Intelligence Report: Orlando City vs. Nashville SC

The end of another week means that another Orlando City game is almost upon us. The Lions return home Saturday to host Nashville SC, as OCSC looks to get back to winning ways.

A date with Nashville means I caught up with Ben Wright of Broadway Sports. As always, he was helpful in getting us up to speed on how Nashville’s 2024 season has gone.

We’ve now seen a few games under BJ Callaghan. How does he like to set up his team, and how does he want it to play?

Ben Wright: Callaghan is definitely more front-foot than Gary Smith, which shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who has watched Nashville SC or the USMNT before. They play a very high line, are much more aggressive in pressing, and actually try to break teams down with possession instead of just swinging it wide and crossing. It’s still very early in the process, and while this year might be too soon for this team to be good, I think the early signs are encouraging.

Goal scoring seems to have been the main issue for Nashville this year. What’s been the reason for the low numbers?

BW: Hany Mukhtar hasn’t been great, and in general they haven’t been able to get good service to him or Sam Surridge. It sounds overly simple, but that’s really it. I think the last couple matches under Callaghan have been better, but like I said earlier, it’s very early.

Nashville is only two points out of the final play-in game position. What needs to happen for this team to get above the line, and can it do that?

BW: Winning a couple games would be nice! They’re currently on a seven-match losing streak in MLS play, and somehow they’re still alive in the playoffs. It’s probably a testament to how crowded the Eastern Conference is, as well as how easy it is to make the playoffs in MLS. One or two results and they’re right back in the mix. If Mukhtar starts scoring again, they still have the pieces to be a playoff team.

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

BW: Patrick Yazbek was just suspended for two games for violating the league’s non-discrimination policy, so he’ll miss this weekend and the match against Atlanta. Tyler Boyd is out for the year with a torn ACL, and Randall Leal and Dru Yearwood are still working back from injury. Sean Davis and Lukas MacNaughton have had issues and are getting closer to returning, but they may not be available Saturday.

XI: Joe Willis; Daniel Lovitz, Josh Bauer, Walker Zimmerman, Shaq Moore; Anibal Godoy, Brian Anunga; Jacob Shaffelburg, Hany Mukhtar, Jonathan Pérez; Sam Surridge.

I’m predicting a 2-1 Orlando win.

Thank you to Ben for his help in getting us up to speed on Nashville. Vamos Orlando!