Orlando City vs. Philadelphia Union: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

Welcome to your match preview and live thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City (10-12-4, 34 points) and the Philadelphia Union (10-10-6, 36 points) at Subaru Park in Chester, PA (7:30 p.m., Apple TV). This is the second of the two regular-season meetings between the Eastern Conference clubs in 2026.

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

History

Orlando City is 8-8-7 in the 23 MLS meetings with the Union since the club joined Major League Soccer in 2015, and 9-9-8 in all competitions. The Lions are 4-5-2 against the Union on the road in league play and 4-6-2 away in all competitions.

The two sides last met back on May 13 in Orlando with the Lions winning a wild one, 4-3. Orlando City led 3-1 in the second half, blew that lead late, and scored even later to take all three points. Martin Ojeda led the way with a brace, with Griffin Dorsey and Duncan McGuire also scoring. Milan Iloski, Cavan Sullivan, and Ben Bender scored for Philly.

The last time the teams met in Philadelphia was April 5, 2025, as the clubs played to a scoreless draw. OCSC and the Union also kicked off the 2025 season against each other in Orlando on Feb. 22, with the Union stunning the Lions by scoring on all four of the team’s shots on target, taking advantage of individual mistakes in a 4-2 win. Marco Pasalic scored his first two goals as a Lion in his first OCSC appearance that night, but Tai Baribo scored a brace, with Daniel Gazdag and Mikael Uhre also scoring for Philadelphia. It was Orlando’s first loss on opening day in its MLS existence.

The teams met in 2024 for the final time on Oct. 2, when the Lions won 2-1 at home. Facundo Torres and McGuire pushed Orlando out to a 2-0 lead. Quinn Sullivan pulled one back but the Lions hung on. The teams met for the first time that year on May 11, with the Lions snatching a 3-2 road win at Subaru Park. Luis Muriel scored his first two MLS goals, McGuire added a strike, and Nico Lodeiro assisted on all three tallies for the Lions to offset an early goal by Uhre and a penalty by Gazdag.

The last meeting of 2023 took place in Orlando on June 21, with the Lions blowing a two-goal lead in a controversial 2-2 draw. McGuire and Ojeda scored early in each half, only to see Jack McGlynn score on a cross into the box that missed everyone and got past Mason Stajduhar at the far post, followed by a rocket shot by Jose Martinez from distance. Ivan Angulo’s would-be game winner was chalked off after a questionable foul call in the buildup against Ercan Kara.

The teams met in Philadelphia on March 25, 2023 with the Lions jumping out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Angulo and Ojeda. Former Lion Andres Perea pulled one back, but City held on for a 2-1 road win. The victory snapped Philadelphia’s 24-match home unbeaten streak.

The Union put the Lions to the sword in the last meeting of 2022, a dominant 5-1 win on Sept. 10 of that year. That was Orlando’s first match since winning the U.S. Open Cup title three days earlier. Joao Moutinho’s own goal started the scoring and the Union got goals from Uhre, Gazdag (penalty), Alejandro Bedoya, and Jack Elliott. Perea, who was then still a Lion, scored for Orlando.

The Eastern Conference foes met on July 23, 2022 at Exploria Stadium. Two controversial video review decisions went against Orlando that night and the Lions were wasteful with their chances in an evenly matched 1-0 Philadelphia win. Gazdag scored the game’s only goal off a set piece.

The teams also met in U.S. Open Cup play on May 10, 2022, with the Lions winning 2-1 at home. Kara and Perea hoisted Orlando to a 2-0 lead. Stuart Findlay pulled one back late, but the Lions saw it out and advanced.

On Sept. 19, 2021, the Union prevailed 3-1 at Subaru Park, largely due to a brace by Kacper Przybylko after he got away with a clear elbow to the face of Rodrigo Schlegel. Instead of being sent off and/or conceding a free kick to Orlando City, the Union scored on the ensuing play and went on to win the match. The teams met in Orlando on July 22, 2021 and the Lions got goals from Benji Michel and Perea on the team’s only two shots on target to win 2-1. Przybylko pulled one back for the visitors.

The teams faced each other in the group stage of the MLS is Back Tournament in 2020 in the only meeting to date that did not take place in either side’s home stadium. The game ended in a 1-1 draw after a Mauricio Pereyra goal canceled out a strike by Ilsinho. That draw allowed the Lions to win Group A in the competition and they went on to reach the final.

The Lions and Union tangled in what was then known as Talen Energy Stadium on July 7, 2019, drawing, 2-2. Dom Dwyer and Santiago Patino brought Orlando back from 1-0 down but Przybylko poached a late goal to capture a share of the points for the Union.

The two teams had met just a few days earlier on July 3, ending in Orlando’s 3-1 home loss to the Union. Chris Mueller and Przybylko swapped goals in the first half before Robin Jansson was sent off just prior to the break. Afterwards, the 10-man Lions gave up two more goals — to Przybylko and Fafa Picault — and then went down another man with Sacha Kljestan seeing red.

In 2018, the teams drew 2-2 on Sept. 1 in Orlando. The Lions prevailed over the Union in Philadelphia on April 13, 2018 by a 2-0 score. Orlando and Philadelphia also met that season in U.S. Open Cup play, with the Union capturing a 1-0 home win back on July 18, 2018 on a goal by Bedoya.

The teams split their two matches in 2017 with the home side prevailing both times. The Lions won 2-1 at Orlando City Stadium on March 18. The rematch was an ugly 6-1 Philadelphia win in the season finale for both teams.

The Lions were 1-1-1 against Philadelphia in 2016. The team’s first road victory in the series came on Oct. 16, 2016, as the Lions roared, 2-0. The teams played to a 2-2 draw on May 25 in Orlando. Tranquillo Barnetta’s free kick gave Philly a 2-1 win in the first meeting that year.

Orlando drew 0-0 at home and lost on the road, 1-0 (on a penalty kick), against Philadelphia in 2015.

Overview

Orlando City is coming off a 4-2 road loss at New England a week ago. The Lions fought back from 2-0 down late to tie things up just before stoppage time, but the Revolution victimized Orlando’s weak road defense twice in stoppage time to spoil what would have been a good road point without the injured Antoine Griezmann. The bad news for the Lions is that they continue to struggle to get results and prevent goals on the road. The good news is that Ojeda has scored in two straight goals in all competitions as he continues to round into form since returning from a thigh injury, and Angulo is on a career-high, three-game goal-scoring streak in MLS play. Orlando is just 3-8-2 on the road in 2026 and has shipped 14 goals in its last five away matches.

Philadelphia, which was one of the few teams worse than Orlando City in the season’s first half, is now one of the league’s hottest teams. The Union are riding an eight-game unbeaten streak (6-0-2), have won five consecutive matches, and have improved to 5-3-4 at home. A week ago, in Philadelphia’s most recent game, the Union came back from 3-0 down to win 4-3 on the road at Sporting Kansas City.

These teams are adjacent to one another in the Eastern Conference standings, with Philadelphia’s comeback allowing the Union to jump over Orlando a week ago, so it’s a proverbial six-point game tonight. Orlando will need to overcome its poor road form, and both teams will be missing key players to international duty. Additionally, the weather may be a bit rough with a big storm hitting the northeast U.S.

The Lions will be without the services of international players that include attackers Justin Ellis, Pasalic, and Tyrese Spicer, as well as defender David Brekalo and defensive midfielder Wilder Cartagena. Additionally, Orlando is without Braian Ojeda (foot), while Griezmann (thigh) and Dorsey (back) are still listed as questionable.

Philadelphia has lost some key players to national team duty as well, including teenage sensation Cavan Sullivan, the team’s leader in assists (12) and co-leader in goal contributions (19), goalkeeper Andre Blake, as well as Danley Jean Jacques, Philippe Ndinga, Neil Pierre, and Frankie Westfield. No Union players are listed as injured.

Match Content

• The most recent PawedCast includes our key matchups and score predictions for tonight’s game.
• Our David Rohe provides his three keys to an Orlando City victory in tonight’s match.

Official Lineups:

Orlando City (4-4-2),

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

Defenders: Bernardo Rhein, Robin Jansson, Iago, Zakaria Taifi.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Joran Gerbet, Eduard Atuesta, Martin Ojeda.

Forwards: Daryl Dike, Antoine Griezmann.

Bench: Javier Otero, Vinicius Nogueira, Adrian Marin, Nolan Miller, Luis Otavio, Justin Hylton, Gustavo Caraballo, Tiago, Harvey Sarajian.

Philadelphia Union (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Andrew Rick.

Defenders: Kai Wagner, Nathan Harriel, Japhet Sery Larsen, Ben Bender.

Midfielders: Indiana Vassilev, Jovan Lukic, Jesus Bueno, Quinn Sullivan.

Forwards: Bruno Damiani, Milan Iloski.

Bench: George Marks, Geiner Martinez, Rafael Uzcátegui, Finn Sundstrom, Ezekiel Alladoh, Jeremy Rafanello, Jordan Griffin, Alejandro Bedoya, Agustin Anello.

Referees:

REF: Sergii Demianchuk.
AR1: Kyle Atkins.
AR2: Matthew Nelson.
4TH: Joe Surgan.
VAR: Kevin Terry Jr.
AVAR: Tom Supple.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m.

Venue: Subaru Park — Chester, PA.

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 Orlando City’s official Twitter feed (@OrlandoCitySC).

Enjoy the match. Go City!