Orlando City vs. Pumas UNAM, Leagues Cup: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

Welcome to your match thread for a Wednesday night Leagues Cup matchup between Orlando City and Liga MX side Pumas UNAM at Inter&Co Stadium (8 p.m., MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, UniMas, TUDN, FS1). Tonight’s meeting is the first between these two sides, and starts the Lions’ run in the “League Phase” of the competition, in which the top four MLS and Liga MX finishers will advance to the knockout rounds.

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

History

As this is the first-ever clash between these two clubs, there is no history between them.

Orlando City is 1-2-5 in competitive matches against Liga MX teams after being eliminated by Cruz Azul in the knockout round of the 2024 Leagues Cup in a penalty shootout following a 0-0 draw. That was the Lions’ first-ever penalty shootout loss as an MLS side. Orlando won its group last year under the competition’s previous format, beating CF Montreal 4-1, then drawing Atletico San Luis 1-1 and winning the ensuing penalty shootout 5-4. Leagues Cup awards three points for wins, one point for a regulation draw, and one additional point for the team that wins the shootout after a draw prior to the knockout rounds.

Match Overview

Orlando City enters this match on a two-game winning streak after coming from behind to defeat the Columbus Crew 3-1 on the road Friday night. The Crew controlled much of the first hour of that game, but it was an unlucky brush of the ball from close range off Marco Pasalic’s hand that allowed Diego Rossi to break the scoreless deadlock from the penalty spot. Martin Ojeda and Ivan Angulo then combined twice to set up Ramiro Enrique’s brace to turn the game completely around. Ojeda added an insurance marker in stoppage time.

Pumas UNAM is coming off a 2-0 road win over Queretaro on Friday, snapping a two-match losing streak. The Universitarios are 15th in the Liga MX Aperatura table three matches into the season, but tonight’s Orlando City opponents are a storied club with seven Primera Division/Liga MX championships, three Concacaf Champions Cup/League titles, and two Campeon de Campeones trophies.

Costa Rica international and former Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germaine star goalkeeper Keylor Navas will give Pumas a lot of confidence. Jorge Ruvalcaba, who scored Friday, will be a player to watch on the left wing for Pumas, while Panamanian international and former Houston Dynamo star Adalberto Carrasquilla will pull the strings in the attack from a more central location. Pumas has also acquired Welsh international and former Arsenal and Juventus midfielder Aaron Ramsey, but he has yet to debut for the club.

“We’re feeling good going into Leagues Cup. I think the momentum of the team brings us a lot of optimistic feelings,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said. “This Leagues Cup is going to be taken with full responsibility from our players, our staff, and our club. It’s normal that in this stage of the season, we have a bunch of games. We want to invite our fans and our people to these important matches. The Leagues Cup has grown a lot and attention has been increasing. That is also why we hope to see our fans here, so we can have good performances. It’s very important to us”

The Lions will be without Joran Gerbet (thigh), Duncan McGuire (shoulder), Wilder Cartagena (Achilles), and Yutaro Tsukada (knee).

Match Content

• Our most recent episode of The Mane Land PawedCast features our key match-ups and score predictions for tonight’s game and some background on Pumas from FutMexNation writer and Cantina MX podcaster Cristian Diaz.

Official Lineups:

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese.

Defenders: David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlgel, Alex Freeman.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Cesar Araujo, Eduard Atuesta, Marco Pasalic.

Forwards: Martin Ojeda, Ramiro Enrique.

Bench: Javier Otero, Carlos Mercado, Rafael Santos, Zakaria Taifi, Kyle Smith, Thomas Williams, Colin Guske, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Bernardo Rhein, Gustavo Caraballo, Nico Rodriguez, Luis Muriel.

Pumas UNAM (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Keylor Navas.

Defenders: Alvaro Angulo, Ruben Duarte, Nathan Silva, Pablo Bennevendo.

Midfielders: Jorge Ruvalcaba, Adalberto Carrasquilla, Jose Caicedo, Rodrigo Lopez.

Forwards: Guillermo Martinez, Pedro Vite.

Bench: Pablo Monroy, Ulises Rivas, Santiago Trigos, Miguel Paul, Piero Quispe, Angel Rico, Angel Azuaje, Santiago Lopez, Misael Torres, Rodrigo Parra, Emiliano Villasenor.

Referees:

REF: Adonai Escobedo Gonzalez.
AR1: Michel Espinoza Avalos.
AR2: Leonardo Catsillo Rodriguez.
4TH: Daniel Quintero Huitron.
VAR: Diana Perez Borja.

How to Watch

Match Time: 8 p.m.

Venue: Inter&Co Stadium — Orlando.

TV/Live Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, UniMas, TUDN, FS1.

Radio: None.

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.

Enjoy the match. Go City!