Orlando City (2-3-3, 9 points) vs Toronto FC (4-4-1, 13 points)
When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: INTER&Co Stadium, Orlando, FL
TV: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV (subscription required)
Radio: Real Radio 104.1 FM, (English), Mega 97.1 (Spanish)
Everything you need to know for the Lions match hosting Toronto in "The Road Ahead" driven by Audi:
Milestones
- Nicolás Lodeiro’s next appearance will be his 200th in Major League Soccer. In his 199 MLS games, Lodeiro has scored 42 goals and dished out 84 assists, winning two MLS Cups and a CONCACAF Champions Cup. In his distinguished American career, he has been named an MLS All-Star, MLS Newcomer of the Year, and MLS Best XI.
- Facu Torres tied Nani for second in club history at 31 goals with his penalty kick against CF Montréal on Saturday night. Torres’ next goal will give him sole possession of second and move him closer to Cyle Larin’s club record of 44 goals.
- Both Torres and César Araújo will make their 90th appearance for Orlando City in their next match.
- Duncan McGuire’s next goal will be his 20th in all competitions for Orlando City, moving him past Daryl Dike and Benji Michel into sole possession of eighth on the club’s all-time MLS scoring charts. McGuire needs two more goals to catch Tesho Akindele for seventh and three to match Chris Mueller in sixth.
- Pedro Gallese’s next win will be his 50th in MLS and his 60th overall for Orlando City.
Stats & Storylines
- For the second consecutive week, Orlando City earned points in second-half stoppage time, as Iván Angulo’s 90’+2’ equalizer canceled out what looked like a late Montréal winner from Ariel Lassiter in the 88’. Orlando last achieved results after 90 minutes in back-to-back games in August 2022, beating NYCFC and Seattle in a span of 72 hours with goals from Tesho Akindele (90’+6’) and Kyle Smith (90’+1’).
- Orlando City earned points in second-half stoppage time on four occasions last season, including twice against the Columbus Crew. The others came against St. Louis CITY and Santos Laguna.
- The Montréal game marked the third week in a row where Orlando gained points in the 89’ or later, counting Noah Eile’s own goal in the New York Red Bulls game back on March 30. The Lions have earned five points from losing positions over the last three games.
- Orlando City is unbeaten in four straight games, the club’s longest run since going seven consecutive matches without a loss over the final five regular-season games and the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs last year.
- The Lions won the expected goals battle against Montréal, increasing their season xGD to +1.4 and the gap between their expected and actual goals to +6.4, the second-largest in MLS (San Jose). The performances have started to match the underlying numbers in recent weeks, as Orlando has scored eight times in its last four matches.
- Nicolás Lodeiro continues to create danger for the Lions, ranking second in MLS among qualifiers behind Lionel Messi in progressive passes per 90. Lodeiro ranks 22nd in MLS in expected assists with fewer minutes played than all but one player ahead of him on the list.
- Over the past calendar year, MartÃn Ojeda is in the 95th percentile of attacking midfielders and wingers in MLS and comparable leagues in assists per 90 minutes and in the 87th percentile in expected assists. Ojeda earned his 13th Orlando City assist on Angulo’s winner Saturday night.
Series History
All-time vs. Toronto - 8-8-3, -2 GD (5-4-0, +4 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)
- 2023 - W 4-0 (H), W 0-2 (A)
*closed door game played at Exploria Stadium due to COVID-19 pandemic
Meet the opponent: Toronto FC
- Orlando City have utterly dominated Toronto FC under Oscar Pareja. The Lions have won four consecutive matches against the Reds and hold a 6-0-1 record overall against Toronto since Pareja took over the club. Over the past two seasons, Orlando City has won all four matches played against Toronto by a combined 11-0 scoreline.
- Prior to Pareja’s arrival, Toronto had an 8-2-2 record against Orlando City, winning four times in the City Beautiful from 2015-19. Since Pareja came in, Toronto’s only goals scored in Orlando came during their temporary 2021 residency caused by the pandemic.
- Duncan McGuire scored three times against Toronto in 2023, including the MLS Goal of the Matchday over Michael Bradley on Decision Day at BMO Field.
- Other players on the Lions roster with Orlando City goals against Toronto include Iván Angulo, Dagur Dan Thórhallsson, Facundo Torres, and Kyle Smith.
- Nicolás Lodeiro defeated the Reds twice in the MLS Cup Final as a member of the Seattle Sounders, scoring the penultimate penalty for his side in the 2016 shootout and providing an assist in a 3-1 win in 2019.
- Toronto has received a significant boost for 2024 from head coach John Herdman, now in his first full season with the Reds after debuting on the touchline on Decision Day 2023 against Orlando City. Toronto sits fifth in the Eastern Conference on 13 points with a 4-4-1 record. The Reds have already won as many games as they did all last season, when they ran away with the Wooden Spoon and posted a 4-20-10 mark for the year.
- German-born Ghanaian forward Prince Owusu has been a revelation for the Reds this year with four goals in 484 minutes, including a sensational backheel volley against New England this past weekend.
- Italian star Lorenzo Insigne returned to individual training last Friday but is unlikely to feature against Orlando after injuring his hamstring on March 23 against Atlanta. Former Lions Richie Laryea and Shane O’Neill also missed this past weekend’s contest against New England.
- Insigne’s fellow Italian Federico Bernardeschi has played every minute so far this season, but has yet to record a goal or an assist.
