Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Chicago Fire: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More
Can the Lions pick up where they left off in the regular season?
Welcome to your match thread and preview for a Sunday night matchup between Orlando City (10-6-7, 37 points) and the Chicago Fire (8-7-8, 32 points) at Soldier Field (8:30 p.m., Apple TV+). This is the second of the two scheduled meetings between the Eastern Conference rivals in 2023 and the only matchup in Chicago.
Here’s what you need to know about the match.
History
The Lions are 6-5-6 in 17 MLS meetings with the Fire and 6-6-6 in all competitions. Orlando City is 2-3-3 against the Fire on the road in MLS play and 2-4-2 away in all competitions.
In the most recent meeting between the sides, the Lions rode a Facundo Torres brace to a 3-1 win at home on July 1. Xherdan Shaqiri pulled a goal back from the penalty spot after a Kyle Smith foul in the box against Brian Gutierrez, but Ramiro Enrique added an insurance goal.
Orlando City claimed a 1-0 victory at Exploria Stadium on April 9, 2022 on Ercan Kara’s first MLS goal. The two sides met at Soldier Field just over a month prior to that match and played, officially, to a 0-0 draw on March 5. The game is another Orlando City match that will live in infamy due to the Professional Referee Organization’s statement after the game that Junior Urso’s goal should not have been overturned upon video review by Ismir Pekmic due to Kara not having clearly and obviously handled the ball in the buildup in any of the available replay angles. Alas…
The teams met in Orlando on Aug. 21, 2021, with a second-half Benji Michel strike lifting the Lions to a 1-0 victory. Tesho Akindele set up the play by forcing a turnover. In that year’s meeting at Soldier Field, the Fire got the better of the Lions to the tune of 3-1 on July 7. Andres Perea scored his first career MLS goal to open the scoring, but a defensive lapse in first-half stoppage allowed Boris Sekulic to equalize just before the break. Chicago rode that momentum, adding goals by Robert Beric and Chinonso Offor.
The Lions were 0-4-4 in the eight meetings before smashing the Fire 4-1 in Orlando on Sept. 19, 2020. Orlando City withstood two Chicago penalties and saw two Fire goals overturned by video review in that rain-soaked match. (Weird things usually happen when Chicago visits Orlando.) The Lions got goals from Chris Mueller, Nani, Urso, and Michel, while Chicago had only a Beric penalty to show for an otherwise good offensive performance.
The last meeting of 2019 was the last time the Fire won on the road in the series. It was a debacle for the Lions, who lost defender Robin Jansson to a back/neck injury early and shipped a handful of goals in a 5-2 home loss in the regular-season finale. Orlando got goals from Akindele and Michel but largely played like a team that couldn’t wait to end its season. Chicago got an own goal from Orlando’s Kyle Smith and strikes from CJ Sapong, Aleksandar Katai, and Przemyslaw Frankowski (twice) in the rout.
Orlando City was seconds away from a road win on March 9, 2019 before Sapong’s free header in the 95th minute leveled things in a 1-1 draw in Chicago. Dom Dwyer scored Orlando’s goal.
In 2018, the Fire swept the season series. Orlando fell 2-1 at home on May 26, 2018, with Alan Gordon’s wondergoal breaking a 1-1 deadlock. The return leg in Chicago that September was an abysmal performance by Orlando in a 4-0 Fire victory.
Chicago went 1-0-1 in 2017, with the teams playing to a 0-0 draw on June 4, 2017, with the Lions reduced to nine men. The previous 2017 meeting was the Fire’s 4-0 beatdown of Orlando on June 24 of that year. David Accam figured in all four goals, with a hat trick and an assist on Nemanja Nikolić’s goal.
The teams split the points in 2016, drawing both meetings. Cyle Larin and Accam traded goals in a 1-1 draw in Orlando on March 11. The Fire again came from behind to draw, 2-2 in the return leg that August.
The teams met once in Orlando in 2015, with the Lions and Fire battling to a 1-1 draw. You may recall that five-hour, weather-delayed affair with Eric Gehrig’s own-goal canceling out an Accam strike. The other three meetings came in Chicago, with City winning 3-2 and 1-0 in MLS matches and falling 3-1 in USOC quarterfinal action.
Match Overview
The Lions went 1-1-1 in the Leagues Cup but were on a pretty good streak in regular-season play prior to the pause. Orlando City was 3-1-2 in its last six MLS matches prior to the start of Leagues Cup group play, losing only a road match at Real Salt Lake on short rest. The Lions are 5-3-3 in road MLS matches this season, including a 2-1 win at Atlanta United on July 15 in the team’s most recent league match.
Chicago is an impressive 5-1-6 at Soldier Field in 2023 and was one of the league’s hottest teams prior to the start of Leagues Cup. The Fire have gone 3-0-0 in the three MLS games since the loss in Orlando without conceding a goal. Chicago beat Nashville, Montreal, and Toronto by a combined 5-0 entering the break in MLS play. The Fire also went 1-1-1 in Leagues Cup and exited the competition in the same round as Orlando.
The Lions will have to be on their toes against strikers Georgios Koutsias, Kei Kamara, and Kacper Przybylko, who can each shake free at any moment and create danger where none previously existed. Orlando will have to try to starve them of service by closing down midfielders Shaqiri and Gutierrez.
“Earlier this season, we had a good result, and that context is good to have some ideas on how we can approach the game,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said ahead of the match. “What’s most important for us is to focus on the present on this final road, not just against Chicago, but also on the games that are to come. Mentally and physically, we have to be prepared. Tactically we have an idea of the game, and the players know the model that we have developed, and we have to be efficient with that.”
The Lions will still be without winger Gaston Gonzalez (thigh). Michael Halliday (left thigh) has been upgraded to questionable on the availability report, while Junior Urso (lower leg) remains questionable. Chicago’s game notes show former Lion Chris Mueller (upper leg), Javier Casas (upper arm), and Rafael Czichos (yellow card accumulation) listed as out, with Chris Brady (right leg) questionable for tonight.
Match Content
- The most recent epsiode of the PawedCast includes our key matchups and score predictions for tonight’s match and a discussion with Ruben from The Lantern about what to expect from the visitors this evening.
- Our David Rohe provided his three keys to an Orlando City victory in this match.
Official Lineups
Orlando City (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese.
Defenders: Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson.
Defensive Midfielders: Wilder Cartagena, Cesar Araujo.
Attacking Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Mauricio Pereyra, Facundo Torres.
Forward: Duncan McGuire.
Bench: Mason Stajduhar, Kyle Smith, Michael Halliday, Abdi Salim, Felipe, Junior Urso, Martin Ojeda, Ramiro Enrique, Jack Lynn.
Chicago Fire (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper: Spencer Richey
Defenders: Miguel Navarro, Carlos Teran, Mauricio Pineda, Jonathan Dean.
Defensive Midfielders: Gaston Gimenez, Ousmane Doumbia.
Attacking Midfielders: Brian Gutierrez, Maren Haile-Selassie, Xherdan Shaquiri.
Forward: Georgios Koutsias.
Bench: Jeffrey Gal, Alonso Aceves, Arnaud Souquet, Wyatt Omsberg, Federico Navarro, Fabian Herbers, Jairo Torres, Kacper Przybyłko, Kei Kamara.
Referees
REF: Lukasz Szpala.
AR1: Adam Wienckowski.
AR2: Jason White.
4TH: Jeremy Scheer.
VAR: Daniel Radford.
AVAR: Tyler Wyrostek.
How to Watch
Match Time: 8:30 p.m.
Venue: Soldier Field — Chicago.
TV/Streaming: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+.
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 game. Go City!