Orlando City at Real Salt Lake: Three Keys to Victory

Orlando City (9-5-7, 34 points) will look to extend its undefeated streak to five this Saturday as the club travels out west to take on Real Salt Lake (8-7-6, 30 points) at Rio Tinto Stadium. If the Lions can get the victory it will be the first time this season the club has strung together three wins in a row.

What does Orlando City need to do to maintain its momentum and earn all three points on the road?

Rotate the Offense

This will be the third match in eight days for Orlando City, which is never an easy thing to manage. Oscar Pareja rightly made certain that the Lions took all three points against visiting Toronto FC, but there were still several players that either went the entire 90 minutes or well past the 60-minute mark. That will likely mean rotating players for the match this Saturday.

I think that we may still see the normal starting XI, as the Lions will look to get out to an early lead (see below), but I doubt those players will be able to play as many minutes in this match. Look for more playing time for Martin Ojeda, Ercan Kara, Ramiro Enrique, and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson against Real Salt Lake. How effective these players are might mean the difference in how many — if any — points the Lions take from this match.

Score Early

Regardless of which players start for Orlando City, the short rest, long travel, and high elevation will be challenging for the Lions. To be certain, the starters will be fresh for approximately the first 30-40 minutes, and then the toll of playing at elevation on a few days’ rest will start kicking in. That makes it critical for Orlando City to try to score first.

If the Lions can get on the board early, then they can at least try to conserve some energy the remainder of the match. Two quick goals like Tuesday’s match against Toronto FC is ideal, but might be harder to come by against RSL. If the Lions go down a goal and are chasing the match, things will get much tougher for the visitors in the thin Utah air.

Solid Defense

No matter what happens on the offensive side of the pitch, the Orlando City defense will need to play error-free soccer. Real Salt Lake has only scored 26 goals so far this season, but eight of those have come in the last four matches. Of course, three of those matches have been on the road for RSL and the club is doing better in away matches (6-3-2), as opposed to home matches (2-4-4). 

Orlando City’s defense is good enough to keep this RSL side off the scoresheet, but it will take a good mental and physical effort to do so. The Lions will have a tougher job against RSL than against Toronto FC. RSL is better organized and creates more chances than Toronto, making it all the more important the defense stays organized and communicates, especially as the match wears on and legs get more tired. 

That is what I’ll be looking for this Saturday night as the Lions take on Real Salt Lake. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.