Welcome to your match thread and preview for a Saturday night Eastern Conference matchup between Orlando City (6-9-2, 20 points) and the New York Red Bulls (6-7-4, 22 points) at Sports Illustrated Stadium (7:30 p.m., Apple TV). This is the second of the two scheduled meetings between the teams this season after the sides kicked off the season against each other in February.

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

History

The Lions are 8-11-5 in 24 league meetings with the Red Bulls in the all-time series (9-12-5 in all competitions), with a record of 4-6-2 on the road. Orlando City is not in a good run of form against New York, having gone 0-3-3 in the last six meetings.

The Lions and Red Bulls met in Orlando on opening day back on Feb. 21, with Orlando City unable to overcome a terrible first half in a 2-1 loss. Julian Hall scored a first-half brace, and the Lions were unable to hit the net until deep in stoppage time, when Tiago scored his first Orlando City goal to spoil the shutout.

The teams split the points in both meetings a year ago, playing to a 0-0 draw in Orlando on April 12, 2025. That wasn’t a bad result for the Lions, considering Rodrigo Schlegel was sent off early in the second half after receiving his second yellow card of the game. It was Orlando’s second consecutive scoreless draw out of three straight, and four 0-0 affairs in five matches during a particularly dry patch for the Lions’ offense.

These two sides met less than a month prior to that game, playing to a 2-2 draw at Sports Illustrated Stadium on March 15. Martin Ojeda’s strike put Orlando up early, but it was canceled out by a controversial penalty by Eric Choupo-Moting just 11 minutes later. Marco Pasalic restored the Lions’ lead before the break with a stunning strike. However, Dennis Gjengaar was left unattended in front just two minutes after the restart, and he scored the tying goal.

The two teams faced each other in the 2024 Eastern Conference final at Inter&Co Stadium on Nov. 30, 2024, with an Andres Reyes set piece goal all that separated the sides in a 1-0 New York win. It was the first-ever playoff meeting between the two clubs.

The teams met in New Jersey on June 1, 2024, with the hosts coming away with a 1-0 win on a set piece goal from John Tolkin. Orlando City wasn’t in the best run of form at the time, and it was the third shutout the Lions suffered in a five-game span. The first meeting of the 2024 season came at Inter&Co Stadium on March 30, with the two sides playing to a 1-1 draw. A Kyle Smith foul in the box allowed Lewis Morgan to put the visitors ahead, but a late own goal by Noah Eile resulted in a stalemate.

Orlando City got the sweep in 2023 and did not concede a goal in the series, winning the last meeting of the year 3-0 at the stadium then known as Red Bull Arena. Facundo Torres scored twice — once from the spot — after Ivan Angulo opened the scoring for an easy road win. The two sides met in Orlando on opening day of 2023, with Orlando City winning 1-0 on a Torres penalty kick on Feb. 25. Sean Nealis’ handball allowed the Lions to start the season with a victory.

Orlando City won at Red Bull Arena 1-0 on Aug. 13, 2022, thanks to a Torres goal. That allowed the Lions to split the regular-season meetings and take two of three against New York in all competitions in 2022.

The Lions scored five unanswered goals to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 5-1 romp in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals on July 27, 2022 at Exploria Stadium. Cesar Araujo scored his first two professional goals on set pieces, while Mauricio Pereyra, Torres, and Benji Michel also found the net. Morgan scored New York’s lone goal.

The win in August had allowed the Lions to snap a four-game winless streak (0-3-1) in the regular-season series. The last of those non-wins came on April 24, 2022, when the Lions were walloped 3-0 at home on goals by Luquinhas, Cristian Casseres Jr., and Morgan, and Orlando City failed to get any of its measly three shot attempts on target.

The Red Bulls swept the season series in 2021. The teams met at Exploria Stadium on July 3 of that season with New York taking home a 2-1 win. Casseres opened the scoring just six minutes in, but Chris Mueller pulled the Lions level early in the second half. Fabio’s late goal lifted the visitors. Pereyra’s poor penalty was saved by Carlos Coronel, which cost Orlando City a better result.

The Red Bulls also handed Orlando City its first loss of the 2021 season, a 2-1 affair at Red Bull Arena, on May 29, 2021. Nani was suspended for that match and it showed, as the Lions were sloppy in possession and lacked composure on the ball. New York took the lead on goals by Caden Clark and Casseres, before Silvester van der Water pulled one back late. The Dutchman had a golden opportunity to tie the match moments later but skied his shot well over the bar.

The Lions fought to a road draw on Oct. 18, 2020, with Brian White equalizing deep in stoppage time in a 1-1 match. Nani had put the Lions ahead in the second half with a penalty kick goal and Orlando clinched its first ever MLS playoff spot despite spilling those late two points. That was the last match in the club’s record 12-match unbeaten streak in MLS play.

Orlando got the better of New York at Exploria Stadium on Oct. 3, 2020, winning 3-1 on goals by Daryl Dike, Junior Urso, and Antonio Carlos. Florian Valot scored for New York.

The teams split 1-0 road wins in the 2019 season series. White scored the only goal in Orlando on July 21, and Sacha Kljestan’s goal was the difference at Red Bull Arena on March 23. Before that game, the home team had won each of the previous five games in the series, splitting a pair of matches during the 2017 and 2018 seasons.

The teams split two meetings in 2018, with the Red Bulls grabbing a 1-0 result in the 2018 season finale to capture the Supporters’ Shield and the Lions pulling off a 4-3 home victory on March 31, 2018. Each team won at home in 2017 to split the two-game series, with New York winning 3-1 on Aug. 12, and Orlando City opening the season series with a 1-0 win on April 9 behind Servando Carrasco’s goal.

The teams met three times in 2016, with New York going 2-0-1. The teams split two games in 2015, with the road team winning both times, including Orlando City’s 5-2 win in New Jersey behind a Cyle Larin hat trick.

Overview

Orlando City restarted the season after the World Cup break in better form than anyone could have expected. Going up against two of the three best teams in MLS in just a four-day span, the Lions picked up a big 4-0 road win at San Jose before returning home to beat MLS Supporters’ Shield-leading Nashville 1-0 a week ago. Antoine Griezmann joining the team helped a lot with that, but despite missing several critical players, Orlando put together a pair of complete performances and shut down two good offenses. Whether it was a matter of catching teams complacent after a long layoff or a developing trend, we’ll have to wait and see.

The Lions enter tonight with a poor road record in 2026 of just 2-6-1, but one of those wins was a beatdown of the Earthquakes in the last away match.

Meanwhile, New York has lost 3-1 and 2-0 since the restart. The Red Bulls are 3-3-2 at home, and they are led by Hall’s nine goals and four assists for 13 total goal contributions. Jorge Ruvalcaba has been a nice pickup by New York, chipping in seven goals already this season, although he’ll be out tonight with a suspension. Emil Forsberg has added a goal and six assists to go along with Ronald Donkor’s one goal and five assists and Cade Cowell’s two goals and five assists. So, despite only scoring one goal since the restart, the Red Bulls have plenty of weapons.

The Lions will need to continue playing the kind of defense they showed against Nashville a week ago to get a road result heading into the Leagues Cup break.

Orlando City will be without Martin Ojeda (thigh), Nolan Miller (knee), Colin Guske (international duty), and Clovis Archage (international duty), while midfielder Joran Gerbet (knee) has been upgraded to questionable. New York will be missing A.J. Marcucci (knee), Adri Mehmeti (suspension), Ruvalcaba (suspension), Omar Valencia (suspension), and Rafael Mosquera (thigh).

Match Content

• Our Intelligence Report provides more background on tonight’s opponents, courtesy of Mark Fishkin of the Seeing Red podcast.
• The most recent episode of the PawedCast includes our key matchups and score predictions for the match.
• Our David Rohe provided his three keys to an Orlando City victory over the New York Red Bulls.

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Projected Lineups

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

Defenders: Adrian Marin, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, Griffin Dorsey.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Braian Ojeda, Eduard Atuesta, Tiago.

Forwards: Antoine Griezmann, Justin Ellis.

New York Red Bulls (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: Ethan Horvath.

Defenders: Matthew Dos Santos, Julian Bazan, Justin Che, Dylan Nealis.

Midfielders: Emil Forsberg, Gustav Berggren, Ronald Donkor.

Forwards: Mohammed Sofo, Julian Hall, Cade Cowell.

Referees

REF: Filip Dujic.
AR1: Kathryn Nesbitt.
AR2: Oscar Mitchell-Carvalho.
4TH: Pierre-Luc Lauziere.
VAR: Carol Anne Chenard.
AVAR: Craig Lowry.

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How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m.

Venue: Sports Illustrated Stadium — Harrison, NJ.

TV/Streaming: Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish), Nossa Rádio 1160 AM-WRLZ (Portuguese).

Social Media: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow us on Bluesky Social at @themaneland.bsky.social or follow Orlando City’s official Twitter (@OrlandoCitySC) or Bluesky (@OrlandoCitySC) feed.

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Enjoy the match. Go City!

It’s matchday eve once again, as Orlando City will try to make it three wins in a row after coming back from the World Cup break. Standing between the Lions and three victories on the bounce are the New York Red Bulls, as OCSC will hit the road up to New Jersey on Saturday to try to exact vengeance for an opening day loss.

A match with the Red Bulls means I caught up with Mark Fishkin, who hosts the Seeing Red Podcast — an independent outlet that always provides excellent coverage of New York. As usual, he was kind enough to bring us up to speed on how things have been going for the Red Bulls since the season opener.

With five goals conceded in two post-World Cup games, the defense seems to be a sticky spot for the Red Bulls at the moment. What are you seeing back there that has contributed to the back line’s difficulties?

Mark Fishkin: There’s so much that’s gone into New York’s ineptitude in the back…young, young players still figuring things out on the back line (ages 17, 20, 22) plus a challenge in net with Ethan Horvath. Horvath is usually good for one or two spectacular saves every match, plus a massive howler. Every. Time. Out.

After torturing Orlando in the season opener, Julian Hall has kept on cooking and leads the team with 12 goal contributions. What has made him so effective this season?

MF: Hall is a fantastic finisher who has benefitted from exemplary service, mostly from Cade Cowell (six assists)  on the right but also from Jorge Ruvalcaba (who is out for Saturday on yellow card accumulation), and Emil Forsberg. In the season opener, Hall’s performance opened eyes across the league, and the teenager hasn’t stopped. He’s been a bright spot for the team this season.

Based on what you’ve seen so far, what should the minimum expectation be for Red Bulls fans this year? What needs to happen for those expectations to be exceeded?

MF: Before the season, Red Bulls’ fans would have been happy with returning to the playoffs after the team’s first postseason miss since 2009 last year. However, a quick start, and then a great run before the World Cup Break (10 points over four matches) raised expectations in a big way. Since the break, however, the performances have been terrible. New York allowed three goals at one-win Philadelphia, then conceded twice to Charlotte in the first 12 minutes last week and lost 2-0. It’s been a rollercoaster of emotion for fans, and the car is heading down, down, down.

Will any players be unavailable due to injuries, suspensions, call-ups, etc.? What is your projected starting XI and score prediction?

MF: Key suspensions for the Red Bulls include Adri Mehmeti (red card last week) and the aforementioned Ruvalcaba.  The Red Bulls are close to injury free.
Starting XI (4-3-3) could be: Ethan Horvath; Matthew Dos Santos, Julian Bazan, Justin Che, Dylan Nealis; Emil Forsberg, Gustav Berggren, Ronald Donkor; Mohammed Sofo, Julian Hall, Cade Cowell.

*score prediction not provided

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Thank you to Mark for the great update on the Red Bulls. Vamos Orlando!

Happy Friday, Mane Landers! It’s the final day of July, and I’m hoping that the Orlando Pride can close out the month on a positive note tonight. We also have both Orlando City and Orlando City B to look forward to Saturday night. Let’s jump right into today’s links from around the soccer world!

Yutaro Tsukada Loaned to Rhode Island FC

Orlando City loaned forward Yutaro Tsukada to Rhode Island FC in the USL Championship for the remainder of the 2026 season. Selected by Orlando in the first round of the 2024 MLS SuperDraft, Tsukada signed a first-team contract that August after impressing with Orlando City B. Unfortunately, he missed all of last season due to a knee injury and has only made two appearances for the Lions this season. Hopefully, he can make the most of his playing time in Rhode Island.

Orlando Pride Visit North Carolina Courage Tonight

The Orlando Pride are on the road tonight for a game against the North Carolina Courage. Road wins have been hard to come by for Orlando this season, as the Pride have only won two games away from the City Beautiful this year. While the Pride have struggled when visiting WakeMed Soccer Park over the years, they did manage to draw 1-1 against the Courage there last year. Orlando generated plenty of opportunities in its 1-0 win over the Chicago Stars, and midfielder Haley McCutcheon spoke on how that’s a positive sign heading into this match.

“I think we can either look at our chances and not converting them as a frustration point, or we can look at it as confidence that we’re creating these chances,” she said. “We’ve taken it into this week as: okay, we’re creating, and now we just need that final piece. Especially without Barbra here, it gives other players an opportunity to step up and be the finisher.”

NWSL Terminates Agreement With Victory+

Starting on Sunday, all NWSL games that were scheduled to stream on Victory+ will instead be streamed for free on NWSL+ after the league terminated its media rights agreement with the broadcast partner. The multi-year agreement lasted less than a year and the termination is reportedly due in part to unfulfilled payments to the NWSL. You can check out games on NWSL+ through the league’s website or its app.

UEFA Agrees to Boycott FIFA Events

In response to FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s scheme to sell stakes in the World Cup to private equity investors, UEFA’s 55 member nations convened and agreed to boycott all FIFA competitions. Concacaf also released a statement rejecting Infantino’s proposal, expressing concern over the lack of due process and more. We’ll see where the dominoes fall from here, with the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup set to take place in Poland starting on Sept. 5. While it’s tough seeing women’s soccer events at risk in this game of chicken, it’s nice to see that the confederations aren’t just shaking their heads while going along with the plans.

Free Kicks

• Barbra Banda and Zambia will face off against Nigeria in Casablanca on Saturday in a critical Women’s Africa Cup of Nations match.
• The Philadelphia Union transferred South African defender Olwethu Makhanya to Rangers in the Scottish Premiership for a reported $4.5 million fee. The 22-year-old has been with the Union for three years and was part of South Africa’s World Cup roster.
• FC Cincinnati midfielder Gerardo Valenzuela was suspended for an additional game and fined by the MLS Disciplinary Committee for his violent conduct against the Columbus Crew on July 25. As a result, he’ll miss out on the match against Orlando City on Aug. 15.
• Talks are reportedly taking place for American attacker Giovanni Reyna to move from Borussia Monchengladbach to Strasbourg in France.

🇺🇸 Sources: Strasbourg is in talks to sign USMNT midfielder Gio Reyna from Borussia Monchengladbach.

Reyna, 23, has been at Gladbach for 1 season, making 19 Bundesliga apps. If he leaves, it'll be his 4th club in 4 seasons.

Reporting with @PaulTenorio https://t.co/EzNVWKLm7S

— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) July 30, 2026

• Eddie Howe is reportedly set to exit as Newcastle United’s head coach after nearly five years at the helm.
• English defender John Stones has joined Inter Milan following the expiration of his contract with Manchester City.

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That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend!