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Lions Host Atlanta United Aiming for 7th Straight Win

preview orl v atl 2018 pt 1

Orlando City SC (6-2-1, 19 points) looks to clinch its seventh straight victory when it hosts Atlanta United FC (7-2-1, 22 points) on Sunday, May 13. Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m. ET at Orlando City Stadium.


The match will be nationally televised on FS1 as part of Heineken Rivalry Week. Fans can tune into the match on Real Radio 104.1 FM in English and La Nueva 990 AM in Spanish.


“It’s massively critical for us this game that we are very mindful of the fact that they’re extremely dangerous in transition,” Lions head coach Jason Kreis said. “[Atlanta has] a lot of very, very good attacking-minded players, creative-type players that can do it on the dribble, can do it in combination. It will be our most severe test to date, no doubt about it.”


Orlando City built its Club-record six-game winning streak by defeating Real Salt Lake 3-1 on Sunday. After RSL scored in the 12th minute, Dom Dwyer equalized in the 60th minute. Defender Lamine Sané scored the game-winning goal in the 63rd minute, his first as a Lion, and Yoshimar Yotún found the back of the net in the 78th minute. Joe Bendik made a season-high eight saves.


Dwyer’s six goals this season lead the Club and are tied for the second-most in the league. Yotún leads the Lions and is tied for fourth in the league with five assists. Sacha Kljestan has a goal or an assist in every game during the winning streak.


Atlanta United comes to Orlando after losing to Sporting Kansas City 2-0 on Wednesday night. Atlanta United goalkeeper Brad Guzan was issued a red card in the 34th minute and will miss Sunday’s match as a result. The loss snapped Atlanta’s three-game winning streak and eight-game unbeaten streak.


The match will pit the two highest point-per-game averages in MLS against each other. The last time City and United played, Dwyer recorded two goals and an assist in front of a league-record crowd of 70,425 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sept. 16.


Atlanta United forward Josef Martinez leads the league with seven goals and teammate Miguel Almirón is close behind with six. Almirón’s five assists are tied for fourth-most in MLS.