Orlando City (8-5-7, 31 points) vs Toronto FC (3-8-10, 19 points)
When: Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Exploria Stadium, Orlando, Fla.
Radio: 96.9 The Game (English), Acción 97.9 FM (Spanish)
Everything you need to know for Orlando City vs Toronto FC in "The Road Ahead" driven by Audi:
Milestone watch
-- With his brace against Chicago on Saturday, Facundo Torres became the seventh Lion in the club’s MLS era to score 20 goals in all competitions for the club. Torres’ next goal will tie Tesho Akindele for sixth on the list, with Chris Mueller two goals ahead in fifth.
-- Mauricio Pereyra’s next appearance will see him equal Benji Michel and Ruan at 118 in all competitions for Orlando City, good for fifth all-time.
-- With a result against Toronto FC, Orlando City will have its longest home unbeaten streak since the 2020 season, when the Lions went nine consecutive homes without a defeat.
Stats and storylines
-- He heats up with the summer sun – Facundo Torres has five goals and an assist in his last four appearances, during which the Lions are 3-0-1. Torres had a run last season of four goals and four assists in five games, culminating in the Lamar Hunt U.S Open Cup Final triumph against Sacramento Republic. Orlando City won all five of those games.
-- Orlando City has lost just once in its last ten games overall. The Lions have scored first in seven of their past eight games in which a goal has been scored, and Orlando has not lost a game this season in which it has scored first.
-- With his seventh assist of the season on Saturday night, Martín Ojeda is now tied for eighth in the league in helpers. Ojeda has played fewer minutes than every single player who is tied with or ahead of him.
SERIES HISTORY
All-time vs. Toronto - 6-8-3, -8 GD (4-4-0, 0 GD home)
MLS only vs. Toronto - Same
- 2015 - L 0-2 (H), L 4-1 (A), L 5-0 (A)
- 2016 - W 3-2 (H), L 1-2 (H), D 0-0 (A)
- 2017 - L 2-1 (A), L 1-3 (H)
- 2018 - L 2-1 (A), W 2-1 (H)
- 2019 - L 0-2 (H), D 1-1 (A)
- 2021 - W 1-0 (H), W 2-3 (A*), D 1-1 (A)
- 2022 - W 0-1 (A), W 4-0 (H)
*closed-door game played at Exploria Stadium due to COVID-19 pandemic
Meet the opponent: Toronto FC
-- Orlando City has turned things around on many opponents since Oscar Pareja joined the club, but outside of possibly Atlanta United, no fortunes have changed quite as drastically as Orlando’s against Toronto. Prior to Pareja’s arrival, the Lions were an abysmal 2-8-2 all-time against the Reds with a -15 goal differential. But since Papi took charge in 2020, Orlando City is 4-0-1 with a +7 GD against Toronto.
-- The Lions swept the Reds last season with a pair of clean sheet victories. The game at BMO Field had a dramatic conclusion, with Kyle Smith scoring a 92nd-minute winner off an Alexandre Pato corner kick. The home game was considerably less tense, with Orlando bludgeoning Toronto 4-0 behind goals from Facundo Torres, Ercan Kara, and Tesho Akindele (plus an own goal).
-- Toronto is reeling in 2023. Sitting only above Inter Miami in the Eastern Conference table, the Reds fired manager Bob Bradley last week after a season and a half in charge, replacing him with former player and current academy coach Terry Dunfield on an interim basis. Dunfield’s reign got off to an inauspicious start on Saturday night, as his team conceded a 93rd-minute winner to RSL’s Anderson Julio at home.
-- Big money Italian DPs Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi have struggled to leave a mark, at least relative to their salaries. Insigne has just 3 G/3 A while being limited to 14 appearances, while Bernardeschi has 3 G/4 A despite playing in all 20 games.
