MX23RW : Thursday, November 21 17:56:02| >> :600:1212962:1212962:
[monks data]
Orlando City
Major League Soccer | Gameweek 37
Oct 3, 2021 at 12.30am UK
Florida Citrus Bowl
DC United

Orlando City
2 - 1
DC United

Jansson (17'), Dike (90+7')
FT(HT: 1-1)
Gressel (6')
Alfaro (20'), Canouse (67'), Hamid (90+5')

Preview: Orlando City vs. DC United - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Major League Soccer clash between Orlando City and DC United, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

A pair of Eastern Conference sides coming off emotional wins earlier this week will try to keep their momentum going as Orlando City host DC United on Saturday at Exploria Stadium.

The Lions ended a four-game losing streak with a 2-2 draw in the music city against Nashville SC, while DC have won three of their last four matches, after getting past Minnesota United 3-1.


Match preview

Orlando City SC midfielder Nani (17) reacts after scoring a goal against FC Cincinnati in the second half at TQL Stadium on August 7, 2021© Reuters

A season that looked to be on the decline took an unexpected turn for Oscar Pareja and his Orlando side, who came back from 2-0 down with a pair of goals in the final 14 minutes to pick up a valuable point in their previous match.

In the previous week the Lions were unlucky to come away with nothing against the top-seeded New England Revolution, losing on an own-goal, but on Wednesday, some good karma came back their way for a change with an own-goal from Nashville midfielder Brian Anunga in injury-time.

That draw keeps Orlando in a playoff position, currently holding down the final spot in the east, sitting two points above CF Montreal.

With six shots on target and 64% of the possession versus the Black-and-Gold, they were full marks to pocket a draw, playing with a real purpose and commitment that we had not seen from them in weeks.

With so much adrenaline and emotions going through Orlando from that dramatic comeback, they will have to make sure that they can turn their attention to this game on Saturday, with an opportunity to potentially move up the Eastern Conference table.

The Lions are tied on points with New York City FC, the Philadelphia Union and Atlanta United, but they are the only one of those sides with an inferior goal difference, which currently sits at -1.

DC United head coach Hernan Losada smiles as he walks off the field after the against FC Cincinnati in the first half at TQL Stadium on July 31, 2021© Reuters

It is incredible how quickly things can shift, and the tables have turned in a big way for DC United in the Eastern Conference, following their second consecutive victory on Wednesday.

While they are as high as they have ever been in the standings this year, sitting in third place, Hernan Losada knows that his players cannot afford to take their foot off the gas with four teams breathing down their neck, just a point behind the Black-and-Red.

After scoring multiple goals in only one of their opening seven fixtures this year, they have been one of the most clinical sides in the final third lately, scoring 13 times in September, with 48 strikes so far this year, second only to the New England Revolution.

Last month DC scored nine of their 13 goals in the second half, losing only one of their five fixtures as they are now in a strong position to make the playoffs for the first time since 2019.

If they can maintain their current standing, it would be their best finish to a regular season since 2014, when they ended the year in first place in their conference with 59 points.

To beat that total, they will need six wins and a draw from their final seven fixtures, and given how unpredictable this season has been, it would be hard to bet against that happening.

Orlando City Major League Soccer form:
  • W
  • L
  • L
  • L
  • L
  • D

DC United Major League Soccer form:
  • W
  • D
  • W
  • L
  • W
  • W



Team News

Orlando City forward Tesho Akindele celebrates after scoring a goal on May 23, 2021© Reuters

Orlando striker Daryl Dike helped spark their comeback on Wednesday, scoring his fifth of the year and his first from the penalty spot, while goalkeeper Pedro Gallese hit the century mark for saves, making four against Nashville for 103 to this point of his MLS career.

Alexander Alvarado tallied his second start of the year in midweek, Antonio Carlos made his 50th appearance for the club, while Rodrigo Schlegel will be suspended for this encounter after his caution versus Nashville.

Pareja made three changes to the starting 11 in their previous match, inserting Carlos, Alvarado and Silvester van der Water into the fold, while Alexandre Pato, Joey DeZart, Chris Mueller and Uri Rosell are all out with undisclosed injuries.

DC striker Ola Kamara scored his MLS leading 17th goal of the season from the penalty spot against the Loons and also assisted on Julian Gressel's first of the year.

Junior Moreno picked up his first-ever league goal in their last game, with Edison Flores collecting his fourth assist of 2021 on that play.

Drew Skundrich has an undisclosed injury, Chris Odoi-Atsem is questionable with a quad issue, Ramon Abila will not see the field due to a sore groin, Adrien Perez continues to be hampered by a foot problem and Brendan Hines-Ike is having trouble recovering from a hip injury.

Orlando City possible starting lineup:
Gallese; Moutinho, Smith, Carlos, Mas; Bender, Mendez, Urso; Pereyra, Dike, Akindele

DC United possible starting lineup:
Hamid; Najar, Brillant, Pines; Gressel, Nyeman, Paredes; Arriola, Reyna, Flores; Kamara


SM words green background

We say: Orlando City 1-3 DC United

Even with that incredible comeback against the Black-and-Gold, the fact remains that the Lions are making it far too easy for opposing sides to run into space, and their defence is not the same stingy one that we saw in the first six games of the year, conceding six goals in their last two home games.

DC know how difficult it will be to earn points against Nashville and New England, who they face in their next two encounters, so look for them to push hard to try and get a bit of a cushion in the Eastern Conference table with this match.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 1.5:data



ID:466218:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect11174:

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Orlando City win with a probability of 49.82%. A win for DC United had a probability of 26.39% and a draw had a probability of 23.8%.

The most likely scoreline for a Orlando City win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.59%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (9.39%) and 2-0 (8.07%). The likeliest DC United win was 1-2 (6.63%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.15%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 9.6% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 2-1 win for Orlando City in this match.


Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!



Game History

How you voted: Orlando City vs DC United

Orlando City
38.1%
Draw
9.5%
DC United
52.4%
21
Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
New York City FC forward Valentin Castellanos (11) celebrates a goal by forward Santiago Rodriguez (not pictured) against Toronto FC with defender Malte Amundsen (12) and forward Thiago (8) during the first half at BMO Field on August 7, 2021
Read Next:
Saturday's MLS predictions including New York City vs. New York Red Bulls
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free match previews newsletter! Updates are sent twice a week.
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS

Eastern Conference

TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Inter MiamiInter Miami34228479493074
2Columbus Crew34199672403266
3FC CincinnatiCincinnati341851158481059
4Orlando City34157125950952
5Charlotte FCCharlotte FC34149114637951
6New York City FCNY City34148125449550
7New York Red BullsNY Red Bulls34111495550547
8CF MontrealMontreal341110134864-1643
9Atlanta UnitedAtlanta341010144649-340
10DC United341010145270-1840
11Philadelphia UnionPhiladelphia34910156255737
12Toronto34114194061-2137
13Nashville SCNashville3499163854-1636
14New England RevolutionNew England3494213774-3731
15Chicago Fire3479184062-2230

Western Conference

TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Los Angeles FCLos Angeles34197863432064
2Los Angeles GalaxyLA Galaxy34197869501964
3Real Salt LakeSalt Lake341611765481759
4Seattle SoundersSeattle34169951351657
5Houston DynamoHouston34159104739854
6Minnesota UnitedMinnesota Utd34157125849952
7Colorado RapidsColorado34155146160150
8Portland TimbersPortland341211116556947
9Vancouver WhitecapsVancouver34138135249347
10Austin FCAustin34119143948-942
11Dallas34118155456-241
12St Louis City34813135063-1337
13Sporting Kansas CityKansas3487195166-1531
14San Jose EarthquakesEarthquakes3463254178-3721


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!