Orlando City (7-5-6, 27 points) vs Seattle Sounders (8-7-4, 28 points)
When: Saturday, 10:30 p.m.
Where: Lumen Field, Seattle, WA
Radio: 96.9 The Game (English), Acción 97.9 FM (Spanish)
Everything you need to know for Orlando City at Seattle Sounders in "The Road Ahead" driven by Audi
Milestone watch
-- Mauricio Pereyra recorded his 40th assist in all competitions for Orlando City on Wednesday night against Philadelphia. No other Lion has more than 26 (Nani). Six of Pereyra’s 40 assists (15% of the total) have come against the Union.
-- César Araújo’s next appearance will be his 60th in all competitions for Orlando.
-- Facundo Torres’ next goal will tie him with Tesho Akindele and Daryl Dike for seventh all-time in Orlando City history. Torres will be available for selection on Saturday after featuring for Uruguay during the international window.
-- Kyle Smith’s next appearance for Orlando City, his 126th, will tie him with Chris Mueller for second all-time in club history, behind Robin Jansson.
Stats and storylines
-- Duncan McGuire continues to shine in his rookie campaign, adding another goal on Wednesday night against Philadelphia. With six goals in just 496 minutes of action, McGuire has overtaken Atlanta’s Giorgos Giakoumakis for the MLS lead in goals per 90 minutes. The former Creighton star has put 11 of his 12 shots on target in MLS play and ranks in the 99th percentile among all forwards in MLS and comparable leagues in goals, assists, and expected assists. McGuire made the MLS Team of the Matchday bench for his performance.
-- Facundo Torres starred for Uruguay against Cuba, scoring his first international goal in a 2-0 victory on Tuesday night. The other Uruguay goal was scored by Maxi Araújo, César’s older brother who currently plays for Toluca in Liga MX.
-- Along with Torres, the Lions will have Peruvian stars Pedro Gallese and Wilder Cartagena back for Saturday’s tilt in Seattle. Gallese started both games and Cartagena appeared twice as Peru split a pair of friendly matches in Asia, defeating South Korea before falling to Japan.
-- Orlando City embarks on the fourth-longest trip in MLS by air miles with only two days of rest this week. It’s 2,554 air miles from Orlando International Airport to Seattle, topped only by Miami to Vancouver, Miami to Seattle, and Orlando to Vancouver.
SERIES HISTORY
All-time vs. Seattle - 1-4-1, -7 GD (0-2-1, -5 GD away)
MLS only vs. Seattle - Same
- 2015 - L 4-0 (A)
- 2016 - L 1-3 (H)
- 2017 - D 1-1 (A)
- 2018 - L 1-2 (H)
- 2019 - L 2-1 (A)
- 2022 - W 3-2 (H)
Meet the opponent: Seattle Sounders
-- Orlando City beat the two-time MLS Cup champion Sounders for the first time ever last season, erasing a 2-0 second half deficit to win 3-2. Facundo Torres came on at halftime and flipped the game on its head, blasting in a goal early in the half before setting up Kyle Smith’s winner in second half stoppage time. Ercan Kara scored the equalizer from the penalty spot as well.
-- That defeat likely snuffed out Seattle’s chances of reaching the MLS Cup Playoffs last year, ending a run of 13 consecutive seasons with a postseason berth for the Sounders. Seattle had qualified every year since entering the league in 2009. It was probably worth it, though, to become the first MLS team to win the CONCACAF Champions League.
-- Seattle stars Nico Lodeiro and Raúl Ruidíaz have both earned some success against Orlando. Lodeiro has three assists in four appearances against the Lions, while Ruidíaz has scored in both of his starts against City.
