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

Welcome to your match thread and preview for a Friday night matchup between Orlando City (5-8-6, 21 points) and New York City FC (9-8-2, 29 points) at Yankee Stadium (7:30 p.m., MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+). This is the first of the two scheduled meetings between the Lions and Pigeons this season, with NYCFC set to make the return trip to Orlando on July 20.

Here is what you need to know ahead of the match.

History

The Lions are 7-8-7 in 22 meetings with NYCFC in the all-time series in MLS play and 7-8-9 including one playoff match and one U.S. Open Cup meeting (remember, games that go to penalty shootouts in knockout competitions officially count as draws), so the series between the two 2015 expansion sides has proven to be a competitive one. Orlando is just 2-6-2 in road games in the all-time series.

The last time these teams met was at Citi Field — a different baseball stadium than NYCFC’s usual one — on Sept. 20, 2023. The Pigeons were rude hosts, winning 2-0 on goals by Mounsef Bakrar and Talles Magno. It snapped Orlando’s five-game unbeaten run but the Lions clinched a playoff spot that day anyway due to other results around the league.

These teams also met last year in Orlando on May 17, and with the Lions poised for a 1-0 win, NYCFC eked out a late 1-1 draw with an 89th-minute Gabriel Segal goal out of nowhere. Ercan Kara scored for Orlando City early on, but the Lions were wasteful with opportunities for the rest of the match.

The teams faced off at Red Bull Arena (one of NYCFC’s many homes away from home) on Oct. 2, 2022, with the Pigeons erasing a 1-0 halftime deficit that Facundo Torres provided. The “hosts” got second-half goals from Alex Callens and Magno to complete the comeback and win, 2-1. Earlier in the year at Exploria Stadium, the Lions got a Tesho Akindele goal at the death, stunning NYCFC as Orlando City won 2-1 on Aug. 28, 2022. Junior Urso and Maxi Moralez had scored early in the first and second half, respectively, to set up Akindele’s dramatic late winner.

Orlando City had a five-game unbeaten streak in the series (1-0-4) absolutely demolished on July 25, 2021 in a 5-0 OCSC loss at Yankee Stadium. The Lions started a makeshift lineup, and it showed, as the Pigeons got goals from Jesus Medina, Ismael Tajouri-Shradi, Moralez, Malte Amundsen, and Valentin Castellanos. Why the makeshift lineup? That match was sandwiched between home games against Philadelphia and Atlanta, with quick turnarounds for each. The strategy was sound, as Orlando won the other two games in that nine-day span.

The teams met in Orlando on May 8, 2021 and drew 1-1. Nani smashed a golazo in the second half to put the Lions on top, but Joao Moutinho fouled Tajouri-Shradi in the box and Castellanos scored from the spot to equalize.

The last meeting of the 2020 season happened in the postseason and things got weird. Orlando City ultimately prevailed in penalties after a 1-1 postseason draw on Nov. 21, 2020. Nani put Orlando ahead from the penalty spot, only to see Maxime Chanot equalize on a set piece. Extra time couldn’t settle it, so to penalties we went, and the Lions advanced thanks to a save by defender Rodrigo Schlegel — after goalkeeper Pedro Gallese was sent off with a second yellow for coming off his line early. Benji Michel’s blast was the difference in the shootout. (Seriously, just click the above link in this paragraph and relive that madness.)

The Lions and Pigeons wrapped the 2020 season series on Oct. 14 at Exploria Stadium, playing to a 1-1 draw. Chris Mueller opened the scoring but Keaton Parks equalized just before halftime. The first meeting of 2020 also took place in Central Florida in the MLS is Back Tournament on July 14, when Mueller’s brace and a late Akindele insurance goal led Orlando to a 3-1 win. Medina scored for NYCFC. That win snapped Orlando City’s 0-4-3 streak in the previous seven competitive meetings with the Pigeons. The last match in that winless streak against NYCFC was a 1-1 draw, with the Lions then dispatching NYCFC from the U.S. Open Cup in a penalty shootout on July 10, 2019. That night has been immortalized for the running of The Wall and Adam Grinwis’ heroics in goal.

The teams drew both regular-season meetings in 2019, 1-1 on April 27 at Yankee Stadium, and 2-2 on opening day at Exploria Stadium. NYCFC took all three meetings in a dismal 2018 season series. The Lions went 2-1-0 against New York City FC in 2017, including a win to christen the stadium now known as Exploria with Cyle Larin scoring the only goal in a 1-0 OCSC win. Orlando was 3-1-2 in 2015 and 2016 in the first six meetings with NYCFC.

Match Overview

Orlando City is coming off a 4-2 home win over the Chicago Fire on Saturday. Torres scored a brace, Luis Muriel fired home frmo the penalty spot, and Ivan Angulo added a goal to more than offset a Maren Haile-Sellasse penalty and a goal by Hugo Cuypers. That snapped a five-game winless skid for the Lions (0-3-2) and now Orlando is on a two-game unbeaten run (1-0-1). City has been even-Steven on the road, playing to a 3-3-3 record in nine away matches.

New York City FC is 6-3-1 at home in 2024, but the Pigeons have lost their last three games in a row, getting shut out in their last two. The Lions are typically good for struggling offenses, such as allowing two against 10-man Charlotte in the team’s most recent road outing. NYCFC has scored three more goals than Orlando City on the season (26-23), but has also conceded eight fewer goals (23-31).

Santiago Rodriguez has been the primary weapon for NYCFC this season, leading the club with seven goals and six assists. Alonso Martinez has six goals and an assist.

The Lions will need to adapt to the smaller playing surface of Yankee Stadium, where the ball must move more quickly and accurately to get through the smaller spaces available. Poor first touches will be punished and Orlando can’t be shy about shooting from everywhere when there’s an opening.

“We try to simulate them [New York City FC] the best we can. That pitch and the challenges we have when we go to New York and that pitch,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said. “The other thing is that it’s football. Try to recognize what their weaknesses are and what other things they do well that we can control. Again, just trying to continue the good things we’ve done, especially in the last game where we scored four goals. The boys felt much more like themselves in front of the goal and we’re aiming for that.”

Orlando City will be without internationals Pedro Gallese, Wilder Cartagena, and David Brekalo, as well as Michael Halliday (knee). Homegrown fullback Tahir Reid-Brown (thigh) has been upgraded to questionable, joining Ramiro Enrique (personal matter) and Felipe (foot). New York City has a clean bill of health and is missing no internationals.

Match Content

• Our most recent PawedCast includes our key matchups and score predictions for tonight’s game.
• Our Intelligence Report by Ben Miller provides the latest info on New York City FC from Hudson River Blue’s Matthew Mangam.
• Our David Rohe provided his three keys to an Orlando City victory against NYCFC.

Official Lineups

Orlando City (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Mason Stajduhar.

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

Defensive Midfielders: Nico Lodeiro, Cesar Araujo.

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

Forward: Duncan McGuire.

Bench: Javier Otero, Kyle Smith, Alex Freeman, Thomas Williams, Jeorgio Kocevski, Felipe, Favian Loyola, Luis Muriel, Jack Lynn.

New York City FC (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Matt Freese.

Defenders: Kevin O’Toole, Birk Risa, Thiago Martins, Tayvon Gray.

Defensive Midfielders: Keaton Parks James Sands.

Attacking Midfielders: Malachi Jones, Santiago Rodriguez, Hannes Wolf.

Forwards  Alonso Martinez.

Bench: Luis Barraza, Strahinja Tanasijević, Mitja Ilenic, Andres Perea, Maxi Moralez, Julian Fernandez, Mounsef Bakrar, Augustin Ojeda, Jovan Mijatović.

Referees:

REF: Sergii Boiko.
AR1: Ian McKay.
AR2: Brian Dunn.
4TH: Elvis Osmanovic.
VAR: Daniel Radford.
AVAR: Jonathan Johnson.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m.

Venue: Yankee Stadium — Bronx, NY.

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!