The injured Lionel Messi was a no-show as the Lions and Herons played to a scoreless draw on Wednesday night, and we aren’t sure what we were expecting, but it was not that. Most of the chances seemed to come early in the match, although there were some attacks in the second half for both teams that fizzled just prior to the teams taking a potentially decisive shot. We break down the match for probably way longer than a scoreless draw requires. We also looked back at our score predictions (which were the same this time) to see how wrong we were and made our selections for Man of the Match (which were not the same this time).

This week’s mailbagbox asked us whether Messi is ducking playing in Orlando and which player we would change their footedness (is that a word?). Remember, if there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the show, just ask us by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC, or hitting us up on Bluesky Social with that same hashtag.

Finally, we looked ahead to Saturday’s late-night matchup with the Earthquakes in San Jose. The Quakes have been scoring plenty of goals but giving up a lot more of them. Tired legs, lack of rotation, and a cross-country trip will combine to make things difficult for Orlando City, but the game is something from which the Lions could take points with a good performance. We look ahead to the key matchups on Saturday and try to predict the final score.

Be sure to rate and review our show wherever you get your podcasts. Remember, we’ll read any five-star reviews we get on Apple Podcasts on the next show.

Here’s how No. 419 went down:

0:15 – Orlando City and Inter Miami played more than 90 minutes without scoring a goal. But everyone got plenty of fresh air and exercise.

23:03 – Our mailbagbox was light, but fun.

32:20 – A preview of the San Jose match.

The Orlando Pride squeaked past expansion side Bay FC with a 1-0 win at home on Saturday, but the scoreline was more than a bit flattering to the visitors, who got a big performance from their goalkeeper to keep the score from getting completely out of hand. The Pride dominated and should probably have done better from their plethora of scoring chances. Still, when you keep a clean sheet, one goal equals three points, and that’s what Orlando really wanted.

We break down another Orlando Pride win — this one makes six in a row — checking in on our score predictions in the process. We also made our selections for Player of the Match.

Our mailbagbox this week asked us about the Pride’s shape, the timing of Seb Hines’ substitutions, a women’s “War on I-4,” and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We’d also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we’ll find them easily and read them on the show.

After the mailbagbox, we finished the show with our previews and our score predictions for the Pride’s upcoming trip across the continent to face Seattle Reign FC. The Pride have never won in the state of Washington, but they’ve done a lot of things already this season that they’ve never previously done, so who knows?

Here’s how Episode 43 went down:

0:15 – The Pride ran into a hot goalkeeper but still managed to capture all three points against Bay FC.

14:18 – The mailbagbox puts us to the test, as it always does.

44:13 – A trip to Seattle has yet to yield a victory. Is this the year? It might be, but our predictions will tell you what we think about that subject.

Orlando City finally got back in the win column after three matches without a victory and it was the new guys who helped the most with that. Luis Muriel scored his first two MLS goals and picked up his first (secondary) MLS assist, while Nico Lodeiro had the primary assist on all three goals in City’s 3-2 road win over the Philadelphia Union. Along the way, the Lions had to overcome several close plays ruled in Philly’s favor and two penalty kicks for the opposition in order to close out the Union. It was an exciting match and a good road game by the Lions, who opted to go fullback-free rather than plugging in Kyle Smith and Alex Freeman to start. We review the match, check on our score predictions, and make our choices for Man of the Match.

We also discussed the Lions honored as both a candidate for Goal of the Matchday and those picked for the Team of the Matchday.

This week’s mailbagbox asked us about the grass at Inter&Co Stadium, the formation Oscar Pareja used on Saturday, and the new MLS injury rule. Remember, if there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the show, just ask us by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC, or hitting us up on Bluesky Social with that same hashtag.

Finally, we turned our attention to Inter Miami, which visits Orlando Wednesday night. Why is everyone amazed at what Lionel Messi is doing in MLS? He should be tearing up MLS (and he is). Same with his Barcelona buddies. We look at the game’s key matchups and make our score predictions. It was a rare case of us predicting the same result.

Be sure to rate and review our show wherever you get your podcasts. Remember, we’ll read any five-star reviews we get on Apple Podcasts on the next show.

Here’s how No. 418 went down:

0:15 – We unpack the Lions’ win over Philadelphia, but what is the cost? We’ll have to wait for more definitive news on Robin Jansson’s injury.

38:29 – Our mailbagbox asks us about Orlando’s pitch and formation among other things.

54:57 – The Lions prepare for the Orlando installment of the 2024 Tropic Thunder series.