Happy Friday, Mane Landers! I’ve spent most of my free time this week getting some needed spring cleaning done before the weekend gets here. Kicking up dust while also dealing with all the pollen when I go outside probably wasn’t the smartest idea, but it’s nice to be productive. Let’s get to the links!

Orlando Pride Prepare for Season Opener

The Orlando Pride are set to return to action on Sunday against the Seattle Reign in what should be an exciting season opener. It will be a rematch of last year’s quarterfinal between the two, which the Pride won 2-0 thanks to a strong defensive performance and goals from Haley McCutcheon and Luana. Head Coach Seb Hines spoke on how the team’s preparations for the season have gone, as well as the expectations to fight for titles after failing to win silverware last year.

NWSL Power Rankings Ahead of 2026 Season

The Orlando Pride placed fifth in All For XI‘s NWSL power rankings before the start of the season. It’s a pretty fair ranking for the Pride in my opinion, as they were inconsistent last year but still managed to reach the semifinals in the playoffs. Whether or not they can stake a claim as a title contender may hinge on how well Jacquie Ovalle does now that she’s had time to settle in this preseason.

The Kansas City Current top the rankings, with defending champion Gotham FC in second and the Washington Spirit third. As for the new teams on the block, the Boston Legacy are down in 15th while the Denver Summit are in 10th. It should be an interesting season and I can’t wait for it to start tonight when the Spirit and Portland Thorns square off at 8 p.m.

NWSL Transfer News Roundup

The NWSL season is here, but teams are still bringing in some firepower to their rosters before things get underway. Gotham added Norwegian forward Guro Reiten on loan from Chelsea and she will join the club as a free agent once the loan expires, with that deal lasting through 2029. Reiten has been a force in England, recording 59 goals and 44 assists across 207 appearances and helping Chelsea win six Women’s Super League titles.

The Chicago Stars also strengthened their attack, sending $300,000 in transfer funds and $200,000 in allocation money to the Reign in exchange for forward Jordyn Huitema. The 24-year-old joins on a contract through 2028 and gives the rebuilding Stars an aerial threat to help fill the void left by Ally Schlegel leaving for the North Carolina Courage.

European Title Races to Watch Out For

While it may not be crunch time just yet for clubs in contention, it’s a great time to check in on how title races are shaping up across Europe. While it may take some intriguing results in Germany, Italy, and Spain for things to get interesting, the United Kingdom is rife with drama to look forward to. Celtic and Rangers are usually the contenders in the Scottish Premiership, but it’s Hearts that has a five-point lead with plenty to go. In the English Premier League, the title race between Arsenal and Manchester City may end up being dwarfed by a relegation fight involving Tottenham, Nottingham Forest, and West Ham. Wrexham is right in the thick of a tight battle for promotion as well. Don’t sleep on the title race in France either, as Lens is hanging around just one point behind Paris Saint-Germain at the top of the Ligue 1 table.

Free Kicks

• The Portland Timbers signed 23-year-old midfielder Jose Caicedo from Pumas, inking him to a deal through the 2029-2030 season.
• The Columbus Crew traded Nigerian forward Aliyu Ibrahim to the Houston Dynamo in exchange for $250,000 in General Allocation Money, with another $500,000 headed their way if certain conditions are met.
• Mexican goalkeeper Luis Angel Malagon will miss out on the World Cup due to the injury he sustained in Club America’s win over the Philadelphia Union in the Concacaf Champions Cup.
• Chelsea winger Pedro Neto was issued a one-game ban for shoving a ball boy in his team’s 5-2 loss to PSG in the UEFA Champions League.
• Aston Villa and Porto won the first legs of their matchups in the Europa League’s round of 16. Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest fell 1-0 to Midtjylland and Roma and Bologna fought to a 1-1 draw.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend!

The idea of this article is to make a point about points, because if Orlando City is not going to earn any, then at least we can write about it. The Lions are off to the worst start in club history after three games, with zero points earned after losses to the New York Red Bulls, Inter Miami, and New York City FC. The good news is that those three teams occupy places one, three and four in the Eastern Conference standings, so perhaps Orlando City was just dealt a difficult schedule to start the season, but those of us with eyes know the Lions simply have not played well for the majority of the three games.

The MLS regular-season schedule contains 34 games, so some quick math tells us that 91% of the season still remains to be played. The playoff structure for MLS is also incredibly forgiving, as 18 of the league’s 30 teams qualify for the postseason, and 16 of those 18 are guaranteed at least one home game. Plenty of teams over the years have gotten hot late to secure a playoff spot, or like Orlando City during the 2023 season, to go from a low playoff seed to a top one by winning nine of its final 12 games.

There is still plenty of season left, but while teams can and do get hot late, it is rare that they do after struggling mightily during their first three games. I took a look at the last three seasons, the only ones in which nine teams qualified for the playoffs in each conference, and the table below shows how many points each of the 54 playoff teams had earned after the first three games.

Only two of the 54 playoff teams went winless during their first three games (Charlotte in 2023 and NYCFC in 2024), and in each subsequent year the overall average points earned by playoff teams during their first three games increased. Orlando City is one of four teams in MLS that have yet to earn one point, though New England has only played two games due to one being postponed because winter storms delayed the delivery of the club’s new grass field.

The Lions will be fighting an uphill battle to become the third team to qualify for the playoffs after starting with three straight losses, but if they win this week’s game against CF Montréal, that would put them on the same trajectory as the aforementioned 2023 Charlotte and 2024 NYCFC teams, as both won the fourth games of their season on the way to turning their seasons around and eventually qualifying for the playoffs.

What that means, however, is that since the league moved to this new playoff format no team has started the season with four straight losses and made the playoffs. It is always cool to be the first to do something, but I think it would be much cooler if the Lions would go out and deliver a resounding — some might say impactful (think about it) — thrashing to the Canadian club.

If they were to defeat Montréal by at least two goals, they would jump over them in the standings, guaranteeing themselves to no longer be dead last in the entire league, which is where they currently sit. It will be weird to root against Dagur Dan Thórhallsson, and to a lesser extent Luca Petrasso, but I will be passionately rooting against players with “sso” in their last names on Saturday, unless Robin Jansson comes out of the tunnel like Willis Reed (timely reference) to help the Orlando City defense actually be fence-like and prevent some goals.

The early results from playoff teams from last three seasons will not have any bearing on whether Orlando City can turn its season around and make the playoffs for a league-leading seventh consecutive season, but it is instructive on how difficult it is to dig yourself out of a hole. Two teams were able to turn it around and make the playoffs, but eight teams (two in 2023, three in 2024, and three in 2025) started with three straight losses and finished the season out of the playoffs.

We will not know the fate of Orlando City’s playoff hopes until much later in the season, but we will know its fate against Montréal in just a few days. Hopefully at game’s end the Lions will have a one in the win column. Or, at least in the draw column, but preferably in the win column.

It is always the darkest before dawn, and with six straight losses dating back to last season, it is pretty much pitch black around Orlando City right now. I’d say that makes this weekend the perfect time for the Lions to execute a three-point turn.

Vamos Orlando!

Orlando City returns to Inter&Co Stadium to take on CF Montreal after parting ways with Oscar Pareja on Wednesday. Martin Perelman will call the shots Saturday night as the interim head coach. Orlando City is still looking to earn its first points of the season after three straight losses. This is a club in turmoil looking to stop the bleeding of a horrible start to the season. What must Orlando City do to earn all three points — or even a single point — against Montreal Saturday night?

Enter Otero

Javier Otero was pressed into service early in the match against New York City FC thanks to Maxime Crepeau’s dumb mistake. That — and the five goals that followed — was not something he was expecting when he sat down on the bench. That cannot be his excuse this week. Otero will get full reps as the starter all week. He will know that he is getting the start and should mentally prepare.

Otero will need to be better this week, and that should be easy enough to do at home with a full squad in front of him. I’m not saying he needs to be Pedro Gallese, but he does need to make smart decisions, be careful with his distribution, and not be the reason the Lions lose. If he would like to have the best performance of his professional career, it is a perfect time to do so.

Full Team Defense

For weeks I’ve spouted off about the Lions needing the players on the back line and defensive midfielders to step up. I should have been more specific. I need them to do so for the entire 90 minutes plus stoppage time. It is evident how much this team is missing Robin Jansson and Wilder Cartagena.

In what I’ll describe as “good news,” Orlando City gets Colin Guske back after serving his red card suspension last week. I would like to see a center back pairing of Nolan Miller with Iago. David Brekalo has not been good, so Perelman might as well go with even more youth behind Guske. If those two, along with Griffin Dorsey on the right and Adrian Marin on the left, start it still won’t be good enough.

At this point, I need 11 players lined up across the face of the goal to just block off the net. I know I’m being hyperbolic, but I think the Lions will need to play deeper and more defensive-minded if the club hopes to get a result. Attacking on the counter after absorbing shots for long spells isn’t what I would normally recommend, but aside from the Miami game, it hasn’t fully been tried out so far this season, so why not give it a shot. At the very least, I need everyone tracking back all night.

Smell the Coffee, Duncan!

My sister-in-law, who has down syndrome, loves to tell people to “smell the coffee” when she wants them to wake up or be more active. I’m not saying Duncan McGuire needs to be more active, but he could be more efficient. His lack of goals has not been totally his fault as some of his teammates aren’t anticipating his runs, but he hasn’t been his old self either.

Remember when he ended Michael Bradley’s career (or at least it felt like it)? I’d love to see some of that. I believe he just needs to score that first goal, celebrate with his signature flip, and he’ll be back to normal. That means he needs to be better at his hold-up game and better with the ball at his feet. Hopefully he’s had enough time with his teammates in training so they know what runs he will make. If Orlando City sits back and tries to hit on the counter or go route one, it will be important for him to be more efficient and “smell the coffee.”

I thought about using “divine intervention” as one of the keys, but even I thought that might be a little silly. Though I’m not opposed to anyone making an appeal to a higher power if that is something you think might work. Otherwise, the above is what I will be looking for Saturday night. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!