Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Real Salt Lake: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More
Orlando City looks to continue its good form in a difficult place to get points.
Welcome to your match thread and preview for a Saturday night showdown between Orlando City (9-5-7, 34 points) and Real Salt Lake (8-7-6, 30 points) at American First Field, which was formerly, and less stupidly, known as Rio Tinto Stadium (9:30 p.m., Apple TV+ (free)). This is the first and only scheduled meeting between the two teams from opposing conferences.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of the match.
History
The Lions are 2-1-3 in six previous MLS meetings with RSL, including a 1-1-1 mark in Sandy, UT. The last time the teams met, most of us had no idea what COVID-19 is. The Lions and Real Salt Lake met on opening day of the 2020 MLS season, playing to a 0-0 draw at Exploria Stadium on Feb. 29 of that year.
Orlando City’s only loss in the series came in the previous meeting, a 2-1 Real Salt Lake win in Utah on April 13, 2019. Nani scored Orlando’s only goal that day, but it came late in the match after Sam Johnson and Demir Kreilach had staked RSL to a 2-0 lead.
The May 6, 2018 meeting in Orlando was a wild, 3-1 win for the Lions in which RSL missed multiple good scoring chances, hitting the woodwork and forcing Joe Bendik into some big saves. , Dom Dwyer, Lamine Sané, and Yoshimar Yotún provided Orlando’s offense to offset Corey Baird’s early strike.
When the teams met in 2017 at Rio Tinto, Will Johnson provided all the offense against his old club in a 1-0 Orlando City victory. Johnson’s tally in the 17th minute was all Orlando City needed to take the first win of the series after two draws the previous two seasons.
In 2016, the teams played a memorable opening day match in which the Lions roared back with a frantic rally, as Cyle Larin and Adrian Winter pulled City level in a 2-2 draw at the Citrus Bowl. Joao Plata scored both RSL goals — one from the penalty spot — and RSL led 2-0 despite going down a man for 25 minutes, prior to Chris Penso evening things out by sending off Darwin Ceren.
Orlando drew 1-1 on the road in 2015 while down to 10 men after Kaká was sent off at the end of the first half. The captain opened the scoring. Sebastian Jaime found the equalizer in the 28th.
Match Overview
Orlando City enters on a good run of form but will be playing its third match in eight days. The Lions are unbeaten (2-0-2) in four straight matches after Tuesday night’s 4-0 destruction of Toronto. Orlando is 4-2-3 away from home this season but winless in its last two road matches (0-1-1) after a loss at New England and a scoreless draw at Seattle.
Real Salt Lake sits fourth in the Western Conference and has oddly struggled at home in 2023, posting a 2-4-4 mark in Utah. However, RSL is unbeaten in its last six straight games (4-0-2), so tonight’s hosts are in good form as well. It’s been six matches at home since the last RSL win (0-2-4), so the team will be eager to get after Orlando tonight. Real Salt lake is 3-1-1 against Eastern Conference competition, including a 1-0 win at Toronto FC a week ago in the team’s most recent match. The hosts tonight will be the fresher team, playing at home, and they’re used to the altitude.
Kreilach, Danny Musovski, Pablo Ruiz, and Jefferson Savarino are all the team’s scoring co-leaders, with four goals apiece. Justen Glad has added three from the center back position, so Orlando will need to account for him on set pieces. Andres Gomez and Savarino have been the primary setup men, with five and four assists, respectively.
But the team is adding new Designated Player Chicho Arango, the former LAFC forward, and he’s eligible to start tonight. He’ll bear watching more than anyone, despite being new to the team.
“[Real] Salt Lake has a very defined structure with their players,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said. “They have a lot of intensity, they are aggressive going forward, and they present some other challenges in the middle of the field. [Traveling] west on a long trip are factors that need to be considered. Other than that, we are trying to do the correct things with the team and focus on our performance and make sure that we can put all the tools we have on the pitch to get more points. That is the purpose.”
Orlando City will be without Gaston Gonzalez (thigh), Michael Halliday (thigh), Abdi Salim (knee), and Adam Grinwis (concussion protocol). Real Salt Lake will be without Zack Farnsworth (thigh) and Erik Holt (shoulder) due to injuries, and Rubio Rubin (Guatemala) due to international duty. Maikel Chang (foot) is listed as questionable, while Ruiz (leg) is probable.
Match Content
- Our Intelligence Report includes a bit of a scouting report on RSL from Lucas Muller of Real Salt Lake blog, Wasatch Soccer Sentinel.
- The most recent episode of the PawedCast includes our key matchups and score predictions for tonight’s match.
- David Rohe gave his three keys to an Orlando City victory in tonight’s match.
Official Lineups
Orlando City (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese.
Defenders: Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Antonio Carlos, Kyle Smith.
Defensive Midfielders: Cesar Araujo, Wilder Cartagena.
Attacking Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Mauricio Pereyra, Facundo Torres.
Forward: Duncan McGuire.
Bench: Mason Stajduhar, Luca Petrasso, Rodrigo Schlegel, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Felipe, Shakur Mohammed, Martin Ojeda, Ramiro Enrique, Ercan Kara.
Real Salt Lake (4-4-2)
Goalkeeper: Zac MacMath.
Defenders: Andrew Brody, Brayan Vera, Justen Glad, Emeka Eneli.
Midfielders: Diego Luna, Pablo Ruiz, Braian Ojeda, Jefferson Savarino.
Forwards: Damir Kreilach, Cristian Arango.
Bench: Gavin Beavers, Bryan Oviedo, Marcelo Silva, Andres Gomez, Scott Caldwell, Brode Hidalgo, Jasper Loffelsend, Anderson Julio, Danny Musovski.
Referees
REF: Mark Allatin.
AR1: Jeremy Hanson.
AR2: Matthew Nelson.
4TH: Elton Garcia.
VAR: Sorin Stoica.
AVAR: Robi Hullner.
How to Watch
Match Time: 9:30 p.m.
Venue: America First Field — Sandy, UT.
TV/Streaming: Apple TV+ (free).
Radio: FM 96.9 The Game (English), Accion 97.9 FM and 810 AM (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!