Orlando City (1-2-0) at New York Red Bulls (1-1-1)
When: Saturday, 2:30 p.m
Where: Sports Illustrated Stadium, Harrison, New Jersey
Radio: AM 810 Fox Sports Radio, (English), Mega 97.1 (Spanish)
Everything you need to know for the Lions' trip to New Jersey in "The Road Ahead" driven by Audi:
Milestones
- César Araújo’s next appearance will be his 125th in all competitions for Orlando.
- Ramiro Enrique’s next appearance will be his 75th in all competitions for Orlando.
- Martín Ojeda has pulled even with Chris Mueller for fourth in Orlando City history in assists at 24. His next assist will tie him with Facundo Torres for third, and he’s two away from matching Nani in second. Iván Angulo enters the weekend one assist behind Ojeda for his career.
Stats & Storylines
- Despite creating a plethora of chances and controlling large swaths of the game, Orlando City fell for the fifth straight year at NYCFC, swallowing a 2-1 defeat to their inaugural rivals 10 years to the day from their first meeting in 2015.
- Orlando City’s attack has continued to produce opportunities, ranking third in MLS in goals, fifth in expected goals, and third in non-penalty expected goals through the first three matchdays. The seven goals scored by the Lions through their first three matches is a club record for both the MLS regular season and all competitions.
- Orlando has received tremendous production from its Designated Players in particular. Marco Pašalić, Luis Muriel, and Martín Ojeda have all scored and assisted at least once through the first three games, the only trio of DPs to accomplish that feat in MLS. The Lions’ DPs are tied for the league lead in goal contributions (7) with Seattle. Last weekend’s goal was a DP to DP tally, with Pašalić playing in Muriel for a strong finish.
- Ojeda is tied for second in MLS with 11 key passes through three games, while Pašalić ranks ninth in expected goals and is tied for sixth in shots. Muriel is fifth in MLS in non-penalty expected goals per 90 minutes and eighth if expected assists are included.
- Oscar Pareja made two changes to his XI for the second straight match, adding Muriel and handing captain Robin Jansson his season debut after a minor knock forced him to miss the first two matches of the season. Jansson was able to play the full 90 minutes in what was his club-record 202nd appearance for Orlando in all competitions.
- Orlando City B kicked off its season with a 2-1 win over Columbus Crew 2 this past Sunday, with first-teamers Shakur Mohammed, Colin Guske, Tahir Reid-Brown, Thomas Williams, and Carlos Mercado all featuring in the starting XI. OCB got a goal from recent first-team call-up Zakaria Taifi in the win.
Series History
All-time vs. Red Bulls - 9-11-3, +1 GD (4-6-1, 0 GD away)
MLS only vs. Red Bulls - 8-10-3, -2 GD (4-6-1, 0 GD away)
2015 - L 0-2 (H), W 2-5 (A)
2016 - L 3-2 (A), D 1-1 (H), L 2-0 (A)
2017 - W 1-0 (H), L 3-1 (A)
2018 - W 4-3 (H), L 1-0 (A)
2019 - W 0-1 (A), L 0-1 (H)
2020 - W 3-1 (H), D 1-1 (A)
2021 - L 2-1 (A), L 1-2 (H)
2022 - L 0-3 (H), W 5-1 (H/USOC), W 0-1 (A)
2023 - W 1-0 (H), W 0-3 (A)
2024 - D 1-1 (H), L 1-0 (A), L 0-1 (H/MLS Cup Playoffs)
Meet the opponent: New York Red Bulls
- Orlando City heads right back to the tri-state area this week, taking on the New York Red Bulls in a 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs Eastern Conference Finals rematch at the newly-renamed Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey. The Lions will be out for revenge after a 1-0 upset postseason loss to the Red Bulls last November.
- A loss at RBNY last June 1 snapped a five-game unbeaten run for Orlando against New York. Orlando has lost two straight against the Red Bulls for the first time since 2021-22, a three-game skid from which the Lions turned around and won four in a row in the series.
- Orlando City and the Red Bulls are the only two clubs in the league to qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs in each of the past five seasons. RBNY has played in the postseason every year since 2010, an MLS-record 15-year streak.
- The Red Bulls will be thrilled to see the back of Facundo Torres, who scored five of his club-record 47 Orlando City goals against New York, including three at Sports Illustrated Stadium. The only current Lion with a goal against the Red Bulls is Iván Angulo, who scored in a 3-0 rout in New Jersey in 2023. Kyle Smith (2), César Araújo, and Martín Ojeda have all chipped in assists against RBNY.
- Robin Jansson made his Orlando City debut against the Red Bulls at Sports Illustrated Stadium back in March 2019, helping the Lions keep a clean sheet in a 1-0 victory and starting his instant transformation of the Orlando defense. Impress your friends with some trivia – Sacha Kljestan, a former Red Bull star and current MLS Season Pass analyst, scored the Lions’ goal in that game off a João Moutinho cross.
- The Red Bulls had an extensive injury report last weekend led by star forward Lewis Morgan, who is considered “week-to-week” with a training knock and has missed the past two games. Others who missed out against Atlanta over the weekend include right backs Cameron Harper and Kyle Duncan, central midfielder Ronald Donkor, and young forward Mohammed Sofo, who scored in New York’s win over Nashville on March 1.
- RBNY did have its two DPs up top for the 0-0 draw with the Five Stripes – Emil Forsberg, the Swedish international who proved vital to New York’s success last year, and German-Cameroonian striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, a five-year fixture for Bayern Munich who signed with the Red Bulls this past offseason.
