Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Charlotte FC: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More
Will the third time be the charm for Orlando City against Charlotte in 2023?
Welcome to your match preview and live thread for a Wednesday night matchup between Orlando City (12-6-7, 43 points) and Charlotte FC (7-9-8, 29 points) at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC (7:30 p.m., MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+). This is the second and final time the two southeastern teams will meet in the regular season and the third time in all competitions in 2023.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of the match.
History
The Lions are 2-1-0 in the all-time, regular-season series and 2-2-0 in all competitions. Orlando City is 1-0-0 at Charlotte in the regular season and 1-1-0 in all competitions. Every game between the two teams has been decided by a single goal.
Tonight’s hosts have gotten the better of Orlando City in the most recent two meetings, including a 1-0 Charlotte victory in U.S. Open Cup play on May 9. That game took place at Mecklenburg County Sportsplex in Matthews, NC, rather than at the club’s regular stadium.
However, the first matchup of the season between the teams didn’t go any better for Orlando City, finishing as a 2-1 Charlotte win at Exploria Stadium on March 18. Enzo Copetti and Kerwin Vargas put Charlotte up 2-0 by halftime. Martin Ojeda pulled one back, but the Lions were wasteful in front of goal and couldn’t pull level.
The last time the teams met at Bank of America Stadium was Aug. 21, 2022. After a scoreless first half, Ercan Kara put the Lions ahead on the road, only to see McKinze Gaines equalize just four minutes later. Tesho Akindele’s late goal lifted Orlando to a 2-1 victory.
Orlando City won the first-ever meeting between the sides on April 30, 2022 at Exploria Stadium. Ruan scored the opening goal and set up Facundo Torres on the counter for the second as the Lions took a 2-0 lead into the locker room. Christian Fuchs scored from the spot after Rodrigo Schlegel was called for a foul in the box in the second half, but that was as close as Charlotte got in what was ultimately a 2-1 Orlando victory.
Match Overview
Orlando City enters tonight’s match having won three straight in MLS play. The Lions are coming off a 2-1 win Saturday night at home against Western Conference leaders St. Louis City SC, with Torres netting both Orlando goals. OCSC is 6-3-3 on the road in 2023 MLS games and has won its last two away from Exploria Stadium.
Charlotte will enter the match as a confident team. In addition to having won the last two meetings with Orlando City, tonight’s hosts are coming off a 2-1 home win over LAFC on Saturday. Ashley Westwood and Scott Arfield scored the Charlotte goals. Charlotte is 4-3-5 at home this season and 2-0-4 in its last six at Bank of America Stadium in all competitions.
Designated Players Karol Swiderski (seven goals, three assists) and Enzo Copetti (four goals, two assists) are the key danger men for Charlotte, but tonight’s hosts have other weapons, such as new arrival Arfield, Kamil Jozwiak, Kerwin Vargas, Ben Bender, and former Lion Justin Meram. Fullback Jaylin Lindsey is a quality provider, leading the club with five assists.
With another road game looming Saturday against FC Cincinnati, the Lions may concede possession in this match and look for opportunities to spring counters.
“We are trying to be very economic on the efforts and the preparations,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said of the quick turnaround between games. “Sometimes you have more time and other games you have less. This time, I think the boys recognize the rival and we are going to first recover them well and as I said, be clever on the way we manage their work loads, but we are good and ready.”
The Lions will be without Wilder Cartagena, who is suspended due to yellow card accumulation. That might hand Junior Urso his first start since returning to the Lions. Orlando City will also be without Antonio Carlos (lower leg), Gaston Gonzalez (thigh), and Favian Loyola (arm surgery). Charlotte’s Copetti (lower leg) is questionable, while the team will be without Hamady Diop (sports hernia) and Vinicius Mello (lower leg).
Match Content
- Our most recent epsidode of the PawedCast includes our key matchups and score predictions for today’s match, as well as a preview of the game.
Official Lineups
Orlando City (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese.
Defenders: Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson.
Defensive Midfielders: Cesar Araujo, Junior Urso.
Attacking Midfielders: Ramiro Enrique, Mauricio Pereyra, Facundo Torres.
Forwards: Duncan McGuire.
Bench: Mason Stajduhar, Michael Halliday, Kyle Smith, Luca Petrasso, Abdi Salim, Felipe, Ivan Angulo, Martin Ojeda, Jack Lynn.
Charlotte FC (4-3-3)
Goalkeeper: Kristijan Kahlina.
Defenders: Nathan Byrne, Andrew Privett, Adilson Malanda, Jaylin Lindsey.
Midfielders: Brandt Bronico, Derrick Jones, Ashley Westwood.
Forwards: Brecht Dejaegere, Karol Swiderski, Benjamin Bender.
Bench: George Marks, Jan Sobocinski, Jere Uronen, Harrison Afful, Scott Arfield, Kamil Jozwiak, Justin Meram, Kerwin Vargas, Enzo Copetti.
Referees
REF: Rosendo Mendoza.
AR1: Ian McKay.
AR2: Ryan Graves.
4TH: Sergii Boiko.
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero.
AVAR: Joshua Patlak.
How to Watch
Match Time: 7:30 p.m.
Venue: Bank of America Stadium — Charlotte, NC.
TV/Live Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+.
Radio: FM 96.9 The Game (English), Acción 97.9 FM, 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!