions won 2-1 at Orlando City Stadium on March 18. The rematch was an ugly 6-1 Philadelphia win in the season finale for both teams.

The Lions were 1-1-1 against Philadelphia in 2016. The team’s first road victory in the series came on Oct. 16, 2016, as the Lions roared, 2-0. The teams played to a 2-2 draw on May 25 in Orlando. Tranquillo Barnetta’s free kick gave Philly a 2-1 win.

Orlando drew 0-0 at home and lost on the road, 1-0 (on a penalty kick), against Philadelphia in 2015.

Overview

Orlando City enters tonight’s match looking to turn things around after two straight losses put a screeching halt to a four-game unbeaten run. The most recent of those was last Saturday’s 1-0 home loss to FC Cincinnati on a goal conceded in the opening half minute. From there, Cincinnati didn’t create a lot, but Orlando struggled to finish and fell at home.

Orlando is 1-2-1 on the road this season, but the draw and the win came in the Lions’ two most recent away matches at Montreal and D.C. United, respectively. One reason for that is that Orlando scored a total of five goals in those two matches, whereas the team has struggled to score for most of the season so far.

Philadelphia enters tonight also not quite living up to expectations, but at least the Union are currently above the playoff line — in eighth place, which would result in having to start with the play-in game if Philly stays where it is. The Union are just 1-2-1 at home so far this season — a far cry from their long home unbeaten streak the Lions snapped in their 2023 visit to Subaru Park.

coming off a weekend off following a 2-1 road loss at San Jose 11 days ago. The Union are 3-4-1 on the road in 2023, however, Philly had won three straight on the road and was unbeaten in four prior to visiting the Earthquakes. Only three Eastern Conference teams have scored more goals than Philadelphia’s 28, yet only three Eastern teams have conceded fewer than the 17 goals the Union have allowed. Philly enters on a four-match winless skid (0-2-2), which includes losses in the team’s last two home games against Western Conference opponents Seattle and Real Salt Lake.

Typically, the Union like to deploy in a 4-4-2 diamond formation under Jim Curtin. Gazdag is the key man as he can both score and turn provider for others. He leads the Union with six goals to go along with one assist in 2024. Carranza, who is Philly’s second-leading scorere, will miss the match due to yellow card accumulation, but Uhre is another danger man that Orlando City must always keep under wraps. Uhre is third among Union scorers with three goals on the season, and he has one assist as well. The surprise player for Philadelphia in 2024 has been Quinn Sullivan, who leads Philly with four assists on the year. Bedoya has chipped in three assists, and fullback Kai Wagner — always a threat with crosses and set pieces — also has three.

“Philadelphia, a very traditional model they have. They have changed a couple things here and there, but not many changes on the roster,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said ahead of the match. “What I see from Philadelphia is a very traditional team that plays very direct. They are trying to find the best version too. That’s what we see.” 

Orlando City will be without Rodrigo Schlegel (suspension), Ramiro Enrique (ankle), Rafael Santos (shoulder), and Homegrown defender Tahir Reid-Brown (thigh), while Dagur Dan Thorhallsson (concussion protocol) is listed as questionable.

Match Content

Official Lineups:

Orlando City (3-5-2),

Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese.

Defenders: Robin Jansson, Wilder Cartagena, David Brekalo.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Cesar Araujo, Martin Ojeda, Nico Lodeiro, Facundo Torres.

Forwards: Luis Muriel, Duncan McGuire.

Bench: Mason Stajduhar, Kyle Smith, Alex Freeman, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Abdi Salim, Felipe, Jeorgio Kocevski, Yutaro Tsukada, Jack Lynn.

Philadelphia Union (4-4-2 diamond)

Goalkeeper: Oliver Semmle.

Defenders: Kai Wagner, Damion Lowe, Jakob Glesnes, Nathan Harriel.

Midfielders: Jose Martinez, Jack McGlynn, Daniel Gazdag, Alejandro Bedoya.

Forwards: Quinn Sullivan, Michael Uhre.

Bench: Andrew Rick, Olwethu Makhanya, Jack Elliott, Jeremy Rafanello, Jesus Bueno, Leon Flach, Sanders Ngabo, Chris Donovan, Tai Baribo.

Referees:

REF: Timothy Ford.
AR1: Brian Dunn.
AR2: Ben Pilgrim.
4TH: Marcos DeOliveira.
VAR: Michael Radchuk.
AVAR: TJ Zablocki.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m.

Venue: Subaru Park — Chester, PA.

TV/Streaming: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+.

Radio: Real Radio 104.1 FM (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish).

Twitter: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow along at @TheManeLand, as well as Orlando City’s official Twitter feed (@OrlandoCitySC).

Enjoy the match. Go City!

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Opinion

Resetting Expectations for Orlando City in 2024

What expectations are reasonable for Orlando City fans for the remainder of the 2024 MLS season?

Published

10 hours ago

on

May 11, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

After another agonizing loss at home a week ago to FC Cincinnati, Orlando City finds itself near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings almost a third of the way through the regular season. For an organization that entered the 2024 Major League Soccer season with lofty expectations, the beginning of the season has fallen significantly short of preseason projections.

For the most part, the facts that supported those preseason projections still mainly hold true. Orlando brought back its core offensive and defensive pieces, made some specific and pointed acquisitions in an attempt to upgrade, and was still managed by a coach who had enjoyed unparalleled success at the helm for the club.

So with all those things holding true, the head scratching question at this point in the season is what has gone wrong? During the first five to six weeks of the season, Orlando had to balance the regular season and Concacaf Champions Cup. Those days are now long past and that excuse for poor on-field performances no longer holds water.

In years past, Orlando has demonstrated its ability to grow into the season and last year’s record-setting team didn’t find its form until after the Leagues Cup competition. Nonetheless, Orlando City fans have not seen a team stumble out of the gate this badly in recent years. It’s time to reset the expectations for the 2024 MLS season and look to see what the team would have to do to turn the season on its head.

In 2023, Orlando City put up a club-record 63 points by season’s end, but if we break down the numbers of the early season, we can see that it might not be time to press the panic button just yet. Through the first 10 matches of 2023, Orlando put up 14 points on a 4-4-2 record with a goal differential of zero. Orlando City currently sits on nine points through its first 10 matches with a 2-5-3 record and a -7 goal differential. On the surface, those numbers seem to be a stark contrast to one another, but when you take into account a five-goal drubbing at Inter Miami, the goal differential that the team is supporting this year is mainly dragged down by one forgettable outing.

Add in a short-handed loss in Atlanta earlier in March, when the team was banged up and missing Wilder Cartagena due to suspension, as well as a heartbreaking last-ditch collapse against Toronto FC two weeks ago, and the picture starts to look less bleak than just what the numbers would suggest. Still, good teams find ways to not drop points at home and to manage matches where there are pieces of the machine missing.

With 24 matches still on the schedule, there is time to climb the table, but with every dropped point or bad loss the clock ticks closer to midnight and the margin for error becomes smaller.

In 2023, Charlotte FC snuck into the playoff wild card position with 43 points on the season, and only 10 wins. It doesn’t seem wildly out of the imagination that Orlando could reach that level this year. Extrapolating the data going back to 2021, with the current MLS playoff qualifications, a team would need an average of 44 points to make the postseason. That equates to Orlando needing 35 points over its final 24 matches — or 1.45 points per match — to reach the wild card round.

A somewhat more lofty goal would be qualifying for the playoffs without the wild card. Again, going back to average the seventh-place spot in the East over the last three years, Orlando would need to reach 48 points this season to avoid a play-in game. That equates to 39 points over the final 24 matches, or 1.62 points per match. In 2023, Orlando managed 49 points over its final 24 matches of the year — that’s 2.04 points per match.

I am not projecting Orlando to go on that same massive (MLS best) type of run over the summer and fall portions of the season, but I do believe that when it comes to expectations on the season there is still hope to be had for Orlando qualifying for the playoffs. The more likely scenario would be for Orlando to end up in the wild card matchup, but with a few extra matches breaking Orlando’s way, it is not a stretch yet to consider the club could climb slightly higher. There is also still the Leagues Cup on the horizon, and regardless of one’s opinion on the competition, a deep, competitive run in that competition could give meaning to the Lions’ 10th anniversary season.

We can likely put to bed the hopes of competing for the Shield or the top spot in the East at this point in the season, given the number of teams above the Lions and the number of matches remaining. However, it is still far too early to give up on the season as a whole. Orlando was five minutes away from going undefeated in the month of April, and there are still meaningful and winnable games on the calendar ahead. My recalibrated expectation of the season is for Orlando to earn a wild card spot, and anything above that would be gravy as far as I am concerned.

What reset expectations do you have for the year? Let us know in the comments below and as always, Vamos Orlando!

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Orlando City

Intelligence Report: Orlando City vs. Philadelphia Union

Get caught up with everything you need to know about the Philadelphia Union from someone who knows them best.

Published

1 day ago

on

May 10, 2024

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Orlando City is set to continue a difficult May schedule Saturday, and will try to avoid a three-game losing streak in the process. This week sees the Lions travel north to face the Philadelphia Union, which will be the first of three taking place in a span of eight days, with two of those on the road, forcing Orlando to shuttle back and forth across the country.

A date with the Union means I caught up with Joe Lister of the always excellent Philadelphia Soccer Now. As usual, Joe was very helpful in getting us caught up on what’s been happening with the Union, and I also answered some of his questions about OCSC, which you can find over at their place.

Run me through Philadelphia’s off-season transfer business. Are there any new names who have stood out?

Joe Lister: Philadelphia’s transfer business is nearly nonexistent. They sold a few guys, but didn’t really bring anyone notable in. The group that will be available against Orlando on Saturday is the same group that’s been around with the team for (generally) two or three years.

Quinn Sullivan, however, has been a relevation this season. His brother, Cavan, has obviously been in the news as of late. However, Quinn, 20, has been great for Philly. He’s got great pace down the side of the pitch and has a motor that doesn’t seem to quit. If he can perfect his final touch, he’ll make the Union a good bit of money.

It’s still quite early in the season, but its strange to see the Union not occupying their typical spot near the top of the East. Is there any concern among the fanbase, or are people largely happy with what they’ve seen so far?

JL: People are upset. This team, by Philly fans’ standards, sucks. The Eastern Conference is obviously super tough this year (Miami and RBNY are worth shoutouts), but Philadelphia just isn’t performing. They nearly lost three games in a row for the first time since 2017 with their draw against D.C. United. They were saved by a blast from Jack McGlynn that they didn’t necessarily deserve.

The Union are underwhelming. The front office has operated under the impression that the teams from 2020, 2021, and 2022 can still compete in MLS. The issue is that while the league has gotten better, the Union have just gotten worse.

The Union’s only two losses of the season have come at home. Is that simply down to playing two good teams in Real Salt Lake and the Seattle Sounders, or is there something else at play there?

JL: That’s just the team being in a funk. Again, this team is underperforming by Philadelphia’s standards. Losing at home is a true showcase of how far this team has fallen. I think the Union will be fine longterm — this is a playoff team, but nothing more than that.

Will any players be unavailable due to injury, suspension, etc.? What is your projected starting lineup and score prediction?

JL: Defender Olivier Mbaizo and goalkeeper Andre Blake were both out for last match with injuries. Blake’s been in-and-out all season, but I think the team has started to realize that backup Oliver Semmle is good enough that the three-time Goalkeeper of the Year doesn’t need to always be on the pitch. Julian Carranza is also suspended due to yellow card accumulation.

Lineup (4-4-2 diamond): Oliver Semmle; Kai Wagner, Jack Elliott, Jakob Glesnes, Nathan Harriel; Jose Martinez; Leon Flach, Alejandro Bedoya; Daniel Gazdag; Quinn Sullivan, Mikael Uhre.

I think this is a 2-2 draw. Based on where the Union are at right now, Orlando will get two first-half goals, the Union will pull back in the second half. Feels like a game where Daniel Gazdag should find the net at some point.

Thank you to Joe for the inside info on the Union. Vamos Orlando!

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