Orlando City (9-10-7, 34 points) vs Nashville SC (6-12-8, 26 points)
When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m
Where: Inter&Co Stadium, Orlando, Fla.
TV: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV (free)
Radio: 96.9 the Game FM, (English), Mega 97.1 (Spanish)
Everything you need to know for the Lions' Saturday night match hosting Nashville SC in "The Road Ahead" driven by Audi:
Milestones
- At 24 assists, Facundo Torres is two away from tying Nani for second on the all-time charts. Torres’ next goal will be his 40th for the club.
- Duncan McGuire’s next goal will tie him with Dom Dwyer for fifth in club history. McGuire is two goals away from catching Kaká for fourth.
- Nicolás Lodeiro’s next assist will tie the club’s single season record of 12, set by Torres in 2022 and Mauricio Pereyra in 2023.
- Pedro Gallese is two matches away from becoming the third player in club history with 150 appearances, after Robin Jansson and Kyle Smith.
Stats & Storylines
- Orlando City will look to shake off a disappointing 3-0 loss at Sporting Kansas City last weekend when they return to MLS play at Inter&Co Stadium against Nashville SC on Saturday. The Lions are 3-0-1 in their past four matches against MLS opposition at home, scoring 14 goals in those matches with a +10 goal differential. Orlando is unbeaten in six at home in all competitions.
- The SKC loss was the first defeat by three goals or more suffered by Orlando since March 2 at Inter Miami. It also marked the first time the Lions were shut out in an MLS match since June 1 at the New York Red Bulls. The game snapped an eight-match unbeaten run for Orlando, the second-longest in club history.
- Fortunately, Orlando did not lose too much ground in the race for the Eastern Conference Top 4, as the Red Bulls, NYCFC, and Charlotte all drew over the weekend. RBNY sits in fourth at the moment, eight points ahead of Orlando with eight matches to play. Looking down towards the play-in round, the Lions are a point ahead of Toronto FC in seventh with a game in hand.
- Since we last wrote, Orlando City announced forward Duncan McGuire has signed a long-term extension taking him through the 2027 season with an option for 2028. McGuire, drafted 6th overall out of Creighton in 2023, has 23 goals for the club, good for sixth all-time. While a Lion, McGuire debuted for the senior United States national team and featured for his country at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
- Orlando City also signed Norwegian youth international midfielder Heine Gikling Bruseth, 20, to a U22 Initiative deal at the close of the summer transfer window. Bruseth, a box-to-box “No. 8” central midfielder, has featured at three different youth levels for his country and has played for Kristiansund’s first team since he was 17, breaking into the starting XI last year as Kristiansund were promoted to the top division in Norway. Bruseth is the fifth U22 Initiative player in Orlando City history, following Andrés Perea, César Araújo, Gastón González, and Ramiro Enrique.
Series History
All-time vs. Nashville - 5-3-5, +3 GD (2-2-2, 0 GD home)
MLS only vs. Nashville - 3-2-4, +3 GD (1-2-1, -1 GD home)
2020 - W 3-1 (H), D 1-1 (A), L 2-3 (H)
2021 - D 1-1 (A), D 2-2 (A), D 1-1 (H), L 3-1 (A/MLS Cup Playoffs)
2022 - D 1-1 (6-5) (H/USOC)
2023 - L 0-2 (H), W 0-1 (A), W 1-0 (H/MLS Cup Playoffs), W 0-1 (A/MLS Cup Playoffs)
2024 - W 0-3 (A)
Meet the opponent: Nashville SC
- Orlando City destroyed Nashville at GEODIS Park on July 17, cruising to a 3-0 win behind goals from César Araújo and Ramiro Enrique and an own goal from Nashville’s Alex Muyl.
- The Lions have won four straight in all competitions against Nashville, posting a clean sheet in all four matches. The run includes Orlando’s sweep of the Coyotes in the first round of the 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs.
- New Nashville head coach B.J. Callaghan will face Orlando City for the first time on Saturday. Callaghan made his name with the United States men’s national team, where he led the Americans to the 2022-23 Nations League title as interim head coach in the gap between the 2022 World Cup and Gregg Berhalter’s reappointment in summer 2023. In the semifinals, Callaghan became the first American manager to win his debut against Mexico since David Gould in 1934 World Cup qualification.
- Callaghan spent most of his career coaching in Philadelphia following his graduation from nearby Ursinis College in 2002. Callaghan spent seven years as an assistant at Villanova before joining Jim Curtin’s staff with the Philadelphia Union, where he spent parts of six seasons before joining the USMNT in 2019.
- Callaghan has yet to win as Nashville manager, as the Coyotes’ historic downward spiral has continued since Orlando last saw them on July 17. Nashville has lost seven straight league games and nine in a row in all competitions, having failed to get out of the group stage in Leagues Cup. Nashville has not scored multiple goals in a game since June 19, netting just five times in its last ten matches.
