Orlando City vs. Charlotte FC: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

Welcome to your match preview and live thread for a Wednesday night matchup between Orlando City (4-8-5, 17 points) and Charlotte FC (8-6-4, 28 points) at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC (7:30 p.m., MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+). This is the first of two scheduled meetings between the southeastern teams in the regular season, with the Lions set to host the return fixture on Sept. 18.

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

History

The Lions are 2-1-1 in the all-time, regular-season series and 2-2-1 in all competitions. Orlando City is 1-0-1 at Charlotte in the regular season and 1-1-1 in all competitions. Every game between the two teams aside from the draw has been decided by a single goal.

Tonight’s hosts have gotten the better of Orlando City in recent two meetings, including a 2-0-1 mark in three meetings across all competitions last season.

The most recent match at Bank of America Stadium finished in a 1-1 draw on Aug. 30, 2023. Enzo Copetti’s late penalty appeared to wrap things up for the hosts on a rainy night in Charlotte, but Martin Ojeda’s seeing-eye set piece equalized just before stoppage time as the teams split the points.

Charlotte claimed a 1-0 “home” victory in U.S. Open Cup play on May 9 of last year. That game took place at Mecklenburg County Sportsplex in Matthews, NC, rather than at the club’s regular stadium. The first matchup of the 2023 season didn’t go any better for Orlando City, finishing as a 2-1 Charlotte win at Exploria Stadium on March 18. Copetti and Kerwin Vargas put Charlotte up 2-0 by halftime. Ojeda pulled one back, but the Lions were wasteful in front of goal and couldn’t pull level.

The teams met at Bank of America Stadium on Aug. 21, 2022. After a scoreless first half, Ercan Kara put the Lions ahead on the road, only to see McKinze Gaines equalize just four minutes later. Tesho Akindele’s late goal lifted Orlando to a 2-1 victory.

Orlando City won the first-ever meeting between the sides on April 30, 2022 at Exploria Stadium. Ruan scored the opening goal and set up Facundo Torres on the counter for the second as the Lions took a 2-0 lead into the locker room. Christian Fuchs scored from the spot after Rodrigo Schlegel was called for a foul in the box in the second half, but that was as close as Charlotte got in what was ultimately a 2-1 Orlando victory.

Match Overview

Orlando City enters tonight’s match in free fall, losing its last two straight games and having gone winless in four (0-3-1). The Lions have put only two shots on frame in their last two games, despite attempting 19 on Saturday — they had only four total attempts in their previous match on the road against the New York Red Bulls. If there’s a silver lining, it’s that Orlando has been merely ‘meh’ on the road (3-3-2), which is far better than its abysmal 1-5-3 home record. While fans may have appreciated better play and chance creation for most of Saturday’s 3-1 home loss to LAFC, the final score speaks for itself. The game was tied entering the 80th minute and Orlando City was down two goals six minutes later.

Charlotte enters with one of the best defensive records in Major League Soccer. Only Columbus (15) has given up fewer goals than the North Carolina side’s 18. The third-year club has won its last two matches and is a stout 6-1-3 at home in 2024. Charlotte blanked D.C. United 1-0 on Saturday. With eight shutouts on the season, this is not a club that Orlando’s anemic offense will be happy to see. The Lions have scored fewer goals (17) than every team in the league except New England (15).

There isn’t one standout threat among Charlotte’s goal scorers, as Liel Abada, Patrick Agyemang, and Vargas each own a share of the club’s goal-scoring lead, with three apiece. Jere Uronen leads the team with three assists. Charlotte has only scored two more goals on the season than Orlando, but it’s the club’s defensive record that has it sitting 11 points above the Lions in the Eastern Conference. This match projects as a low-energy, grinding affair with few chances, but you never know until they play the game.

“In the two days we had to train, first we’re going to try and cleanse ourselves and try and observe what happened against LAFC,” Head Coach Oscar Pareja said ahead of the match. “Obviously, the most important one is we couldn’t get the result. But also, we have to extract from the game the many positive things we did and take it into the next game. Trying to deal with this frustration and not being sharp at home or getting results. But at the same time, it’s our responsibility to keep moving forward.” 

The Lions will be without international players Wilder Cartagena, Pedro Gallese, and David Brekalo. In addition, backup fullbacks Michael Halliday (knee) and Tahir Reid-Brown (thigh) are out. Additionally, Ramiro Enrique (personal matter) is questionable. As of Friday, Charlotte listed no one on its availability report.

Match Content

• Our most recent epsidode of the PawedCast includes our key matchups and score predictions for today’s match, as well as a preview of the game.

Official Lineups

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Mason Stajduhar.

Defenders: Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Nico Lodeiro, Felipe, Facundo Torres.

Forwards: Luis Muriel, Duncan McGuire.

Bench: Javier Otero, Kyle Smith, Alex Freeman, Thomas Williams, Jeorgio Kocevski, Cesar Araujo, Martin Ojeda, Wilfredo Rivera, Jack Lynn.

Charlotte FC (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Kristijan Kahlina.

Defenders: Jere Uronen, Andrew Privett, Adilson Malanda, Nathan Byrne.

Defensive Midfielders: Djibril Diani, Ashley Westwood.

Attacking Midfielders: Kerwin Vargas, Scott Arfield, Liel Abada.

Forward: Patrick Agyemang.

Bench: David Bingham, Jaylin Lindsey, Bill Tuiloma, Brandt Bronico, Benjamin Bender, Iuri Tavares, Nikola Petkovic, Brecht Dejaegere, Tyger Smalls.

Referees

REF: Allen Chapman.
AR1: Chantal Boudreau.
AR2: Ben Pilgrim.
4TH: Rosendo Mendoza.
VAR: Ekaterina Koroleva.
AVAR: Tom Supple.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m.

Venue: Bank of America Stadium  — Charlotte, NC.

TV/Live Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+.

Radio: FM 96.9 The Game (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!