Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Houston Dynamo: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, and More
The Lions kick off their Leagues Cup group play against the visiting Dynamo.
Welcome to your match thread for a Friday night Leagues Cup matchup between Orlando City (10-6-7, 37 points in MLS play, 0-0-0 in Leagues Cup) and the Houston Dynamo (8-10-5, 29 points, 0-0-0 in Leagues Cup) at Exploria Stadium. It’s the only meeting scheduled for 2023 in this cross-conference series, as the teams are not slated to meet during the MLS regular season.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of the match.
History
Orlando City is 2-2-2 in the all-time series (1-0-2 at home). The last time these teams met was on June 18, 2022 at Exploria Stadium with Orlando City winning 2-1 on an Ercan Kara brace. One of the goals deflected in off of him, but that still counts. Sebastian Ferreira got Houston on the board but the visitors could not complete the comeback. It was Orlando’s first win in the series since the Lions’ first ever road game back in early 2015 provided the first MLS victory for the club.
Due to the quirky scheduling since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the previous meeting between the teams took place on Sept. 21, 2019 in Houston, with the Dynamo winning, 2-1. Dwyer struck just six minutes in, but goals three minutes apart by Alberth Elis and Christian Ramirez in the 70th and 73rd minutes, respectively, turned that match around.
The teams met in Orlando on Sept. 22, 2018, with the match ending in a 0-0 draw. That was a memorable match for current Orlando City goalkeeper Adam Grinwis, who made his MLS debut that night.
The Lions went to BBVA Stadium in 2017 and were wiped off the field, 4-0. A leggy Orlando team flew directly to Houston from Toronto after a hard-fought game against the Reds and saw the rested Dynamo’s speed on full display. Elis, Mauro Manotas (twice), and Romell Quioto provided the goals and it honestly could have been worse.
The 2016 match in Orlando was another 0-0 draw, in what was a pretty forgettable game under Bobby Murphy, who was serving his first stint as Orlando City’s interim coach following the firing of Adrian Heath.
In the first meeting, back in 2015, the Lions went to Texas and came home with a 1-0 victory in Houston. Goalkeeper Tyler Deric — under extreme pressure from Pedro Ribeiro — punched the ball into the back of his own net for the only goal of the match. That was Orlando City’s historic, first MLS victory.
Overview
Tonight’s match kicks off play in the South 2 group of Leagues Cup (for more information on this competition, read our explainer). The group consists of Orlando City, Houston, and Liga MX side Santos Laguna. The teams will play each other in a round robin schedule and the top two teams will advance to the knockout rounds.
Orlando City is coming off a 2-1 road win at Atlanta United on Saturday, with Antonio Carlos and Duncan McGuire erasing a 1-0 deficit provided by Caleb Wiley. The Lions are 6-2-5 in their last 13 matches and 5-3-4 in home games in MLS play (5-3-5 in all competitions).
Houston is winless in its last five games (0-3-2) after last weekend’s 0-0 road draw at the Colorado Rapids. The Dynamo are 1-8-3 on the road in MLS play but did win at Tampa Bay in the U.S. Open Cup. Houston has advanced to the semifinals in that competition, so the Dynamo have figured out how to win non-league games. In fact, Houston has outscored its last two U.S. Open Cup opponents — Minnesota United and the Chicago Fire — 8-1.
The Dynamo attack is orchestrated by Designated Player and Mexican international Hector Herrera, who has posted three goals and nine assists on the season. That means he’s contributed to nearly half of Houston’s 26 goals this season. Eight of those 26 have been scored by French attacker Amine Bassi. Former LAFC and Real Salt Lake attacker Corey Baird is also a threat, figuring in six of his team’s goals this year (three goals, three assists).
“The importance of the [Leagues Cup] tournament is big for us,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said. “It’s a tournament that we are going to face with a lot of responsibility and the understanding that it offers an opportunity to get back into an international competition. Orlando wants to be on the map of contenders in the region that can fight for trophies. It’s important for the players to respect a tournament that is the first of its class in America. It represents a rivalry that’s already big enough with Mexico. These details make us think that we have to be on with full cylinders and like always, to win games and qualifications for the Concacaf Champions Cup.”
Orlando City will be without Gaston Gonzalez (thigh) and Michael Halliday (thigh). Newly signed midfielder Junior Urso is on the club’s roster for Leagues Cup and will be available if his P-1 Visa and International Transfer Certificate have arrived. Houston will not have Tate Schmitt (knee), Ifunanyachi Achara (knee), and Teenage Hadebe (leg).
Mandatory Match Content
- Our Intelligence Report provides more insight about the Dynamo with the help of Dustyn Richardson from Houston site Bayou City Soccer.
- The latest episode of The Mane Land PawedCast includes our key matchups and score predictions, as well as our exclusive interview with Orlando City Technical Director and Assistant General Manager Ricardo Moreira.
- Our David Rohe outlined his three keys to victory for Orlando City in tonight’s game.
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, Martin Ojeda, Facundo Torres.
Forward: Duncan McGuire.
Substitutes: Mason Stajduhar, Javier Otero, Luca Petrasso, Rodrigo Schlegel, Abdi Salim, Thomas Williams, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Juninho, Felipe, Favian Loyola, Ramiro Enrique, Ercan Kara.
Houston Dynamo (4-3-3)
Goalkeeper: Andrew Tarbell.
Defenders: Griffin Dorsey, Erik Sviatchenko, Micael, Franco Escobar.
Midfielders: Amine Bassi, Luis Caicedo, Artur.
Forwards: Nelson Quinones, Aliyu Ibrahim, Corey Baird.
Substitutes: Steve Clark, Xavier Valdez, Ethan Bartlow, Mujeeb Murana, Brad Smith, Charles Auguste, Brooklyn Raines, Adalberto Carrasquilla, Ivan Franco, Hector Herrera, Sebastian Ferreira, Thor Ulfarsson.
Referees
REF: Filip Dujic.
AR1: Ryan Graves.
AR2: Kevin Lock.
4TH: Kimbell Ward.
VAR: Oscar Macias Romo.
How to Watch
Match Time: 8 p.m.
Venue: Exploria Stadium — Orlando.
TV/Streaming: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+.
Radio: FM 96.9 The Game (English), Accion 97.9 FM (Spanish), 810 AM.
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!