Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Nashville SC: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More
The Lions continue a grueling August schedule with a critical Eastern Conference battle at Nashville SC.
Welcome to your match thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City (13-6-8, 47 points) and Nashville SC (14-8-5, 47 points) at Geodis Park (8:30 p.m., MLS Season Pass on Apple TV). This is the first of two scheduled meetings between the Eastern Conference clubs in 2025, with Nashville scheduled to make the return trip to Orlando on Sept. 20.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of the match.
History
The Lions are 4-2-4 against Nashville in MLS regular-season matches and 6-4-5 in all competitions. Orlando is 2-0-3 on the road in the series in league play and 3-1-3 away in all competitions.
These teams have already faced each other this season, with Nashville claiming a 3-2 road win in the U.S. Open Cup on May 21. Marco Pasalic provided an early lead before an own goal on Rodrigo Schlegel and an Ahmed Qasem goal put Nashville ahead at the break. Ramiro Enrique equalized in the second half, but a blast from fullback Wyatt Meyer ultimately knocked Orlando out of the competition.
The two teams last met in regular-season play on Aug. 31 of last season, with the Lions blasting Nashville 3-0. Facundo Torres’ brace and an opening goal by Ivan Angulo led Orlando City to the season sweep. Orlando City visited Nashville SC at Geodis Park on July 17, 2024, with the Lions cruising to a 3-0 road win. Goals by Cesar Araujo and Enrique sandwiched an Alex Muyl own goal as Orlando City got its fourth consecutive shutout victory over Nashville.
The teams met at the end of the previous season on Nov. 7, 2023 in the best-of-three, first-round playoff series. The Lions got an early goal from Angulo in a 1-0 win to sweep the series. Orlando City drew first blood in the series by beating Nashville 1-0 on Oct. 30, 2023 at Exploria Stadium. Wilder Cartagena’s blast from outside the area hit the underside of the crossbar near the right corner and bounced in for the game’s only score.
The teams met in the regular season on Oct. 4, 2023 with Orlando City stealing a 1-0 win in Music City on Duncan McGuire’s goal just before halftime. That was one of only two shot attempts by the Lions all night and the only one on target. Orlando played well defensively and Pedro Gallese didn’t have to make a save as the hosts didn’t put any shots on frame.
Nashville visited Orlando back on April 1 of 2023 at Exploria Stadium and it was the visitors who made fools of the Lions, as Nashville won, 2-0. Fafa Picault and Hany Mukhtar did the damage for Nashville.
The teams did not face each other in regular-season play the year before, meeting only in the U.S. Open Cup in Orlando on June 29, 2022. Mukhtar scored in the second half, and that looked like it would be enough until Schlegel equalized deep in stoppage time. After a scoreless 30 minutes of extra time, the Lions won the ensuing penalty shootout, 6-5.
These sides met in the 2021 postseason in Tennessee, with Orlando scoring first through Daryl Dike’s early goal, but Nashville won 3-1 on Nov. 23, 2021 to knock the Lions out of the playoffs. Mukhtar tied it up before halftime on a fluky deflected goal off of Antonio Carlos and then put his team up in the 74th minute on a counterattack. Jhonder Cadiz put things away deep in stoppage time.
The teams met in Orlando on Oct. 31, 2021 and ended in a 1-1 draw after referee Allen Chapman’s Halloween Heist chalked off Andres Perea’s apparent stoppage-time winner. The referee’s excuse for overturning the goal was an imagined foul on Dike, who, if anything, was the fouled party. The decision cost the Lions a valuable home playoff match, which instead sent Orlando to Nashville. Mukhtar scored for Nashville to equalize in the second half after Dike’s first-half goal.
The teams met in Nashville on Sept. 29, 2021 with a late rally by the Lions earning the team a 2-2 road draw at Nissan Stadium. The hosts had taken a 2-0 lead on goals by Mukhtar — scoring off the rebound of his own saved penalty — and Randall Leal, but a penalty by Dike and a stoppage-time own goal by Brian Anunga turned the game around. On Aug. 18 of that season, the teams finished in another 1-1 draw. C.J. Sapong put the hosts ahead in the first half and Carlos leveled the score in the second half. The Lions, who played poorly in the opening 45, were the better team throughout the second half and Tesho Akindele’s shot off the crossbar was inches from providing a winner for Orlando.
The teams met on Decision Day of 2020 at Exploria Stadium, with Orlando melting down late, allowing two goals from the 88th minute on, and falling 3-2 at home on Nov. 8, 2020 — the team’s only home loss on the season. Dike and Nani goals sandwiched a strike by Daniel Lovitz, giving the Lions a lead until late. Headers by Mukhtar (in the 88th minute) and Cadiz (in the 93rd minute) turned the game on its head.
In the Lions’ first trip to Nissan Stadium, the teams played to a 1-1 draw on Sept. 2, 2020. Benji Michel put the Lions ahead with a stunner of a goal, but Leal knotted things up and that’s the way the match ended. That 1-1 draw came a week after a 3-1 Orlando City win on Aug. 26 at Exploria Stadium. Dave Romney had opened the scoring for Nashville with a header off a free kick, but Orlando scored the last three. Dike took a star turn for Orlando City, scoring a brace, and Chris Mueller also scored for the Lions.
Overview
The Lions are coming off a difficult 0-0 draw and 6-5 penalty shootout win against Deportivo Toluca FC late Wednesday night in Carson, CA. Both teams seemed a bit beaten down, but especially Orlando City, which struggled to maintain any control in the second half and attempted only one shot after halftime and four in total. The high-flying Orlando offense was kept off the scoresheet for the first time since May 3 at Chicago.
However, the Lions extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to eight matches (6-0-2). Orlando City has won four straight in MLS play, outscoring opponents 12-4 in that span, and the club has been good on the road, sporting a 6-2-5 record away from Inter&Co Stadium in league play. However, tonight’s match is the club’s third in eight days and comes just a few days after a tough fixture on the other side of the country.
Nashville has a stellar 9-1-3 record at home in 2025, but tonight’s hosts have lost their last three league matches. All of those came on the road, with one of them coming against Western Conference power San Diego FC. The Tennessee-based club is led by a pair of high-scoring forwards in Mukhtar (12 goals, 9 assists) and Golden Boot contender Sam Surridge (18 goals, 4 assists). With a standout goalkeeper in Joe Willis and a solid back line, the Lions cannot let heavy legs dictate the outcome by making the most of their opportunities.
Nashville enters tonight on significantly more rest, so it will be interesting to see what — if any — rotation we’ll see from Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja, who tends to ride his favored starting lineup in big games. And this is a big one. Nashville and Orlando are level on 47 points, with tonight’s hosts holding the wins column tiebreaker. These clubs have two meetings in a span of just a few weeks, so points are at a premium in the season series in terms of the final conference standings.
Expect a tightly contested game, as is common when these teams meet. The Lions must play defense at the level they did Wednesday, while taking their chances against a stingy defense.
The Lions will be without Duncan McGuire (shoulder), Wilder Cartagena (Achilles), and Yutaro Tsukada (knee). Nashville will be without Julian Gaines (thigh), Meyer (foot), and Taylor Washington (knee), while Tyler Boyd (knee) and Lovitz (foot) are questionable.
Match Content
- Our Intelligence Report provides a scouting report on tonight’s hosts from Ben Wright, the executive editor of SixOneFive Soccer.
- The most recent episode of The Mane Land PawedCast features our key matchups and score predictions for tonight’s match.
- Our David Rohe provides his three keys to an Orlando City victory in Nashville.
Official Lineups:
Orlando City (4-4-2)
Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese.
Defenders: Adrian Marin, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, Kyle Smith.
Midfielders: Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Cesar Araujo, Joran Gerbet, Nico Rodriguez.
Forwards: Tyrese Spicer, Ramiro Enrique.
Bench: Javier Otero, Alex Freeman, Zakaria Taifi, David Brekalo, Eduard Atuesta, Ivan Angulo, Marco Pasalic, Martin Ojeda, Luis Muriel.
Nashville SC (4-3-3)
Goalkeeper: Joe Willis.
Defenders: Josh Bauer, Jeisson Palacios, Walker Zimmerman, Andy Najar.
Midfielders: Gaston Brugman, Patrick Yazbek, Alex Muyl.
Forwards: Hany Mukhtar, Sam Surridge, Jacob Shaffelburg.
Bench: Brian Schwake, Tate Schmitt, Jack Maher, Bryan Acosta, Edvard Tagseth, Ahmed Qasem, Jonathan Perez, Tyler Boyd, Teal Bunbury.
Referees
Ref: Timothy Ford.
AR1: Andrew Bigelow.
AR2: Gerard-Kader Lebuis.
4th: Jon Freemon.
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero.
AVAR: Mark Allatin.
How to Watch
Match Time: 8:30 p.m.
Venue: Geodis Park — Nashville, TN.
TV/Live Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish).
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 game. Go City!