Orlando City vs. D.C. United: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

Welcome to your match thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City (1-2-1, 4 points) and D.C. United (1-0-3, 6 points) at Inter&Co Stadium (7:30 p.m., MLS Season Pass on Apple TV). This is the first of the two scheduled MLS matches this season between the Lions and the Black and Red, with Orlando City’s return trip to Audi Field scheduled for Sept. 13.

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

History

The Lions are 8-9-2 against D.C. in the all-time league series since the club joined MLS, and 8-9-3 in all competitions. Orlando is 5-4-1 in MLS home games against D.C. Oscar Pareja is 7-6-2 in his managerial career against United.

Orlando City swept the season series a year ago. The teams last met on July 6, 2024 in Orlando, with the Lions running roughshod over visiting United in a 5-0 win on the night when Kaká became the first player inducted into the Legends Terrace at Inter&Co Stadium. Martin Ojeda, Robin Jansson, Ivan Angulo, Facundo Torres, and Ramiro Enrique all got on the scoresheet, with three of those goals coming before United center back Lucas Bartlett was sent off for denying Angulo a goal-scoring opportunity late in the first half. 

The Black and Red had managed four consecutive results in the series (3-0-1) prior to the Lions’ visit to Audi Field on April 13, 2024. United went ahead twice in the match on goals by Christian Benteke and Gabriel Pirani and led the game late. Dagur Dan Thorhallsson equalized in the first half, and David Brekalo made it 2-2. Duncan McGuire’s well-timed breakaway goal in stoppage time lifted Orlando to a 3-2 road win.

The last meeting in 2023 took place in Orlando on April 22, 2023, with D.C. scoring twice in the second half to snap a 1-1 deadlock and win, 3-1. Taxiarchis Fountas, Donovan Pines, and Benteke scored for D.C. to more than offset McGuire’s strike.

These teams squared off just a few weeks before that in D.C., splitting the points in a 1-1 draw on March 11. McGuire scored his first MLS goal but Chis Durkin leveled things late in a match that was sandwiched between Orlando City’s two legs of Concacaf Champions League play against Tigres UANL.

D.C. swept the season series in 2022, despite being a terrible team that “won” the league’s Wooden Spoon by no small margin. The meeting in D.C. that year took place July 31 and saw Orlando City dominate the first half but miss multiple glorious chances to put the game away early. The Lions were wasteful, taking only a 1-0 lead into stoppage time thanks to Junior Urso’s first-half goal, only to fall 2-1 on stoppage-time strikes by Durkin and Fountas.

The teams also met on Independence Day at Exploria Stadium, with D.C. putting together a performance out of nowhere in a 5-3 road win. Fountas netted his first MLS hat trick and Kimarni Smith and Nigel Robertha added their first goals of the season. Torres, Ercan Kara, and Alexandre Pato scored for Orlando, threatening to bring the Lions back, but Orlando could never get on level terms.

The teams met twice in 2021, including Oct. 2 at Exploria Stadium. Daryl Dike scored deep in stoppage to lift the Lions to a 2-1 home victory. Jansson scored a first-half goal off a corner kick scramble to offset an early Julian Gressel strike. The first match of 2021 took place on May 16 in D.C., with the Lions winning 1-0 on an early Mauricio Pereyra goal. That win snapped United’s 3-0-1 streak in the series in league play and 3-0-2 in all competitions dating back to City’s previously most recent win over D.C. back in 2017.

The teams did not meet in what was an odd 2020 season.

D.C. United swept the season series in 2019, winning 1-0 at Audi Field back on June 26, 2019. Wayne Rooney’s wondergoal from his own half of the pitch caught Brian Rowe napping. The Lions fell 2-1 at home on March 31, 2019, with set pieces ruining the night for Orlando. You might recall the controversy that surrounded the winning goal, with then-coach James O’Connor visibly upset after the match. Steve Birnbaum scored the first on a set piece and Rooney scored the second on a free kick that he took from wherever the hell he wanted rather than where the foul occurred. Frederic Brillant bulldozed Rowe on the play as the ball sailed into the net.

D.C. was 1-0-2 in three total meetings (two in league play) in 2018. Orlando swept the two league meetings in 2017, the teams split two lopsided games in 2016 — with each team winning at home — and the Black and Red went 2-1-0 in the first three meetings back in 2015.

Match Overview

Orlando City is coming off a 2-2 road draw against the New York Red Bulls and is winless in its last two matches (0-1-1) — both on the road. The Lions are 1-1-0 at home this season, including a 4-2 win over Toronto FC in their last match at Inter&Co Stadium on March 1. Orlando has been leaky on defense, surrendering 10 goals in just four matches, using four different back lines in four outings this season, with starting goalkeeper Pedro Gallese away on international duty for tonight. On the other hand, the Lions have scored nine goals in the first four games, with newcomers leading the way. Marco Pasalic leads the team in goals (3), with Eduard Atuesta leading in assists (3).

D.C. is unbeaten (1-0-3) after last week’s scoreless draw at home against CF Montreal. The Black and Red are 0-0-1 on the road, having drawn the Fire 2-2 in Chicago on opening day. Benteke is the only United player with more than one goal, having scored three already this season. D.C. also has seven players with one assist, but nobody has more than one.

The Lions will need to be aware of where Benteke is at all times. The former Crystal Palace, Liverpool, and Aston Villa man is always in the thick of the MLS Golden Boot race. Benteke’s size and strength make him difficult to defend in the air, so Orlando City will need to pull out all the stops to try to starve his service while making him uncomfortable in the box. The Congo native is averaging six shot attempts per match this season. Orlando will also have to eliminate its recurring defensive lapses in order to give Javier Otero a shot at a win in his first MLS start in goal.

“Coming off the road with that tight game against the Red Bulls, this is a test for us to keep getting better,” Pareja said ahead of the match. “Now we have a game at home, an important game. In general, I am happy with how the team is gelling together. And there’s a bunch of other things, but we have to add results because that is what makes us really feel that things are good.”

The Lions will be without Wilder Cartagena (Achilles), Favian Loyola (thigh), Nico Rodríguez (thigh), Yutaro Tsukada (knee), Gallese (international duty — Peru), Brekalo (international duty — Slovenia), and Colin Guske (international duty — U.S. U-18). D.C.’s injury report wasn’t available as of this writing, but United will be without Kye Rowles (international duty — Australia) and Matti Peltola (international duty — Finland). As of last weekend, Conner Antey (knee), Jackson Hopkins (ankle), Hakim Karamoko (abdomen), and Randall Leal (thigh) were all out.

Match Content

• This week’s Intelligence Report provides more background on United from Sarah Kallassy of the D.C. blog The District Press.
• Our most recent episode of The Mane Land PawedCast includes our match preview, key matchups, and predictions for the game.
• Our David Rohe provides his three keys to an Orlando City victory over D.C. United.

Official Lineups

Orlando City (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Javier Otero.

Defenders: Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, Alex Freeman.

Defensive Midfielders: Cesar Araujo, Eduard Atuesta.

Attacking Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Martin Ojeda, Marco Pasalic.

Forward: Luis Muriel.

Bench: Carlos Mercado, Kyle Smith, Thomas Williams, Joran Gerbet, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Gustavo Caraballo, Shak Mohammed, Ramiro Enrique, Duncan McGuire.

D.C. United (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Kim Joon-hong.

Defenders: David Schnegg, Lucas Bartlett, Lukas McNaughton, Aaron Herrera.

Defensive Midfielders: Boris Enow, Hosei Kijima.

Attacking Midfielders: Joao Peglow, Gabriel Pirani, Jared Stroud.

Forward: Christian Benteke.

Bench: Luis Barraza, Derek Dodson, Garrison Tubbs, Rida Zouhir, Fidel Barajas, Jacob Murrell, Gavin Turner, Brandon Servania, Dominique Badji.

Referees

REF: Tori Penso.
AR1: Brooke Mayo.
AR2: Kathryn Nesbitt.
4TH: Fotis Bazakos.
VAR: Ricardo Montero.
AVAR: Joshua Patlak.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m.

Venue: Inter&Co Stadium — Orlando.

TV/Streaming: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (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). You can also catch our live updates on Bluesky (@TheManeLand.bsky.social).

Enjoy the match. Go City!