Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Philadelphia Union: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More
The Lions look to right the ship on the road in Philadelphia.
Welcome to your match thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City SC (2-5-3, 9 points) and the Philadelphia Union (3-2-5, 14 points) at Subaru Park (7:30 p.m., MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+). This is the first of two regular-season meeting between the Eastern Conference clubs in 2024, with the Union scheduled to make the return trip to Orlando on Oct. 2.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of the match.
History
Orlando City is 5-7-6 in the 18 MLS meetings with the Union since the club joined Major League Soccer in 2015, and 6-8-6 in all competitions. The Lions are 3-5-1 against the Union on the road in league play and 3-6-1 away against Philadelphia in all competitions.
The teams last met on June 21, 2023 in Orlando, with the Lions blowing a two-goal lead in a controversial 2-2 draw. Duncan McGuire and Martin Ojeda scored early in each half, only to see Jack McGlynn score on a cross into the box that missed everyone and got past Mason Stajduhar at the far post, followed by a rocket shot by Jose Martinez from distance. Ivan Angulo’s would-be game winner by Ivan Angulao was chalked off after a questionable foul call in the buildup against Ercan Kara.
The teams met in Philadelphia most recently on March 25, 2023 with the Lions jumping out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Angulo and Ojeda. Former Lion Andres Perea pulled one back but the Lions held on for a 2-1 road win. The victory snapped Philadelphia’s incredible 24-match home unbeaten streak.
The Union put the Lions to the sword in the last meeting of 2022, a dominant 5-1 win by Philadelphia on Sept. 10 of that year. That was Orlando’s first match since winning the U.S. Open Cup title three days earlier. Joao Moutinho’s own goal started the scoring and the Union got goals from Mikael Uhre, Daniel Gazdag (penalty), Alejandro Bedoya, and Jack Elliott. Perea, who was then still a Lion, scored for Orlando but the team was trailing by 4-0 at the time.
The Eastern Conference foes met on July 23, 2022 at Exploria Stadium. Two controversial video review decisions went against Orlando that night and the Lions were wasteful with their chances in an evenly matched 1-0 Philadelphia win. Gazdag scored the game’s only goal off a set piece.
The teams also met in U.S. Open Cup play on May 10, 2022, with the Lions winning 2-1 at home. Kara and Perea hoisted Orlando to a 2-0 lead. Stuart Findlay pulled one back late, but the Lions saw it out and advanced.
On Sept. 19, 2021 the Union prevailed 3-1 at Subaru Park, largely due to a brace by Kacper Przybylko after he got away with what appeared a clear elbow to the face of Rodrigo Schlegel. Instead of being sent off and/or conceding a free kick to Orlando City, the Union scored on the ensuing play and went on to win the match. The teams met in Orlando on July 22, 2021 and the Lions got goals by Benji Michel and Perea on the team’s only two shots on target to win 2-1. Przybylko, who had feasted on Orlando since arriving in Philadelphia, pulled one back for the visitors but the Lions hung on.
The teams faced each other in the group stage of the MLS is Back Tournament in 2020 in the only meeting to date that did not take place in either side’s home stadium. The game ended in a 1-1 draw after a Mauricio Pereyra goal canceled out a strike by Ilsinho. That draw allowed the Lions to win Group A in the competition and they went on to reach the final.
The Lions and Union tangled in what was then known as Talen Energy Stadium on July 7, 2019, with the teams drawing, 2-2. Dom Dwyer and Santiago Patino brought Orlando back from 1-0 down but Przybylko poached a goal in the 90th to capture a share of the points for the Union. That match was postponed by MLS on the night it was set to take place — a move that Orlando City fought against — and instead was played the next day.
The two teams had met just a few days earlier on July 3, ending in Orlando’s 3-1 home loss against the Union. Chris Mueller and Przybylko swapped goals in the first half before Robin Jansson was sent off just prior to the break. Afterwards, the 10-man Lions gave up two more goals — to Przybylko and Fafa Picault — and then went down another man with Sacha Kljestan seeing red.
The teams drew 2-2 in a wild finish on Sept. 1, 2018 in Orlando. Just when it looked like Picault had lifted the Union to victory with a strike in the 88th minute, Scott Sutter equalized in stoppage time to salvage a point for the Lions. Dwyer and Cory Burke also scored in that match. The Lions prevailed over the Union in Philadelphia on April 13, 2018 by a 2-0 score. Dwyer and Mueller provided the offense. Orlando and Philadelphia also met that season in U.S. Open Cup play, with the Union capturing a 1-0 home win back on July 18, 2018 on a goal by Bedoya.
The teams split their two matches in 2017, with the home side prevailing both times. The Lions won 2-1 at Orlando City Stadium on March 18. The rematch was an ugly 6-1 Philadelphia win in the season finale for both teams.
The Lions were 1-1-1 against Philadelphia in 2016. The team’s first road victory in the series came on Oct. 16, 2016, as the Lions roared, 2-0. The teams played to a 2-2 draw on May 25 in Orlando. Tranquillo Barnetta’s free kick gave Philly a 2-1 win.
Orlando drew 0-0 at home and lost on the road, 1-0 (on a penalty kick), against Philadelphia in 2015.
Overview
Orlando City enters tonight’s match looking to turn things around after two straight losses put a screeching halt to a four-game unbeaten run. The most recent of those was last Saturday’s 1-0 home loss to FC Cincinnati on a goal conceded in the opening half minute. From there, Cincinnati didn’t create a lot, but Orlando struggled to finish and fell at home.
Orlando is 1-2-1 on the road this season, but the draw and the win came in the Lions’ two most recent away matches at Montreal and D.C. United, respectively. One reason for that is that Orlando scored a total of five goals in those two matches, whereas the team has struggled to score for most of the season so far.
Philadelphia enters tonight also not quite living up to expectations, but at least the Union are currently above the playoff line — in eighth place, which would result in having to start with the play-in game if Philly stays where it is. The Union are just 1-2-1 at home so far this season — a far cry from their long home unbeaten streak the Lions snapped in their 2023 visit to Subaru Park.
coming off a weekend off following a 2-1 road loss at San Jose 11 days ago. The Union are 3-4-1 on the road in 2023, however, Philly had won three straight on the road and was unbeaten in four prior to visiting the Earthquakes. Only three Eastern Conference teams have scored more goals than Philadelphia’s 28, yet only three Eastern teams have conceded fewer than the 17 goals the Union have allowed. Philly enters on a four-match winless skid (0-2-2), which includes losses in the team’s last two home games against Western Conference opponents Seattle and Real Salt Lake.
Typically, the Union like to deploy in a 4-4-2 diamond formation under Jim Curtin. Gazdag is the key man as he can both score and turn provider for others. He leads the Union with six goals to go along with one assist in 2024. Carranza, who is Philly’s second-leading scorere, will miss the match due to yellow card accumulation, but Uhre is another danger man that Orlando City must always keep under wraps. Uhre is third among Union scorers with three goals on the season, and he has one assist as well. The surprise player for Philadelphia in 2024 has been Quinn Sullivan, who leads Philly with four assists on the year. Bedoya has chipped in three assists, and fullback Kai Wagner — always a threat with crosses and set pieces — also has three.
“Philadelphia, a very traditional model they have. They have changed a couple things here and there, but not many changes on the roster,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said ahead of the match. “What I see from Philadelphia is a very traditional team that plays very direct. They are trying to find the best version too. That’s what we see.”
Orlando City will be without Rodrigo Schlegel (suspension), Ramiro Enrique (ankle), Rafael Santos (shoulder), and Homegrown defender Tahir Reid-Brown (thigh), while Dagur Dan Thorhallsson (concussion protocol) is listed as questionable.
Match Content
- Our Intelligence Report features insight into the Union from Joe Lister of the independent Philadelphia blog, Philadelphia Soccer Now.
- The most recent PawedCast includes our key matchups and score predictions for tonight’s game, and a Union preview with Philadelphia Soccer Now Managing Editor Matt Ralph.
- Our David Rohe provided his three keys to an Orlando City victory in Philadelphia.
Official Lineups:
Orlando City (3-5-2),
Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese.
Defenders: Robin Jansson, Wilder Cartagena, David Brekalo.
Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Cesar Araujo, Martin Ojeda, Nico Lodeiro, Facundo Torres.
Forwards: Luis Muriel, Duncan McGuire.
Bench: Mason Stajduhar, Kyle Smith, Alex Freeman, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Abdi Salim, Felipe, Jeorgio Kocevski, Yutaro Tsukada, Jack Lynn.
Philadelphia Union (4-4-2 diamond)
Goalkeeper: Oliver Semmle.
Defenders: Kai Wagner, Damion Lowe, Jakob Glesnes, Nathan Harriel.
Midfielders: Jose Martinez, Jack McGlynn, Daniel Gazdag, Alejandro Bedoya.
Forwards: Quinn Sullivan, Michael Uhre.
Bench: Andrew Rick, Olwethu Makhanya, Jack Elliott, Jeremy Rafanello, Jesus Bueno, Leon Flach, Sanders Ngabo, Chris Donovan, Tai Baribo.
Referees:
REF: Timothy Ford.
AR1: Brian Dunn.
AR2: Ben Pilgrim.
4TH: Marcos DeOliveira.
VAR: Michael Radchuk.
AVAR: TJ Zablocki.
How to Watch
Match Time: 7:30 p.m.
Venue: Subaru Park — Chester, PA.
TV/Streaming: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+.
Radio: Real Radio 104.1 FM (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish).
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!