Intelligence Report: Orlando City vs. Santos Laguna

The end of another week means that another Orlando City game is almost upon us, and tomorrow the Lions will square off against Santos Laguna in the Leagues Cup.

A date with Santos means I spoke to Eugene Rupinski, one of the contributors over at FMF State of Mind, and the big boss over at Golazo del Gringo. As always, when it comes to facing Mexican opposition, Eugene was very helpful in getting us up to speed on Santos Laguna.

Pablo Repetto took over at Santos fairly recently, how has the team performed under him?

Eugene Rupinski: It’s been a bit of a ride under Repetto, but it’s also only been eight games so far, three of which were in the Liguilla last season. Repetto has only won one game in charge of Santos, but the general sense is that the team is trending in the right direction. There’s still a lot of work to do, and I feel like this squad is one in transition, both in terms of players leaving in recent seasons, as well as the turnover at head coach. Repetto has his work cut out for him, especially in a league not known for giving coaches much in terms of job security.

What kind of style does Repetto like the team to play? Are there any areas Orlando City might be able to exploit?

ER:  Repetto’s team is fairly direct and likes to play long balls forward from the center backs and the defensive midfield. They don’t just spray and pray though, there’s a lot of timed runs from the wingers and center forwards that make it dangerous. Santos also executes well on set pieces, and will look to take advantage of any and all opportunities they get in dead ball situations. They’re also a fairly physical team, but they’re smart about it. They’ll draw contact and then bait players into going in a bit too hard or at a poor angle to draw a free kick or penalty.

Who are a few players that Orlando City fans should keep an eye on during this game?

ER: Orlando fans should remember the good performances from goalkeeper Gibran Lajud and center back Matheus Dória from their last encounter in the Leagues Cup. Lajud is in goal because of an injury to Carlos Acevedo, but isn’t just a backup goalkeeper. He was Tijuana’s starter for seven seasons before going to Santos in 2020, earning a call up to the Mexican National Team. Dória is a big, physical center back that seems to have a sixth sense for where plays are going and getting himself into positions to disrupt things before they happen.

Other players Orlando fans should watch are center forward Harold Preciado, who is completely unafraid of contact, providing grit with a deft scoring touch, and Juan Brunetta, a roaming attacking midfielder who can create chaos no matter if he swings out wide, drops deep, or races up top to pair with Preciado. Both he and Dória excel at free kicks, which adds another dimension to the attack.

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

ER: Acevedo’s injury is immense. While Lajud is really good, Acevedo is tipped to be México’s starting goalkeeper and really has the tools to be one of the best in the world. Unless someone picked up a knock in the match against Houston, everyone but Acevedo is still healthy and should be available for selection.

As for a starting XI, in these sorts of tournaments it’s always anyone’s guess if the manager is going to put out their best 11 and try to win or use it as a live game to evaluate some of the players who don’t usually get a ton of minutes. Repetto used his best lineup in Houston, but even that isn’t a guarantee he’ll do the same against Orlando.

And much like guessing the lineup, guessing the score in these is also an adventure. I’ll say that the Santos we saw against Houston was the top lineup but not performing at their best. If that same lineup plays at their best, they stand a very good shot of beating Orlando (and most other teams in both leagues), but I feel like the same could be said for most of the teams in this tournament.

Thank you to Eugene for giving us the inside info on Santos ahead of tomorrow’s match. Vamos Orlando!