Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Tigres UANL, Concacaf Champions Cup: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More
The Lions renew acquaintances with Tigres in continental cup competition.
Welcome to your match thread for a Tuesday night, first-leg, Concacaf Champions Cup matchup between Orlando City and Tigres UANL of Liga MX in the Round of 16 at Inter&Co Stadium (9 p.m., FOX Sports 2). It’s the first of two scheduled meetings between the teams in this competition, with the return leg in Monterrey set for next Tuesday.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of the match.
History
Neither team has yet managed a win in this series, with the two previous matches ending in draws. The most recent meeting took place in Orlando on March 15, 2023 and ended in a 1-1 draw. Sebastian Cordova put Tigres ahead 1-0 early but Ercan Kara’s overhead kick knotted the game late. Orlando couldn’t find a winner in stoppage time, and Tigres advanced due to the away goals rule.
The teams first met on March 7, 2023 at Estadio Universitario in the Monterrey area. That match in Mexico ended in a 0-0 draw, despite what seemed like 30 shots by Andre-Pierre Gignac.
The Lions are 1-1-2 all-time against Liga MX competition, having also previously split two matches against Santos Laguna.
Tigres has been to Orlando City’s home stadium twice before. In addition to last year’s 1-1 draw, the Mexican club won the 2020 CCL title 2-1 over LAFC at the Lions’ home grounds during the pandemic year.
Overview
Orlando City is coming off a 5-0 meltdown of a loss at Inter Miami on Saturday. The Lions got to this point by sweeping Canadian Premier League side Cavalry FC with 3-0 and 3-1 wins, claiming a 6-1 aggregate advantage over the two legs. The club’s only wins in 2024 in competitive action have come in this competition, as the Lions are 2-1-1 in their four competitive matches this year. The Lions played an almost entirely first-choice lineup on Saturday, so it will be interesting to see what changes are made for this match.
Tigres is coming off a 2-1 loss at Toluca on Saturday. Tonight’s visitors advanced by claiming a 4-1 aggregate advantage over the Vancouver Whitecaps, drawing 1-1 in Vancouver and winning 3-0 at home. Cordova was sent off in the Toluca game but that won’t affect his availability in this continental competition. Gignac did not play in that match.
The Mexican giants have a new manager for this year’s matchups, Robert Siboldi. Marco Antonio Ruiz was sacked last April after the two games against Orlando and a poor showing in a loss to Mazatlan. Siboldi is a former Tigres player. Siboldi’s club has lined up the last few games in a 4-2-3-1, but it employed a 4-4-2 and a 3-4-3 against Vancouver, so Tigres has shown some flexibility in its shape.
It remains to be seen if the 38-year-old Gignac will be in Orlando, but Tigres has plenty of firepower without him, including Uruguayan international Fernando Gorriarán, Córdova, Luis Quinones, and striker Nicolás Ibáñez. At the other end of Tigres’ formation, veteran Nahuel “Patón” Guzmán is one of the best goalkeepers in Liga MX, while center backs Samir and former Atlanta center back Juan Jose Purata anchor the back line.
“Obviously, a new series and lot of expectations from our end. We are very optimistic at this point,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said ahead of the match. “ Just playing Tigres will be a great opportunity for us in a cup that we are very proud to belong to and compete in. We’re good, we’re getting ready in a short time from recovering from the games, but I think we’ll be fine.”
Orlando City’s availability report is clean entering tonight’s match.
Official Lineups
Orlando City (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese.
Defenders: Kyle Smith, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson.
Defensive Midfielders: Cesar Araujo, Wilder Cartagena.
Attacking Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Nico Lodeiro, Facundo Torres.
Forward: Luis Muriel.
Bench: Mason Stajduhar, Rafael Santos, Michael Halliday, Rodrigo Schlegel, Thomas Williams, Felipe, Jeorgio Kocevski, Favian Loyola, Shakur Mohammed, Ramiro Enrique, Martin Ojeda, Duncan McGuire.
Tigres (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper: Nahuel Guzmán.
Defenders: Jesús Angulo, Guido Pizarro, Samir, Javier Aquino.
Defensive Midfielders: Juan Vigon, Rafael Carioca.
Attacking Midfielders: Luis Quiñones, Sebastián Córdova, Diego Lainez.
Forwards: Andre-Pierre Gignac.
Bench: Juan Brunetta, Sebastian Fierro, Marcelo Flores, Jesus Garza, Fernando Gorriaran, Ozziel Herrera, Nicolas Ibanez, Miguel Ortega, Diego Reyes, Felipe Rodriguez, Juan Purata, Eduardo Tercero.
Officials:
Ref: Walter Lopez (Guatemala).
AR1: Keytzel Corrales (Nicaragua).
AR2: Raymundo Feliz (Dominican Republic).
4th: Julio Luna (Guatemala).
VAR: Benjamin Pineda (Costa Rica).
AVAR: Ricardo Montero (Costa Rica).
How to Watch
Match Time: 9 p.m.
Venue: Inter&Co Stadium — Orlando.
TV: FOX Sports 2.
Radio: Real Radio 104.1 FM (English).
Streaming: The match can be streamed on FOX Sports GO and the FOX Sports app.
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!