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 Sunday night playoff matchup between Orlando City and Charlotte FC at Inter&Co Stadium (7:30 p.m., FS1, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV). This is the first time the teams have met in the postseason as they open a best-of-three, first-round series.

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

History

The Lions are 3-1-2 in the regular-season series and 3-2-2 in all competitions against Charlotte. Orlando City is 2-1-0 at home in the regular season. Every game between the two teams (aside from the draws) had been decided by a single goal until the most recent clash, when the teams met a month ago on Sept. 18 in Orlando. The Lions got second-half goals from Facundo Torres and Duncan McGuire to win 2-0, claiming the first multiple-goal win in the series.

The teams also met on June 19 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte and played to a 2-2 draw. The hosts struck first with an early Kerwin Vargas goal and the Lions pulled one back through McGuire in the second half. But despite Charlotte going down a man on Scott Arfield’s red card, Brandt Bronico restored the hosts’ lead shortly after McGuire’s strike. Torres struck back moments later but the Lions could not find a winner on the road.

The previous match was also a draw at Bank of America Stadium, finishing 1-1 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 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 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.

Overview

These teams were separated by only one point in the standings after the 34-game regular season. The Lions (15-12-7, 52 points) needed their three points this season against Charlotte (14-11-9, 51 points) to finish in the home playoff places for the first round.

Orlando City enters tonight’s match having lost 2-1 to Atlanta United at home on Oct. 19 in the season finale. The Lions staked the visitors to an early 2-0 lead and outplayed them the rest of the way, with Ojeda scoring just before the break. However, Orlando could not find an equalizer, backing into the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference due to New York City FC’s loss at CF Montreal. That game also allowed Charlotte to leapfrog NYCFC into the fifth spot, producing tonight’s matchup. The Lions finished 7-6-4 at home in the regular season, but considering the team’s terrible start to the season at Inter&Co Stadium, that was an accomplishment. Orlando had a seven-game (6-0-1) home unbeaten run snapped on Decision Day, as well as a 10-game unbeaten run in all competitions (7-0-3).

Charlotte hasn’t lost since dropping that Sept. 18 match in Orlando, going 4-0-1, with the only draw coming on the road against Inter Miami, 1-1. Three of the other four games were shutout victories, including the last two. Charlotte’s 3-0 win at D.C. United on Decision Day pushed the team ahead of NYCFC and into the fifth spot.

Although Orlando scored twice in each meeting with Charlotte this season, tonight’s visitors have the best defensive record in the Eastern Conference and have the second-best defense in MLS, allowing just 37 goals in 34 games. Charlotte went just 5-8-4 on the road in 2024, but has been good of late, with a win and a draw in its last two away from home. Despite setting a club record for goals in 2024, the Lions have never scored more than one goal in a playoff game, and tonight’s opponents won’t make things any easier.

Orlando City will need to be patient but also try to build a volume of shots against Charlotte’s stout defense, led by goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina, who posted 119 saves on the season and tied for the league lead in minutes played (3,060) and a strong back line that includes U.S. international Tim Ream. The key to beating Charlotte is to get some goals on the board, as the visitors’ offense has found the net just 46 times this season — tied for 10th in the Eastern Conference — although it has scored 14 during its current unbeaten run and has been held under two goals just once since getting shut out in Orlando in September.

“We are so proud to again be at this stage of the playoffs, which is the most important part of the season,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said ahead of the game. “For us, it’s just an opportunity one more time, just to get the best prize here, to our club, to our city, and that’s what we are focused on. We are very optimistic and ready to compete. Regarding our match, it’s playoff time. The playoffs are a different tournament. It’s a short tournament when there is no tomorrow, you have to be ready that day, and we are preparing mentally just to face that challenge. We are really proud to represent our club again in the playoffs.”

The Lions will be without Mason Stajduhar (lower leg). Charlotte will be without Jahlane Forbes (hip), while Nikola Petković (knee) is questionable.

Match Content

• Our Ben Miller wrote about Orlando’s need to find offense in the postseason.
• 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.
• Our David Rohe presented his three keys to victory for Orlando City in this match.

Projected Lineups

Orlando City (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese.

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

Defensive Midfielders: Cesar Araujo, Wilder Cartagena.

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

Forwards: Ramiro Enrique.

Charlotte FC (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: Kristijan Kahlina.

Defenders: Tim Ream, Andrew Privett, Adilson Malanda, Nathan Byrne.

Midfielders: Brandt Bronico, Ashley Westwood, Junior Urso.

Forwards: Kerwin Vargas, Patrick Agyemang, Pep Biel.

Referees

REF: Drew Fischer.
AR1: Micheal Barwegen.
AR2: Lyes Arfa.
4TH: Rosendo Mendoza.
VAR: Michael Radchuk.
AVAR: TJ Zablocki.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m.

Venue: Inter&Co Stadium  — Orlando

TV/Live Stream: FS1, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV (Free).

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!