As Orlando City heads back on the road Saturday to face the Philadelphia Union looking for a bounce-back effort after last weekend's first defeat of the season, let's take a look at The Road Ahead driven by Audi:
Orlando City (1-1-2) at Philadelphia Union (2-2-0)
When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Subaru Park, Philadelphia
TV: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV (free game of the week, no subscription required)
Radio: Real Radio 104.1 FM (English), Acción 97.9 FM (Spanish)
Milestone watch
- Martín Ojeda scored his first goal in an Orlando City shirt during Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Charlotte FC. Ojeda scored 28 goals for Godoy Cruz in Argentina over the past two seasons.
- Duncan McGuire recorded his first professional assist on Saturday. McGuire has a goal contribution in each of his first two MLS games.
- César Araújo’s next appearance will be his 45th for Orlando City in all competitions. The next foul he suffers will be his 100th, making him the second player on the squad with more than 100 fouls suffered (Mauricio Pereyra).
Key storylines
- Both Orlando City and Philadelphia will be missing significant chunks of their rosters due to international duty or suspension for this weekend’s match:
- Orlando - GK Pedro Gallese (Peru), CB Thomas Williams (USMNT U20s), RB Mikey Halliday (USMNT U20s), RB Alex Freeman (USMNT U19s), DM Wilder Cartagena (Peru), AM Favian Loyola (USMNT U19s), RW Facundo Torres (Uruguay).
- Philadelphia - DM José Martínez (Venezuela), CM Jack McGlynn (USMNT U20s), AM Dániel Gazdag (Hungary), F Quinn Sullivan (USMNT U20s), CF Julián Carranza (red card suspension)
- Orlando No. 2 goalkeeper Mason Stajduhar is 4-2-5 in 11 starts for Orlando City. One of his two defeats came at Philadelphia last year, a 5-1 loss in which the Lions heavily rotated their squad after winning the 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
- While Orlando City will be away from Exploria Stadium this weekend, a former Lion is making his way home. Former Orlando striker Daryl Dike will appear with the United States men’s national team as they face El Salvador in CONCACAF Nations League action on Monday, March 27 at 7:30 p.m. Dike is one of just two center forwards on the roster, along with FC Groningen’s Ricardo Pepi.
Series history
All-time vs. Philadelphia - 5-8-5, -10 GD (2-6-1, -10 GD away)
MLS only vs. Philadelphia - 4-7-5, -10 GD (2-5-1, -9 GD away)
- 2015 - D 0-0 (H), L 1-0 (A)
- 2016 - L 2-1 (A), D 2-2 (H), W 0-2 (A)
- 2017 - W 2-1 (H), L 6-1 (A)
- 2018 - W 0-2 (A), L 1-0 (A/USOC), D 2-2 (H)
- 2019 - L 1-3 (H), D 2-2 (A)
- 2020 - D 1-1 (N)
- 2021 - W 2-1 (H), L 3-1 (A)
- 2022 - W 2-1 (H/USOC), L 0-1 (H), L 5-1 (A)
Meet the opponent: Philly special
- The Union are in the midst of their best run in franchise history. Philadelphia has finished in the East’s top 2 in each of the past three seasons, posting a club-record 67 points last year and coming minutes away from winning MLS Cup. Philadelphia also reached the semifinals of both MLS is Back in 2020 and the CONCACAF Champions League in 2021.
- Orlando City has not beaten the Union on the road since 2018, when Dom Dwyer and Chris Mueller scored in a 2-0 Lions win.
- Orlando did knock Philadelphia out of the U.S. Open Cup last season in the Round of 32. Ercan Kara and Andrés Perea scored the goals for the Lions in a 2-1 win. Perea has since been traded from the Lions to the Union, with the midfielder heading to Philly for $750,000 in General Allocation Money.
- Orlando midfielder Felipe Martins has 2 G/4 A in 23 career appearances against Philadelphia, many coming during his days with the rival New York Red Bulls. Mauricio Pereyra has 1 G/3 A in five appearances against the Union.
- Union captain Alejandro Bedoya has 1 G/4 A against Orlando City in 11 games. Both Dániel Gazdag and Julián Carranza have scored twice in their careers against the Lions, but neither will be available this weekend due to international duty and suspension, respectively.
