Welcome to your live match thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City (12-11-7, 43 points) and FC Dallas (10-13-7, 37 points) at Toyota Stadium (8:30 p.m., MLS Season Pass on Apple TV). It’s the only scheduled meeting between the clubs this season, and just the eighth overall.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of the match.

History

Orlando City is 1-4-2 in the all-time series and 0-2-1 on the road against FC Dallas. The teams did not meet in 2023, so the last time these teams have played was at Exploria Stadium in 2022, with FC Dallas erasing a 1-0 halftime deficit and winning 3-1 in Orlando. Ercan Kara put the Lions ahead just before halftime, but Paul Arriola’s second-half brace and Franco Jara’s goal turned the game around.

The teams last met at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, TX on Sept. 27, 2020, when they played to a scoreless draw. Sebas Mendez got sent off in the 69th minute of that match for Orlando, so it was a better result for the Lions than for the hosts.

The Lions got their first (and, so far, only) win in the series in a 2-0 victory at Exploria Stadium, back on Aug. 3, 2019. Former Dallas striker Tesho Akindele and Carlos Ascues provided the offense for Orlando, and those were the first two goals the Lions had ever scored against FC Dallas.

Dallas won 2-0 in Texas on Oct. 6, 2018 on goals by Santiago Mosquera and Victor Ulloa. The teams played to a 0-0 draw in Orlando in 2017. That game was memorable only for the Hoops playing an ineligible player — Michael Barrios, who was scratched from the starting XI after the lineups were turned in and then came off the bench.

Dallas won in 2016 on July 4 at Toyota Stadium by a 4-0 final score and it could have been worse if not for Joe Bendik’s performance in goal for Orlando. Dallas led 2-0 within 20 minutes of the start and cruised to an easy win behind goals by Walker Zimmerman, Barrios, Matt Hedges, and Fabian Castillo. That game turned out to be Adrian Heath’s last as Orlando City’s head coach, as the gaffer was sent packing a couple of days later.

The first meeting ended in a 2-0 Dallas win back in 2015 at the Citrus Bowl. Mauro Diaz (pen.) and David Texeira provided the offense in that one and the Lions failed to even get one shot on target.

Overview

Orlando City is coming off a 4-3 road loss at Columbus, which snapped the Lions’ three-game winning streak. After not conceding in their prior three matches, the Lions were sloppy against a team that punishes mistakes. Despite falling behind 3-0, Orlando made a game of it before giving up one goal too many to overcome. The Lions are 6-6-3 on the road this season but have dropped their last two away from home and conceded seven times in those two games.

FC Dallas enters with some confidence, having dispatched LAFC 3-1 at home one week ago. Tonight’s hosts are also good at home, posting a 9-4-2 home record in 2024, compared to a 1-9-5 mark on the road. Aside from that, FC Dallas is five points adrift of a postseason spot with just a few games remaining, so the Lions will get the hosts’ best shot tonight as they look to close the gap on Minnesota United.

This will be only the third time since his arrival in Orlando that Oscar Pareja will face the club for which he played from 1998-2005, and where he managed from 2014-2018. Papi is still beloved in Dallas after winning consistently during his tenure there, including a Supporters Shield and a U.S. Open Cup — both in 2016.

The key for Orlando will be stopping Petar Musa, who paces FC Dallas with 15 goals, adding two assists. The Croatian is tied for sixth among MLS goal-scoring leaders. It’s difficult to believe Dallas is where it is in the table when you consider that Musa is joined by such accomplished MLS attacking players as Sebastian Lletget, Arriola, Jesus Ferreira, and Alan Velasco, although the team has suffered through some injury issues in 2024. Speaking of attacking players, Orlando City players will see a familiar face on the other side, as former Lion Ruan was dealt to Dallas in the most recent transfer window.

“I think we have had a very good semester, a good second semester,” Pareja said ahead of the match. “The boys ended the game against Columbus with a very good reaction and good form. We ended up almost tying the game and we lost against a good rival. All these things we need to digest and prepare for the next one like we have done when we have played three on the road. So, we’re good. It’s a nice challenge to go to Dallas and it’s important for them as well. At this point, we need to qualify first our objectives and after that we’ll see.”

Orlando will be without Mason Stajduhar (lower leg) and David Brekalo (thigh), while Dagur Dan Thorhallsson (lower leg) is listed as questionable. FC Dallas will be without Asier Illarramendi (suspension), Geovane Jesus (knee), Paxton Pomykal (knee), and Liam Fraser (upper leg).

Match Content

• Our Intelligence Report features a scouting report on the Hoops from Drew Epperley of SBNation’s FC Dallas blog, Big D Soccer.
• The most recent episode of The Mane Land PawedCast includes our key matchups and score predictions.
• Our David Rohe discusses Orlando City’s starting striker options in Big D.

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Projected Lineups

Orlando City (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese.

Defenders: Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, Kyle Smith.

Defensive Midfielders: Cesar Araujo, Wilder Cartagena.

Attacking Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Martin Ojeda, Facundo Torres.

Forward: Ramiro Enrique.

FC Dallas (3-4-3)

Goalkeeper: Maarten Paes.

Defenders: Marco Farfan, Sebastien Ibeagha, Nkosi Tafari.

Wingbacks/Midfielders:  Ruan, Patrickson Delgado, Sebastian Lletget, Paul Arriola.

Forwards: Jesus Ferreira, Petar Musa, Alan Velasco.

Referees

REF: Jair Marrufo.
AR1: Chris Wattam.
AR2: Felisha Mariscal.
4TH: Matthew Corrigan.
VAR: Ismail Elfath.
AVAR: Mike Kampmeinert.

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How to Watch

Match Time: 8:30 p.m.

Venue: Toyota Stadium — Frisco, TX.

TV/Stream: 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).

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Enjoy the match. Go City!

I hope you all made it safely through Hurricane Helene, and that you remain safe if you’re in an area that is still feeling the effects of the storm. Orlando City will return to action Saturday on the road against FC Dallas, as the Lions enter the home stretch of the regular season with just four more games to play.

A trip to Dallas means I spoke to Drew Epperley, the manager of the excellent independent outlet Big D Soccer. Drew was kind enough to bring us up to speed on how FC Dallas’ season has been, and offered up some great information about this week’s opposition.

Talk me through some of the transfer business from FC Dallas this season. Who are some of the new faces, and how have they performed?

Drew Epperley: FC Dallas didn’t make a ton of moves this year in the transfer market as the club had a fairly set roster going into the season. The big splash, however, was signing Petar Musa from Benfica for a record deal. That move has certainly paid off. Musa is near the top of the league in goals scored this season and has become one of the best players to debut for FC Dallas in the club’s history. 

In the U-22 world, FC Dallas went down to South America and signed Patrickson Delgado. Most of us assumed he was going to be a defensive midfielder coming in, but it turns out, he’s more suited as a No. 8 or even a No. 10 at times. 

Aside from the transfers, the club also made a splash in the SuperDraft last December by trading up to snag Oregon State forward Logan Farrington. I keep saying that if the league still handed out a Rookie of the Year award, Farrington would be a shoo-in this season. He currently has four goals and eight assists. 

Elsewhere, the club has brought in some familiar faces like veteran Omar Gonzalez, former Orlando City fullback Ruan (so far we’re loving him here!), and Angolan midfielder Show.

Peter Luccin is the current interim manager after Nico Estevez was sacked back in June. What sort of setup and style does Luccin prefer to use with FC Dallas?

DE: Luccin hasn’t changed a ton of how the team lines up from what Estevez was running. The club switched to a 3-4-3 formation this season that allows the wingers to shift into a 5-3-2 when the club needs to be more defensive or to move up the field into the attack. The club struggled offensively last year, and this was a move to allow more attacking players to get onto the field. 

The downfall was that it didn’t work well under Estevez for a number of reasons, primarily the club’s injury situation kept key players like Alan Velasco, Jesus Ferreira, Geovane Jesus, and Paxton Pomykal away from the field for either the majority of the season (Velasco, Pomykal, and Jesus) or large chunks of games (Ferreira). Secondly, the team never had the right players in the defensive side of the formation to make it work this season. 

Luccin did find a way to unlock some passion and energy out of this group, even sticking with this formation. The team still struggles at times defensively but they tend to play more aggressively than they were earlier in the year, which has led to some more entertaining games out of this group.

Dallas is five points off the final play-in place with four games to go. What needs to happen in order for the club to climb above the line and get into the postseason?

DE: Simple, winning. If they don’t find ways to win at least two of their last four games, they can probably kiss the postseason goodbye. Aside from that, the less simple route is seeing either Portland or Minnesota lose their remaining games. 

Will any players be unavailable due to injury, suspension, etc.? What is your projected starting XI and score prediction?

DE: The big one this weekend for FC Dallas will be Asier Illarramendi being out due to a yellow card suspension. The veteran is a key player that drastically changes how the club plays in the midfield. On the injury front, the team still isn’t fully immune with Pomykal and Liam Fraser on the season-ending injury list. Geo Jesus is also on that list as well. 

As for our starting lineup, it should look similar to last week’s win over LAFC: Maarten Paes, Marco Farfan, Sebastien Ibeagha, Nkosi Tafari; Ruan, Patrickson Delgado, Sebastian Lletget, Paul Arriola; Jesus Ferreira, Alan Velasco, Petar Musa.

Score prediction: FCD 2, OCSC 1.

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Thank you to Drew for helping get us up to speed on FC Dallas. Vamos Orlando!

Happy Friday, Mane Landers! I made it through the hurricane fairly unscathed over here in Tampa but plan on helping some friends closer to the gulf with yard cleanup. Before we dive into today’s links, let’s all wish a happy birthday to Orlando City/OCB goalkeeper Carlos Mercado!

Reliving Orlando City History With Miguel Gallardo

As part of the series highlighting the people who have had a hand in Orlando City’s history over the past 13 years, the spotlight deservedly landed on Miguel Gallardo. The former Lion spoke on his decision to follow the team to Orlando after the final Austin Aztex season in 2010.

“It was a big decision for me because in Austin I had a business and my family there,” he said. “It was not an easy decision for me, but soccer was always attractive to me, and I felt like I could do better than the way I did in the academy when I was starting out playing in Mexico. Eight of the guys were going to be moving with the team, so I felt like there was a little family there, so after a lot of thought, I decided to come, and it was really special right from the get-go.”

Gallardo was a major part of Orlando’s time in the USL Pro as the team’s goalkeeper and detailed his experience in the 2011 USL Pro championship and in a friendly against Newcastle United. He’s been a part of the Orlando soccer community since retiring as well, climbing the ranks of broadcasting and coaching in the area as well.

New Opportunities Arise for Americans Players

A new United States Men’s National Team head coach in Mauricio Pochettino means plenty of new opportunities for Americans on the fringes of the player pool to get a look. Orlando City forward Duncan McGuire was noted as one such player who deserves some consideration from Pochettino. Although he wasn’t able to take the Olympics by storm this past summer, McGuire has done well at the club level and could give the USMNT another option up top. If Pochettino can elevate McGuire’s game, it would be a boon for the Lions as well.

Young attackers like Diego Luna, Luca Koleosha, and Rokas Pukstas could flourish from Pochettino’s coaching as well. Richie Ledezma, who has been playing at right back for PSV Eindhoven, is also a player to keep an eye on while Sergino Dest recovers from injury.

Kei Kamara Speaks On Importance of U.S. Open Cup

LAFC beat Sporting Kansas City in the U.S. Open Cup final Wednesday night, with striker Kei Kamara helping his team lift the trophy. There’s a great deal of uncertainty for the tournament moving forward, as not every MLS team played in it this year. Following the win, Kamara discussed how the league shouldn’t stop participating in the historic tournament and stated that MLS Commissioner Don Garber “better not take this away.” It’s Kamara’s second time winning the U.S. Open Cup, claiming the title with Kansas City in 2012, and he’s second on the league’s all-time scoring list. It’s great to hear a veteran like Kamara speak so openly about wanting the U.S. Open Cup to stay a part of MLS history.

“We go through the systems of everything that’s happened. They told us to go to school, play soccer in school, go to college, play soccer in college, get drafted, go through the system, and that’s what we’ve done. That’s why I give so much credit to Chris Wondolowski because we’ve done the same things. That’s the American dream that we wanted to do and we made it here so you can’t take away from our history. That’s just my opinion. Don’t take away our history.”

Europa League’s Opening Round Wraps Up

The first round of matches in this year’s revamped Europa League is over and done with and multiple clubs got their campaigns started off on the right foot. Tottenham played a majority of its match against Qarabag a man down, but still managed to win 3-0 at home. Ajax cruised to a 4-0 win against Besiktas, Rangers won 2-0 over Malmo in Sweden, and Lyon beat Olympiacos 2-0 at home. AS Roma had to settle for a 1-1 draw with Athletic Bilbao after conceding in the 85th minute. Eintracht Frankfurt also couldn’t hold onto its lead, allowing two late goals to draw 3-3 at home to Viktoria Plzeň.

Free Kicks

• Former USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter is reportedly a finalist to become the Chicago Fire’s sporting director, but it could be a hybrid role that has him as head coach as well. FC Dallas interim head coach Peter Luccin is reportedly the frontrunner for the permanent gig, and Bruce Arena is in the mix for the San Jose Earthquakes opening.
• Trinity Rodman will miss the Washington Spirit’s match tonight against Angel City FC due to her back injury. We’ll see if she’s ready to roll when the Spirit visit Orlando to face the Pride on Oct. 6.
• AC Milan is reportedly interested in signing American midfielder Johnny Cardoso from Real Betis.
•  Luis Ruiz was suspended for three months for his violent tackle on Christian Bermudez in Mexico’s second division earlier this month. Bermudez suffered a double fracture in his right leg as a result.
• USL Super League team Fort Lauderdale United FC has rescheduled its upcoming home game due to delays in construction at its stadium.

“We are committed to delivering an exceptional matchday experience for our fans. While ensuring our new stadium meets the highest standards, we’ve encountered a delay in the final stages of construction.

As a result, we will be rescheduling our upcoming home game against Dallas… pic.twitter.com/7u28FJ0L6L

— Fort Lauderdale United FC (@FTLUTD) September 24, 2024

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That’s all I have for you today. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend.