Welcome to your match thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City (4-8-1, 13 points) and Atlanta United (3-8-1, 10 points) at Inter&Co Stadium (7:30 p.m., Apple TV). It’s the first of three scheduled meetings between the Eastern Conference rivals — the first of two scheduled MLS meetings — with the two sides meeting again in Orlando Tuesday in the U.S. Open Cup and the Lions scheduled to make the return trip to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Sept. 9.

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

History

The Lions are 5-11-7 in the all-time series against Atlanta in league play and 3-6-3 at home. Orlando City is 6-12-7 against tonight’s visitors in all competitions (regular season, playoffs, and U.S. Open Cup).

The teams last met on May 28, 2025. Orlando led 2-1 in Atlanta late on goals by Cesar Araujo and Ramiro Enrique to more than offset Alexey Miranchuk’s goal. However, Araujo foolishly got himself sent off. The Five Stripes turned the game around on Bartosz Slisz’s goal with seven minutes remaining in normal time and Jamal Thiare’s winner deep in stoppage time in a 3-2 victory for Atlanta. The teams just met in Orlando a month earlier on April 26. The Lions prevailed 3-0 on goals by Luis Muriel (from the penalty spot), Alex Freeman, and Marco Pasalic.

The rivals met in the 2024 Eastern Conference semifinals, with the Lions eking out a 1-0 home victory on Nov. 24, 2024. Enrique provided the game’s only goal, and the Orlando defense was dominant, allowing the visitors just seven total shot attempts — none on target. That win pushed the Lions into their first-ever conference final.

Prior to their postseason meeting, these two teams met on Decision Day 2024, with Atlanta scoring two early goals and holding on for a 2-1 win on Oct. 9. Saba Lobjanidze and Thiare gave the visitors an early lead. Martin Ojeda pulled one back and Duncan McGuire appeared to tie the game late, but the latter goal was overturned on video review for a handball. The teams also met at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on March 17, 2024, when Orlando City fell 2-0 on goals by Lobjanidze and Giorgos Giakoumakis.

The last meeting of 2023 took place at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with Orlando City capturing a 2-1 away win. Atlanta took the lead through Caleb Wiley, but Antonio Carlos and McGuire scored to lead the Lions’ comeback. The southeast rivals also met in Orlando on May 27, 2023, at Exploria Stadium and played to a 1-1 draw. It was a heartbreaking dropped two points for the Lions, who took the lead through Kyle Smith at the half-hour mark and held that advantage until four minutes from full time, when Tyler Wolff pounced on a fortunate rebound in the box and equalized.

Atlanta went 1-0-1 in the season series in 2022. On Sept. 14 at Exploria Stadium the Five Stripes won 1-0 on a Thiago Almada goal despite the Lions out-shooting Atlanta 20-10. The sides played to a 1-1 draw in their first meeting of that year on July 22 in Atlanta. Mauricio Pereyra staked the Lions to an early 1-0 lead on a beautiful free kick. Juan Jose Purata equalized in the second half, but Atlanta bombarded Orlando the majority of the game and completely controlled the midfield, outshooting the Lions 18-3 in the match.

Orlando had a six-match unbeaten streak in the series (3-0-3) snapped on Sept. 10, 2021, as the Five Stripes won 3-0 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. George Campbell and Ezequiel Barco scored for Atlanta, sandwiched around a Daryl Dike own goal to hand Gonzalo Pineda his first win as manager for United.

The second of three 2021 meetings took place July 30 at Exploria Stadium, with the Five Stripes taking the lead twice on goals by Josef Martinez and Marcelino Moreno, but the Lions not only fought back twice on strikes by Smith and Silvester van der Water, but Nani scored a late game winner by heading in VDW’s cross in Orlando City’s 3-2 win. The first meeting of that season between the two rivals came on opening day — April 17 — and they played to a 0-0 draw.

The final meeting of 2020 came on Oct. 28, when Orlando City ran away with a 4-1 win over Atlanta at Exploria Stadium. Dike, Chris Mueller, Tesho Akindele, and Matheus Aias scored the goals for the Lions, with Cubo Torres preventing a shutout with a late goal for the visitors. Prior to that, the teams met in Atlanta on Oct. 7, 2020 and played to a 0-0 draw. Robinho and Nani each hit the woodwork and Brad Guzan stood on his head to prevent Orlando from taking a deserved three points in that one, while Brian Rowe held down the fort at the other end to earn a shutout in Pedro Gallese’s absence.

Back on Sept. 5, 2020, a late, unforced turnover by Kamal Miller led to Adam Jahn’s 92nd-minute tying goal that offset a Benji Michel strike in a 1-1 draw at Exploria Stadium. Orlando City finally got on the board in the series against Atlanta United with a 3-1 win on the road on Aug. 29, 2020. Junior Urso, Mueller, and Nani supplied the offense to more than counter a Brooks Lennon headed goal. That three-goal explosion snapped a three-match scoreless streak against the Five Stripes for Orlando.

Orlando City created an incredible 17 scoring chances on Aug. 23, 2019, yet finished none of them in a 1-0 home loss. Martinez scored the game’s only goal in the second half. Only 17 days earlier at Exploria Stadium, Orlando also failed to score and lost 2-0 to Atlanta, getting bounced from the U.S. Open Cup semifinals. On Mother’s Day of 2019, Atlanta United claimed a 1-0 win at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Pity Martinez scored the goal.

Atlanta won at Orlando City Stadium on Aug. 24, 2018 by a 2-1 final score. Leandro Gonzalez Pirez bundled home a rebound off Joe Bendik, who misplayed Barco’s free kick to open the scoring just 21 minutes in. Scott Sutter tied the game just before the half, but Josef Martinez broke the deadlock in the second half, with only 16 minutes remaining in normal time.

Atlanta easily claimed the June 30, 2018 meeting at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, 4-0. Josef Martinez and Barco each scored a goal and Miguel Almiron added a brace. Orlando lost the first matchup of 2018, 2-1, on May 13. An early penalty on a Cristian Higuita foul gave the visitors a leg up on a Josef Martinez goal from the spot and Barco doubled the lead before halftime. Justin Meram scored his first goal as a Lion to pull one back, but Orlando could get no closer. The unfortunate ending included a shower of debris coming out of the stands due to dissatisfaction with referee Alan Kelly’s decisions that night.

Hector Villalba’s two late goals in the first two meetings turned what could have been an Orlando draw and a win into a loss and a draw. The two teams kicked off their series with Orlando suffering a late 1-0 loss at home on July 21, 2017. Villalba found the net late. He then scored a stoppage-time tally to rescue a 1-1 draw for Atlanta in the second meeting on July 29, 2017. Kaká scored one of his best goals as a Lion in that match to provide Orlando’s lone score.

Orlando City became the first visiting team to take any points out of Mercedes-Benz Stadium with a 3-3 draw in Atlanta that September. Dom Dwyer scored his first brace as a Lion (in MLS, anyway) and also assisted on Cyle Larin’s goal. Josef Martinez’s hat trick spoiled Orlando’s bid to take all three points.

Overview

Orlando is coming off a crazy, 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday. The Lions gave up a two-goal lead in the second half but found a late Ojeda winner. It was Orlando’s third win in its last four games in all competitions and the team’s fourth consecutive Wednesday night win in all competitions. Orlando City will play a team below it for the second straight game, as Wednesday’s win propelled the Lions over Atlanta in the standings, although tonight’s visitors have a game in hand. Orlando City is 3-3-0 at home in 2026.

Atlanta is 1-3-0 on the road in 2026 and coming off a 2-1 loss at home to the LA Galaxy a week ago and enters on a full week’s rest. The Five Stripes have won three straight road games in all competitions (two of those in U.S. Open Cup), despite its weak away record in league play. Miranchuk leads Atlanta in goals (5) and goal contributions (7).

Orlando City’s defense will have to keep tabs on Lobjanidze, who has two goals and an assist on the season and seems to save his best performances for Orlando.

“I understand it’s true that we have two games against them, but we’re just focused on the first one, and we go one game at a time,” Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said ahead of the match. “Always the most important game is the next one, so that’s it, and that way we’ll prepare. We know (Atlanta) and we respect very much their coaching staff, and of course the entire club and the players. We know they have talented players and they like to be protagonists with the ball.”

Orlando City will be without Joran Gerbet (knee). Atlanta’s Almiron (knee) is listed as questionable.

Match Content

• Our Intelligence Report features info on tonight’s opponent from Sydney Hunte, one of the co-founders of Atlanta blog Scarves and Spikes. 
• The latest episode of The Mane Land PawedCast includes our key matchups and score predictions for the match.
• Our David Rohe provided his three keys to an Orlando City victory over Atlanta for both tonight and Tuesday.

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Official 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, Marco Pasalic.

Forwards: Martin Ojeda, Justin Ellis.

Bench: Javier Otero, Tahir Reid-Brown, Zakaria Taifi, Iago, Wilder Cartagena, Luis Otavio, Tiago, Tyrese Spicer, Duncan McGuire.

Atlanta United (3-4-3)

Goalkeeper: Lucas Hoyos.

Defenders: Juan Berrocal, Enea Mihaj, Tomas Jacob.

Wingbacks/Midfielders: Ajani Fortune, Elias Baez, Tristan Muyumba, Will Reilly.

Forwards: Matias Galarza, Aleksey Miranchuk, Saba Lobjanidze.

Bench: Jayden Hibbert, Ronald Hernandez, Stian Gregersen, Matthew Edwards, Pedro Amador, Steven Alzate, Fafa Picault, Cayman Togashi, Emmanuel Latte Lath.

Referees

REF: Tori Penso.
AR1: Brooke Mayo.
AR2: Kathryn Nesbitt.
4TH: Jon Freemon.
VAR: Edvin Jurisevic.
AVAR: Robert Schaap.

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How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m.

Venue: Inter&Co Stadium — Orlando.

TV/Live Stream: Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 (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!

Orlando City is in the midst of a packed slate of games ahead of the World Cup break, and next up on the schedule is the first of two back-to-back home matches against Atlanta United.

A date with the Five Stripes means that I spoke with Sydney Hunte, one of the co-founders of Scarves and Spikes, an independent outlet that does excellent work covering soccer in the Atlanta area. He was kind enough to help bring us up to speed on this year’s Atlanta team, and we appreciate his help.

Talk me through Atlanta’s off-season moves. Who went out the door, and who came in to replace them?

Sydney Hunte: One of Atlanta United’s key acquisitions in the off-season was Lucas Hoyos, signed on a free transfer to replace Brad Guzan. The thinking is that he’s keeping the seat warm for Jayden Hibbert, Atlanta’s first-round pick in the 2024 SuperDraft, who saw plenty of time down the stretch in 2025 when Guzan was injured. While a main concern about Hoyos was his recovery from an ACL injury, he has been fairly servicable, if not a bit careless with the ball at his feet.

Matías Galarza was acquired on loan from River Plate for the midfield, and I’ve liked what I’ve seen from him so far. It remains to be seen if Atlanta decides to exercise its purchase option for him. While I initially thought it was a sure bet, the emergence of Cooper Sanchez, good form from Tristan Muyumba, and Jay Fortune’s return from injury might make Galarza expendable, especially considering the money they’ve paid for him. Two MLS U22 Initiative signings were also made: Tomás Jacob and Elías Báez (who replaces Brooks Lennon at right back). Both Jacob and Báez have had some good moments, but they’ve also struggled.

Sergio Santos and Fafa Picault are familiar names brought in to add depth to the attack, with both seeing a few spells on the pitch throughout the season.

Tata Martino is back for his second spell in charge of the Five Stripes. What is his philosophy for how he wants the team to play? 

SH: Martino’s tactical preference is similar to what he employed in 2017 and 2018: an attractive, fast-paced style of soccer. The issue is that he doesn’t have the right people in place to make that happen. Miguel Almiron is a shell of his former self, Emmanuel Latte Lath has been ineffective, and Saba Lobjanidze hasn’t been consistent enough on the left wing. Almiron’s injury has slightly forced Martino’s hand, leading him to opt for Alexey Miranchuk as more of a false 9. That’s actually worked to an extent, as Miranchuk has looked relatively good in that role.

While Orlando hasn’t been able to keep the ball out of its net, Atlanta has struggled at the other end of the field, as the team is tied for the fewest goals scored in the East. What’s been the trouble on the offensive end of the field?

SH: I mentioned it a little bit in the previous question, but Emmanuel Latte Lath has proven to be a bust for Atlanta United. He was brought in on what was an MLS record and simply hasn’t performed anywhere near that level. At times, the problem lies with his teammates being unable to provide service for him (leading him to play deeper than he needs to play). When he does get service, he’s wasteful and lacks confidence. His two goals and five shots on target in 879 minutes say it all, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he wasn’t with the team after the World Cup break.

As for Almiron, he simply isn’t the same player he was in 2017 and 2018. There are some flashes of what he was, but they’ve been just that. It’s disappointing to see a player who was foundational to the team’s early success struggle to make an impact. I also mentioned Miranchuk, who has actually been Atlanta’s best player this season. That’s not to say he’s playing at a level that matches his $13 million transfer fee, but he’s been better than what he’s previously shown.

Will any players be unavailable due to injury, suspension, etc.? What is your projected starting lineup and score prediction?

SH: Almiron hasn’t played since a knee injury that flared up in Atlanta’s U.S. Open Cup match against Chattanooga FC on April 15. Martino said that he is “85-90%” there, but I wouldn’t expect to see him on Saturday. Midfielder Will Reilly suffered an ankle injury, and his status is up in the air. Steven Alzate is dealing with an adductor injury and has been out for the past several weeks, while Ronald Hernandez is recovering from an abdominal injury.

For a lineup, I think Martino will rotate with Tuesday in mind.

Jayden Hibbert; Pedro Amador, Juan Berrocal, Ronald Hernandez, Matt Edwards; Jay Fortune, Tristan Muyumba, Tomas Jacob; Luke Brennan, Sergio Santos, Fafa Picault.

Prediction: 1-0 Orlando.

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Thank you to Sydney for the excellent primer on Atlanta United. Vamos Orlando!

It took all they, had but the Lions got it done after giving up a 3-1 lead, letting Philadelphia come back to tie it up at 3-3, before Martin Ojeda finally put the game away in the 90th minute in a 4-3 home win over the Union. The Orlando offense continues to be a threat, but the defense will need much more bite if the Lions want to have any chance to compete for a playoff spot this year.

Let’s take a look at how the Orlando City players performed individually in this match.

Starters

GK, Maxime Crepeau, 6.5 — The Canadian goalkeeper had another good night for the Lions, helping keep Orlando’s defensive lapses from costing the team points. The Lions gave too much space to Philadelphia’s attacking players in the second half, and failed to track runners into the box. Crepeau did a good job of dealing with what came at him, making four saves, but he was not really at fault for Philadelphia’s goals. He did a decent job on his distribution with 77.3% passing accuracy on 22 attempts, although you wouldn’t know it by completed long balls, as he failed to connect on any of his five attempts. But that had more to do with Philadelphia winning aerial duels than his accuracy. Overall, it was another good night for Crepeau, who made his best of his four saves in the 57th minute, denying a header by Olwethu Makhanya.

D, David Brekalo, 5.5 — Brekalo didn’t make any really glaring mistakes but he could have done better on Philadelphia’s first goal. He shadowed Nathan Harriel as he approached the endline to send in a cutback, but he could have done more to impede his progress into the box and cut off the pass. He was not quite as involved as his other defensive partners either, finishing with one tackle and five clearances. He committed no fouls and was fouled twice himself. His passing accuracy was good at 91.1% on 45 passes. He was subbed off in the 64th minute, so he was not involved with the other Union goals.

D, Robin Jansson, 6.5 — Jansson did Jansson things all night. He connected on one really well weighted long ball, out of his three long ball attempts, sending Griffin Dorsey in on goal. He had another beauty of a pass to Martin Ojeda in midfield that was clever, but neither pass produced any end product after connecting. He logged one interception, eight clearances, and two blocks. He was involved in the run of play, making the most passes on the team, with 88, and connected with 93.2% accuracy. He committed no fouls, nor was he fouled.

D, Iago, 6 — Iago was a stable presence and made no major gaffes. He was a competent companion to Jansson and wasn’t directly responsible for any of Philadelphia’s goals. All in all, it was a decent showing on a night where the team gave up three goals. He attempted 82 passes with 95.1% accuracy. He connected on one out of four long balls. Like Jansson, he tallied one interception, eight clearances, and two blocks. He didn’t commit or receive any fouls.

D, Griffin Dorsey, 7 — Griffin had a great night offensively. He scored Orlando’s second goal and made several threatening attacks down his side of the pitch. He passed at 91.7% accuracy on 24 attempts, including one key pass, and he made one long ball attempt that did not connect. He finished with two tackles, one interception, one clearance and a blocked shot. He did not commit, nor did he receive a foul. He was effective in defense overall, but he could have done better to close down Ben Bender on the third Union goal, which took a slight deflection off of him and ended up out of Crepeau’s reach.

MF, Ivan Angulo , 7 — Angulo was his usual, speedy, hard-working self. He was everywhere and broke free to spark Orlando attacks frequently. Of course, he helped out in defense as well, contributing two tackles, one interception and a clearance. He committed three fouls and suffered one. He made one key pass, took a shot he put on target (Yay!), but it was a weak effort straight at the goalkeeper. He also failed to get onto a floating pass in front of an empty net that Martin Ojeda set up for him to finish. Angulo made up for that by picking up a secondary assist on the Argentinian Ojeda’s game-winning goal. The Colombian passed with an 87.5% success rate on 32 tries.

MF, Eduard Atuesta, 6.5 — This was one of Atuesta’s better performances this season. It wasn’t spectacular, but he seemed a little more proactive and stable this time out. He did not make any offensive contributions, but he racked up two tackles, one interception, three clearances, and a blocked shot. He committed one foul, and he made 44 passes with 87.8% accuracy. He made five long-ball attempts and connected on one.

MF, Braian Ojeda, 6.5 — The Paraguayan Ojeda put in a good shift overall, although I think he was mostly at fault, along with Dorsey, for being too slow to close down Bender on the Union’s third goal. Otherwise, he did pretty well in helping out the offense, contributing a key pass, passing with 87.8% accuracy on 41 attempts, and connecting on his two long ball attempts. He committed one foul and was fouled twice. Defensively, he made four tackles, and chalked up three clearances.

MF, Tiago, 5.5 — Tiago was involved throughout the match, but without much in the way of tangible output, at least not in the numbers. He put in a lot of hard work, but did not contribute much on offense, although Dorsey could never have scored Orlando’s second goal without the young Brazilian’s work to get the ball into a dangerous position in the box. Tiago helped out defensively with one tackle, two interceptions, and a clearance. He committed and received two fouls and passed at 58.3% on 12 passes. However he picked up an unnecessary yellow card for dissent, although he was understandably upset after heavy contact resulted in his shinguard going flying.

F, Martin Ojeda, 7.5 — Of course, it was a great night for Martin, although he also looked a bit off at times. He had some chances that you would expect him to make more of, but several times he either bobbled the ball, or took an inaccurate shot. But that’s all just relative to what you expect from Orlando’s number 10. His movement was spectacular, as he put himself in position for four (!) breakaways. Unfortunately, he fired two of those over the bar and failed to get a shot off on one after stumbling. His other breakaway forced a foul in the box on Andrew Rick, after which the Designated Player calmly scored on his penalty to open the scoring. Despite his missed chances, he also closed the scoring with a well-placed flicked header from Adrian Marin’s cross for the game winner. Additionally, Martin Ojeda contributed a key pass, three crosses, and one successful long ball on three tries. He attempted six shots, putting two on target. He was fouled twice and committed none. He contributed two tackles as well. Even when he’s a little off, the Argentine is still outstanding.

F, Justin Ellis, 8 (MotM) — Only a little more outstanding than Martin Ojeda on the evening, in my view, was Ellis. The Homegrown forward proved again that he can play at this level, and I think he’s been consistent enough to show he’s capable of making a serious impact for the Lions. Ellis has the combination of technical skill and composure, and a veteran-level vision for the key pass. He was able to dig himself out of difficult situations and executed several instrumental plays to spring the Lions’ attack, including three key passes. He began to fade a little bit toward the end of the match, but it hardly offsets his contributions. Ellis attempted one shot himself (off target), competed six dribbles, passed at 71% accuracy on 31 passes, and completed three out of five long-ball attempts. He wasn’t fouled, but he committed one himself.

Substitutes

D, Luis Otavio (64′), 6 — Otavio came on for Atuesta and needed some time to get up to speed, but he contributed some heads-up blocks and then did well to intercept a pass toward Orlando’s 18-yard box and spring Tyrese Spicer’s counterattack that earned Orlando’s third goal. He also had a nice ball to Spicer again to spring him down the left side in the 90th minute, which eventually led to Orlando’s winning goal. Defensively, Otavio finished with two tackles and one interception. He committed no fouls but was fouled once. He made 15 passes with 66.7% accuracy. He attempted two long balls that did not find their mark.

MF, Tyrese Spicer (64′), 7 — Spicer made a lot out of his time on the pitch, continuing his impact substitute role. He brought energy and grit to the offense. He powered his way through three defenders to break loose and send in the assist on Duncan McGuire’s goal. He was a threat going forward, as he has been all season. In addition to his assist, he sent in one cross and attempted one long ball that did not connect. He took one shot that was on target on a late header that he sent right at the keeper. He did not commit or suffer any fouls.

MF, Adrian Marin (64′), 5.5 — Marin made his mark on this one with his assist on the game-winning goal in the 90th minute. However, he also struggled to lock things down defensively at times. He only attempted 16 passes, achieving 68.8% accuracy. The Spaniard completed his lone cross, attempted four long balls (completing one), and did not commit or suffer any fouls.

F, Duncan McGuire (70′) 7 — McGuire put away Spicer’s feed expertly. He made it look easy, although he did have Philadelphia goalkeeper Andrew Rick to beat. It was his lone shot, and it was a good one, that put the Lions up 3-1 at the time. He also contributed a key pass. He had no other offensive or defensive stats and attempted only six passes, completing four (66.7%). He did not commit or receive any fouls. The big striker brought plenty of energy onto the pitch with him and helped track back and defend when needed.

F, Marco Pasalic (81′) N/A — The Croatian made his return from a thigh injury with a late cameo, but he wasn’t on the pitch long enough to give him a grade. However, his presence could be felt in his short time on the pitch. I think he did a good job helping to close out the match, and it was good to see him back out there.

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That’s how I saw the individual performances in a much-needed Orlando win. It would have given me more confidence if it hadn’t been so difficult to beat the worst team in the Eastern Conference, but it is what it is. Let us know how you saw the game in the comments below, and don’t forget to vote for your Man of the Match.