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

Welcome to your match thread for a Saturday night match-up between Orlando City SC and the Philadelphia Union at Subaru Park (7:30 p.m., FOX 35 Plus). This is the second of two regular-season match-ups between the Lions (12-10-6, 42 points) and Union (17-4-9, 60 points) in 2022, but the third overall meeting as the teams met in U.S. Open Cup play back in May.

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

History

Orlando City is 4-6-5 in the 15 MLS meetings with the Union since the club joined Major League Soccer in 2015, and 5-7-5 in all competitions. The Lions are 2-4-1 against the Union on the road in league play and 2-5-1 at Philadelphia in all competitions.

The most recent meeting between the Eastern Conference foes came on July 23 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. Daniel Gazdag scored the game’s only goal off a set piece.

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

The teams last met at Subaru Park on Sept. 19, 2021. The Union prevailed 3-1 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 met in 2020 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 teams met in what was then known as Talen Energy Stadium on July 7, 2019, with the Lions and Union 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 — one to Przybylko and the other to 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 Alejandro 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 as part of the team’s hot start. Cyle Larin scored a brace to lead the Lions. C.J. Sapong scored for Philadelphia. The rematch was an ugly 6-1 Philadelphia win in the season finale for both teams. Dwyer gave Orlando its only goal, while Earl Edwards Jr. (in his first MLS start) was beaten twice each by Ilsinho, Picault, and Sapong.

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. Carlos Rivas and Julio Baptista scored. The teams played to a 2-2 draw on May 25 in Orlando, as Ken Tribbett made the Lions pay for Kaká’s missed penalty in the first half by scoring an equalizing goal off a corner kick. Kevin Molino and Larin scored for Orlando City, and Tranquillo Barnetta also scored for the Union. Barnetta’s free kick in the 89th minute gave Philly a 2-1 win on March 8 of 2016, with Adrian Winter scoring for the Lions on the road.

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 on a great run of form with five straight wins in all competitions, however, the Union will be the rested side while the Lions are coming off their emotional first U.S. Open Cup championship on Wednesday — a 3-0 win over Sacramento Republic FC. The Lions understandably went with a first-choice lineup on a hot, rainy night in Orlando, and with two home matches next week, this seems like the time for heavy squad rotation. City has won its last two MLS road games — at the Red Bulls and Charlotte — during its current run and is 5-3-6 in all away matches on the season.

Philadelphia enters tonight riding a four-game winning streak and is tied on points for the Supporters Shield with LAFC, but the Western Conference side currently holds the tiebreaker. The Union are one of two teams to have already clinched a postseason berth and if we’re being honest they have all but clinched the conference’s top seed with just a few games remaining. Montreal is the only team with a realistic chance of catching them but Philadelphia has an eight-point lead.

The Union have turned Subaru Park into the kind of fortress Orlando fans can only dream of, claiming points in every home game and going 10-0-5 on their own pitch this season. Philadelphia has won seven consecutive home games and has looked invincible while doing so, outscoring opponents 10-1 in their last two matches and an incredible 31-4 across those seven games at Subaru Park. The Union have scored four or more goals in each of their last four home matches. Yikes.

Orlando will have to deal with Philadelphia’s strong midfield play against the Union’s 4-4-2 diamond formation and limit opportunities for Gazdag, Julian Carranza, and Mikael Uhre — a trio of attacking players who have all reached double-digit goal totals already. Those three players have combined for 43 goals — eight more than Orlando’s entire team has scored in 2022! — and 23 assists. Cory Burke is another offensive threat, with seven goals and five assists this year. In short, this is a potent offensive lineup, as evidenced by fullback Kai Wagner’s 13 assists.

It is going to take a massive effort in this match to extend Orlando’s winning streak. Whoever Oscar Pareja selects for his starting XI is going to have to stay concentrated and organized defensively to even have a chance and any offensive opportunities must be converted, which won’t be easy against Jamaican international goalkeeper Andre Blake and a Union defense that has only allowed 21 goals all season.

Orlando will be without Alexandre Pato (knee), Joey DeZart (knee), and Jack Lynn (thigh). Robin Jansson (lower leg) is still listed as questionable after dressing for Wednesday’s cup match. Philadelphia has no players listed on the midweek availability report, so if you didn’t hate the Union for being good, feel free to hate them for being fortunate as well.

Mandatory Match Content

• This week’s Intelligence Report features insight into the Union from Joe Lister of SBNation’s Philadelphia blog, Brotherly Game.
• The most recent PawedCast includes our key match-ups and score predictions for tonight’s game.
• Our Dave Rohe provided his three keys to victory for Orlando City against Philadelphia.
• Josh Munsey went inside the Union’s numbers in his latest scouting report.

Official Lineups:

Orlando City (4-2-3-1),

Goalkeeper: Mason Stajduhar.

Defenders: Joao Moutinho, Rodrigo Schlegel, Antonio Carlos, Ruan.

Defensive Midfielders: Wilder Cartagena, Andres Perea.

Attacking Midfielders: Jake Mulraney, Mauricio Pereyra, Benji Michel.

Forward: Benji Michel.

Bench: Adam Grinwis, Kyle Smith, Michael Halliday, Cesar Araujo, Junior Urso, Ivan Angulo, Facundo Torres, Ercan Kara, Tesho Akindele.

Philadelphia Union (4-4-2 diamond)

Goalkeeper: Andre Blake.

Defenders: Kai Wagner, Jack Elliott, Jakob Glesnes, Olivier Mbaizo.

Midfielders: Jose Martinez, Leon Flach, Alejandro Bedoya, Daniel Gazdag.

Forwards: Michael Uhre, Julian Carranza.

Bench: Matt Freese, Nathan Harriel, Matthew Real, Brandan Craig, Quinn Sullivan, Jack McGlynn, Paxten Aaronson, Chris Donovan, Cory Burke.

Referees:

Ref: Armando Villarreal.

AR1: Andrew Bigelow.

AR2: Diego Blas.

4th: Sergii Demianchuk.

VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero.

AVAR: Cory Richardson.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m.

Venue: Subaru Park — Chester, PA.

TV: FOX 35 Plus (local only).

Radio: FM 96.9 The Game (English), Accion 97.9 FM and 810 AM (Spanish).

Streaming: The match can be streamed on ESPN+ (out of market only) and on the LionNation app (in market only).

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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