Orlando City (12-11-7, 43 points) at FC Dallas (10-13-7, 37 points)
When: Saturday, 8:30 p.m
Where: Toyota Stadium, Frisco, TX
TV: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
Radio: Real Radio 104.1, (English), Mega 97.1 (Spanish)
Everything you need to know for the Lions' Saturday night match at FC Dallas in "The Road Ahead" driven by Audi.
Milestones
- Facundo Torres’ next goal will see him match Cyle Larin for the most in club history in all competitions at 44. With 16 goals this year, Torres is also two goals away from matching Larin’s single-season club record of 18 from the Canadian’s 2015 rookie campaign.
- At 25 assists, Torres is one away from tying Nani for second on the all-time charts.
- Torres’ next goal contribution will surpass his own single-season club record of 25, set in 2022 when he scored 13 goals and added 12 assists in all competitions and tied this past Saturday night in Columbus. Torres currently has 16 G/9 A in all competitions in 2024.
- Duncan McGuire’s next goal for Orlando, his 26th, will put him past Kaká into sole possession of fourth in club history.
- Head Coach Oscar Pareja’s next win will be his 80th for Orlando City in all competitions.
- Dagur Dan Thórhallsson’s next appearance will be his 75th for Orlando City in all competitions. Thórhallsson’s next start will be his 50th as a Lion.
Stats & Storylines
- Despite nearly completing a historic comeback from a 3-0 deficit, Orlando City fell 4-3 in Columbus this past weekend to bring its three-match winning streak to an end. The Lions slipped to fifth in the East, one point behind the New York Red Bulls for fourth and home field advantage in the Best of 3 MLS Cup Playoffs First Round.
- Luis Muriel has begun something of a late-season renaissance, scoring twice in the comeback effort in Columbus after assisting Orlando’s second goal against Charlotte on Wednesday night. Muriel also created the chance that led to Orlando’s first goal in Columbus. The Colombian’s goals were his first since June 22.
- With his assist on Muriel’s second goal on Saturday, Facundo Torres has made it four consecutive matches with a goal contribution, tallying 4 G/1 A in his past four.
- Orlando City continued its offensive tear with five goals across two matches last week. The Lions have scored multiple goals in 11 of their past 13 MLS regular season matches. At 50 goals scored this regular season with four matches to play, Orlando is within striking distance of the single-season club record of 55, set in 2016 and matched in 2023.
- 2024 first round pick Jeorgio Kocevski made his first start for Orlando City in any competition on Saturday, playing 58 minutes against the Crew for the suspended César Araújo.
Series History
All-time vs. FC Dallas - 1-4-2, -8 GD (0-2-1, -6 GD away)
MLS only vs. FC Dallas - Same
2015 - L 0-2 (H)
2016 - L 4-0 (A)
2017 - D 0-0 (H)
2018 - L 2-0 (A)
2019 - W 2-0 (H)
2020 - D 0-0 (A)
2022 - L 1-3 (H)
Meet the opponent: FC Dallas
- Oscar Pareja will face his former side for the third time as Orlando City manager this weekend when his Lions travel to Frisco to take on FC Dallas. Pareja played parts of eight seasons for Dallas from 1998-2005, then began his coaching career in their youth academy shortly after retirement. After two years as head coach of the Colorado Rapids, Pareja returned to Dallas to take the top job in 2014, winning a Supporters’ Shield and a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup while winning 97 matches in all competitions over five seasons.
- Orlando City is certainly glad Pareja is on its side these days – Papi’s Dallas teams went 3-0-1 with a +8 goal difference in four matches against the Lions while not allowing a single goal. Orlando’s only win against Dallas came the year after Pareja left to take over at Club Tijuana in Liga MX.
- Pareja has tried to take down his former club twice already with Orlando. A red card doomed any chances of a win in the club’s last trip to Frisco in 2020, though the Lions did well to earn a point and a clean sheet. More recently, Dallas came to Orlando in 2022, catching the Lions three days after a grueling extra-time win in the Open Cup over Miami and knocking them off 3-1.
- The post-Papi era has been a mixed bag for FC Dallas. While they’ve made the playoffs four times, Los Toros Tejanos have finished higher than sixth in the West just once in five years (a 3rd-place effort in 2022) and currently sit five points below the red line with four matches to go. The search is on for the club’s third permanent head coach since Pareja’s exit – successor Luchi Gonzalez was fired in September 2021, while his replacement Nico Estevez was let go in early June of this year. Former PSG and Atlético Madrid midfielder Peter Luccin is currently serving as interim.
- DP center forward Petar Musa, signed for a reported club-record $9.7 million this winter from Benfica, has been a bright spot, potting 15 goals in just over 2,000 MLS minutes this year. Musa went off late in the first half during this past weekend’s win against LAFC with an injury, but he is not listed on the injury report for Dallas heading into Saturday.
- Toyota Stadium, the site of this weekend’s game and Dallas’ home since 2005, is set for a $182 million renovation over the coming years, the club announced last week. The major news item is a “robust roof structure” that will help shade much of the bowl from the relentless Texas sun.
