If both teams’ form chart means anything, Saturday night’s match between Orlando City and the New York Red Bulls in Harrison, N.J., might be high-scoring.
Orlando (6-9-2, 20 points) has allowed a whopping 44 goals in 17 matches for a minus-16 goal differential that presently has it on the outside of the East playoff picture. New York (6-7-4, 22 points) sits eighth in the East standings despite conceding 37 goals, 11 more than it’s scored.
But Orlando has offered hope that it might be on the verge of a turnaround. The Lions are coming off a 1-0 blanking of East-leading Nashville on July 25, handing it only its second loss of the year. And it routed high-powered San Jose 4-0 in its previous fixture.
Goalie Maxime Crepeau ended the club’s 31-match streak of conceding with consecutive clean sheets, making seven saves against San Jose and three more against Nashville.
Interim coach Martin Perelman said the result will depend on how his team prepares.
“We know them. They know us. They are an intense team,” he said. “It’s always hard to go on the road. We will try to win the game because at the end of the day, it’s what we look for.”
The signing of French star Antoine Griezmann has elevated Orlando’s attack, as he scored his first MLS goal at San Jose and has helped create space for the team’s forwards. Martin Ojeda remains the team’s top scorer with 11 goals.
As for New York, it’s coming off a 2-0 loss on July 25 to Charlotte. The Red Bulls conceded both goals within the first 12 minutes and couldn’t come back despite outshooting Charlotte 23-5 for the game and possessing the ball at a 63% rate.
Eighteen-year-old Julian Hall is New York’s top threat with nine goals and four assists. He scored a brace in a 2-1 win at Orlando in each team’s season opener on Feb. 21.
The Red Bulls will be down Adri Mehmeti, who picked up a red card in second-half stoppage time against Charlotte, and Jorge Ruvalcaba and Omar Valencia, both due to yellow card accumulation.
“Suspensions are never ideal,” coach Michael Bradley said, “and if you have to deal with one of them then you hope you don’t have to deal with multiple, but it’s how it goes sometimes. … We’re gonna trust our ideas, we’re gonna trust the guys who show day in and day out that they’re ready and they have earned opportunities to play, and we’re excited for that.”
–Field Level Media
