It's Matchday 25 for New York City FC as they travel to face Orlando City SC at Inter&Co Stadium in the team's final MLS game before the start of Leagues Cup.
This concludes the season's longest road trip for New York City, a four-game run that started with a loss in Austin then draws in Chicago and Atlanta.
Now the scene shifts to sticky central Florida and a meeting with a red-hot Orlando team that has won four straight games: Here is your Orlando vs NYCFC preview.
• Matchday 25: Orlando City vs New York City FC
• Date and Time: Saturday, July 20, 7:30 pm ET
• Venue: Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando
• Forecast: Florida in summer so it will be warm, 80F/26C, with a chance for showers.
• Watch: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
• Apple Broadcast Team: Christian Miles and Shep Messing (English), Sergio Ruiz and Walter Roque (Spanish)
• New York City FC Radio: Glenn Crooks and Matty Lawrence (English), Roberto Abramowitz and Ariel Judas (Spanish)
• Officiating Crew: Joe Dickerson (referee), Eric Weisbrod and Justin Howard (assistant referees), Calin Radosav (fourth official), Alejandro Mariscal (VAR), Jonathan Johnson (assistant VAR)
• Kits: New York City will wear the light blue Interboro Kit; Orlando will wear the very purple The Wall Kit
The Lions have been rolling, but most of their damage has been done on the road this season, even during this active four-match win streak. Three of those four wins came away from Inter&Co Stadium, including their most recent, a 3-0 defeat of Nashville SC.
Orlando's home record has been weak so far in 2024, with three wins and three draws out of 11 home matches, meaning they've collected the second-fewest points (12) from their home games in the Eastern Conference.
New York City's road record hasn't been so hot either. They have three wins in 12 games, and just 12 points after the two latest draws.
New York City vs Orlando H2H
| GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 44 | 30 | 14 |
NYCFC has enjoyed a slight edge over its 2015 expansion brethren, but historic head-to-head results in MLS matches between these teams have been close. When they've met in Florida, draws have been common: Five of their 11 regular-season matches in Central Florida were even after 90 minutes.
Even when these teams played in Orlando for non-league knockout games, like in the 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs and the 2019 US Open Cup, they played to a tie. New York City's last win on the road against their Florida foes was back on July 26, 2018, when Dome Torrent's team got first-half goals from Anton Tinnerholm and Maxi Moralez and walked out with a 2-0 win.
New York City's 44 goals are the second-most against any team. It trails only the 45 goals scored against Toronto FC in 27 games.
When these teams last met, New York City won 4-2 in a tale-of-two-halves performance at Yankee Soccer Stadium, with NYCFC dominant and out to a 3-0 lead in the first half, only to have to sweat out the result when Orlando pulled to within 3-2 by second-half stoppage time.
That game was also marred by the leg-breaking collision between Malachi Jones and Orlando goalkeeper Mason Stajduhar, with both now out and facing long-term recoveries after undergoing surgeries to repair their breaks.
Oliver Strand
New York City
• Player Availability: Attacker Malachi Jones (leg) and midfielder Andrés Perea (leg) remain unavailable.
• Santiago Rodríguez and Thiago Martins sat out the midweek match in Atlanta for rotation reasons, so expect them to slot back into Nick Cushing's Starting XI against Orlando. James Sands missed the Atlanta draw to serve a yellow card accumulation suspension, so he should be back, too.
• Will we see Talles Magno play again, or maybe even start? For weeks we've wondered where he is and where he's going, but the Brazilian Designated Player finally returned to action and made a huge difference in the "three-point draw" earned at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Is he officially back in Nick Cushing's plans?
• Will either Tayvon Gray or Kevin O’Toole play? Both fullbacks are off the injury report, but that doesn’t guarantee they get minutes in Orlando. Drew Baiera wasn’t in the squad for NYCFC II’s match on Friday night, but Máximo Carrizo and Piero Elias both played at Belson Stadium. Might that mean Baiera is still with the First Team in Orlando?
Hudson River Blue Staff
Orlando
• Player Availability: Forward Duncan McGuire is out while away with the United States men's Olympic soccer team. Goalkeeper Mason Stajduhar (leg) and defender Michael Halliday (leg) are out injured, while star attacker Facundo Torres (thigh) is questionable.
• Expect a different-looking Orlando team than what was on the field in the Bronx a few weeks back. That squad was missing goalkeeper Pedro Gallese, defender David Brekalo, and midfielder Wilder Cartagena, who were all away on international duty — all have returned and could feature. Gallese has long been a thorn in New York City's side, a veteran between the sticks who has already picked up five clean sheets this season, which puts him in the Top 10 in MLS.
• Orlando love to cross it towards their center-forwards, as the Lions have attempted 511 crosses, the second most in MLS this season. They aren't exactly a great team in the air, though, as Orlando has won the lowest percentage of aerial duels in MLS this season, 40%, slightly ahead of New York City, who are next-to-last in the league after winning 45.2% of aerials.
• If you want even more of a deep dive on what to expect from Oscar Pareja's team, read the latest edition of Oppo Research: 5 Things about Orlando City, in which Ben Miller of The Mane Land discusses their winning streak, Pedro Gallese's season, and much more.
Matthew Mangam
