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 face Tigres with a spot in the quarterfinals on the line.
Welcome to your match thread for a late Tuesday night, second-leg, Concacaf Champions Cup matchup between Orlando City and Tigres UANL of Liga MX in the Round of 16 at the Estadio Universitario (a.k.a. El Volcán) (10:30 p.m., FOX Sports 1, TUDN). It’s the second of the two scheduled meetings between the teams in this competition.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of the match.
History
Neither team has yet managed a win in this series, with all three previous matches ending in draws and only two total goals being scored so far. The most recent meeting came one week ago, with the Lions and Tigres battling to a scoreless stalemate in Orlando in a match that featured few chances either way.
The previous meeting also took place in Orlando, on March 15, 2023, and it 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. That match in Mexico ended in a 0-0 draw, despite what seemed like 30 shots by Andre-Pierre Gignac.
The Lions are 1-1-3 all-time against Liga MX competition, having also previously split two matches against Santos Laguna.
Overview
Orlando City is coming off a 3-2 loss at the death to Minnesota United on Saturday night at home. It was a bewildering match in which the Lions muffed several glorious chances to score and yet still got a Duncan McGuire brace. Unfortunately, a couple of uncharacteristic goalkeeping errors and a late defensive lapse allowed the Loons to escape Orlando with all the points. The Lions played several first-choice players Saturday, but will likely still ride with the best Oscar Pareja can deploy in such a massive game tonight.
Tigres is coming off a 2-0 road loss to Club America on Saturday, but the Mexican club rotated heavily and many of the best players on the team will be fairly fresh heading into tonight’s game, including Andre-Pierre Gignac, who came off the bench after the hour mark this past weekend. Luis Quinones and Samir didn’t play at all, nor did Cordova, who was suspended for Saturday.
The Mexican giants stuck with the 4-2-3-1 on Saturday, continuing a recent trend under first-year coach Robert Siboldi. He’s used other lineups, but has recently used the same one for the last several matches. However, smart money might be on a change tonight due to it being the second meeting in a week.
The Lions will need to try to contain Gignac and to avoid fouls anywhere near the box, where a well-placed set piece can cause problems. Uruguayan international Fernando Gorriarán, Córdova, Quinones, and striker Nicolás Ibáñez are other attackers to watch. At the other end of Tigres’ formation, veteran Nahuel “Patón” Guzmán is one of the best goalkeepers in Liga MX, while center back Samir has an imposing frame and surprising quickness for a big man. The fullbacks have shown they can keep up even with the speedy Ivan Angulo.
“Obviously a great opportunity that we have, and as we have had before, coming to Mexico, playing a big team, and having this opportunity to qualify for the next round,” Pareja said. “So, it’s a big opportunity, we are preparing, and we are just going to come and try to use that opportunity to make Orlando advance. That’s just the way that we have to take the game, with the positivity that we can come and advance here in Mexico. It would be great, not just for Orlando, but for the league as well.”
As of this writing, Orlando City had not yet posted its game notes to the club’s website, however, on Saturday, Facundo Torres (upper extremity) and Jack Lynn (lower leg) were listed as questionable. Neither dressed for Saturday’s match. Additionally, Cesar Araujo (going with lower leg here until the official word comes out) had to leave the match against Minnesota on Saturday prior to halftime.
Official Lineups
Orlando City (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese.
Defenders: Kyle Smith, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson.
Defensive Midfielders: Wilder Cartagena, Felipe.
Attacking Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Nico Lodeiro, Facundo Torres.
Forward: Luis Muriel.
Bench: Mason Stajduhar, Rafael Santos, Michael Halliday, Abdi Salim, Thomas Williams, Rodrigo Schlegel, Jeorgio Kocevski, Favian Loyola, Martin Ojeda, Ramiro Enrique, Shak Mohammed, Duncan McGuire.
Tigres (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper: Felipe Rodriguez.
Defenders: Jesús Angulo, Guido Pizarro, Samir, Javier Aquino.
Defensive Midfielders: Fernando Gorriaran, Rafael Carioca.
Attacking Midfielders: Juan Brunetta, Marcelo Flores, Luis Quiñones.
Forwards: Andre-Pierre Gignac.
Bench: Miguel Ortega, Juan Jose Purata, Diego Reyes, Jesus Garza, Eduardo Tercero, Juan Vigon, Diego Lainez, Sebastian Cordova, Sebastian Fierro, Ozziel Herrera, Nicolas Ibanez.
Officials:
Ref: Ivan Barton (El Salvador).
AR1: David Moran (El Salvador).
AR2: Henry Pupiro (Nicaragua).
4th: Said Martinez (Honduras).
VAR: Ricardo Montero (Costa Rica).
AVAR: Tristley Bassue (Saint Kitts & Nevis).
How to Watch
Match Time: 10:30 p.m.
Venue: Estadio Universitario — San Nicolas de los Garza, Mexico.
TV: FOX Sports 1, TUDN.
Radio: Real Radio 104.1 FM (English).
Streaming: The match can be streamed on FOX Sports GO, the FOX Sports app, and the TUDN 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!