It's Matchday 20, and New York City FC are back home looking to end a three-match losing streak against Orlando City SC at Yankee Soccer Stadium.
One guaranteed win: Jan Sport is back to sing the national anthem. She brought down the House that Ruth Built at Pride Night last year:
It was an honor to sing the National Anthem this weekend at Yankee Stadium for the @NYCFC Pride Night! With all of the attacks against the LGBTQIA+ community, I am so grateful to be supported by NYCFC in allowing me to share this song with everyone during Pride Month! pic.twitter.com/540T8WgAYx
— Jan Sport 💜 (@janjanjan) June 7, 2023
How can she possibly top that performance this Pride Night? We're eager to find out.
• Matchday 20: New York City FC vs Orlando City SC
• Date and Time: Friday, June 28, 7:30 pm ET
• Venue: Yankee Stadium
• Forecast: Breezy skies will break the heat wave, 70F/21C
• Watch: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
• Apple Broadcast Team: Nate Bukaty and Devon Kerr (English), Oscar Salazar and Jaime Macia (Spanish)
• New York City FC Radio: Glenn Crooks and Matty Lawrence (English), Roberto Abramowitz and Ariel Judas (Spanish)
• Officiating Crew: Sergii Boiko (referee), Ian Mckay and Brian Dunn (assistant referees), Elvis Osmanovic (fourth official), Daniel Radford (VAR), Jonathan Johnson (assistant VAR)
• Kits: New York City will wear their black 24/7 Kit; Orlando will be in their lavender purple Legacy Kits.
New York City are coming off a disheartening 1-0 loss to Nashville SC on a blistering hot night in Music City. An anemic NYCFC attack placed zero shots on target in that game, falling to a Nashville that didn't look particularly impressive despite logging the win.
The grass was greener in Orlando, where they posted an energizing 4-2 win over Chicago Fire at home. It was a return to form for Facundo Torres, who scored in the 4th and 60th minutes. Just as impressive, they did with a squad missing their best players due to the international break — goalkeeper and club talisman Pedro Gallese is with the Peru national team as they try to advance out of the group stage of the 2024 Copa America.
Andrew Leigh
New York City vs Orlando H2H
| GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 39 | 28 | 9 |
The historic head-to-head between these two clubs slightly favors New York City, who have one more win than Orlando. Last year, the two clubs drew 1-1 in Orlando back in May. But then a New York City flush with new signings defeated Orlando 2-0 in September — a match that featured the last MLS goal scored by Talles Magno.
Oliver Strand
New York City FC
• Player Availability: Zero injuries to report for New York City.
• Santiago Rodríguez is one yellow card away from serving a one-match suspension for accumulation. He's been booked in three straight games and has seen four yellows in his last seven appearances.
• New York City scored zero goals in the two most recent away losses, but they'll be hoping a return home helps bring their attack back to life. The team has 26 goals this season and 19 of them have been scored at home, where NYCFC have also picked up six of their nine wins.
• Once again we must ask: Who starts at striker? Mounsef Bakrar has struggled in two straight starts, leading us to wonder if it's time he takes a seat on the bench. Is this the moment for another long look at Jovan Mijatović, or will Alonso Martínez get another chance in the Starting XI?
Oliver Strand
Orlando City SC
• Player Availability: Pedro Gallese (Peru), Wilder Cartagena (Peru), and David Brekalo (Slovenia) are away on international duty. Mikey Halliday (knee) is out, while Ramiro Enrique (not injury-related), Felipe (foot), and Tahir Reid-Brown (thigh) are questionable.
• Orlando has scored the third-fewest goals in MLS, 22, and their shots on target per 90 minutes (3.68) ranks 26th in MLS. They like to cross it: The Lions are second in MLS with 426 crosses, trailing only DC United's 434.
• For more on Orlando, read our latest Oppo Research, in which The Mane Land's Ben Miller explains why the Eastern Conference's 10th-place team has been so inconsistent and why Facundo Torres is one to watch.
Matthew Mangam
