Predicting Orlando City’s October Results

At times it seems like its going by in a flash, but the end of the MLS season is drawing closer and closer. Following tomorrow’s match against CF Montreal, Orlando City will have just three regular season games remaining, and with how tight things are at the top of the Eastern Conference, every point is going to be important. With that in mind, I’ve taken a stab at predicting the results of the last three games of the regular season.

Oct. 4 — at Nashville SC

This one makes me extremely nervous. Even if the Lions take care of business against Montreal tomorrow, the gap from second to third place is still going to be extremely tight. Then there’s the fact that it’s a road match on short rest against an Eastern Conference team that has given Orlando City absolute fits and then some. The Lions are 1-3-5 against Nashville in all competitions, and haven’t beaten the team from Tennessee since the very first time the teams played all the way back on Aug. 26, 2020. Nashville is a team that’s capable of beating anyone and just seems to have OCSC’s number for whatever reason.

Prediction: Nashville 2-1 Orlando City.

Oct. 7— vs. New England Revolution

Conversely, I feel good about this game. Without knowing how tomorrow will go, the Lions have mostly been playing well at home lately, and the Revs are winless in their last four, although that could change tomorrow against Charlotte FC or Wednesday against the Columbus Crew. Regardless, the team has been dealing with a lot of off-field noise after Bruce Arena’s departure from the team and the subsequent mess that came with naming an interim coach. They remain a good team, but could be missing several important players through injury. I expect the boys to be fired up for the final home game of the regular season and I think they’ll get the job done against a fellow team jockeying for playoff position.

Prediction: Orlando City 3-1 New England.

Oct. 21 — at Toronto FC

It can be tricky coming back and getting results after an international break. Your best players aren’t fully rested and might be carrying an injury or two, and sometimes the team can be rusty from the layoff, as we saw during the first half of the now-legendary game against the Columbus Crew. That being said, I don’t expect the Lions to drop a stinker against Toronto. All due respect to the Reds, but they’ve been woeful this year. TFC only has four wins this season, although they did pull of a shocker against the Philadelphia Union last month. Still, a dreadful Toronto team with nothing to play for and likely can’t wait for the season to end, against an Orlando City squad that will still be fighting to secure the best possible playoff seeding? I only see this matchup going one way.

Prediction: Orlando City 2-0 Toronto FC.