Two sides with similar starts to the 2025 Major League Soccer season are in action on Saturday as Orlando City welcome New York Red Bulls to Inter&Co Stadium.
Both teams boast 11 points apiece from their opening seven matches and are separated in the standings by only goal difference heading into this weekend's meeting.
Match preview
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Orlando City did not have the best of introductions to the new campaign, off the back of two losses from their opening three games, but they are without defeat in the subsequent four matches, picking up eight points in that time.
Oscar Pareja's men fell to New York Red Bulls in the semi-finals of last season's playoffs and are expected to be one of the major contenders once again, together with the likes of Inter Miami and Columbus Crew.
The Lions were held to a goalless stalemate by Philadelphia Union last time out in a game which saw them fail to find the back of the net for the first time this season, having been under the cosh for large spells of the contest.
Nonetheless, Orlando City still boast the most goals scored of any MLS side so far (15), although it remains to be seen if that will come in handy against an opposing side that are unbeaten in four straight editions of this fixture, keeping two clean sheets in that time.
With a chance to go five games unbeaten for the first time since July 2024, Saturday's hosts will be keen to continue their recent resurgence in front of their fans, who have seen their team score a whopping 10 times in only three matches this season.
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Having come close to going all the way last season before falling to eventual champions Los Angeles Galaxy at the final hurdle, the New York Red Bulls were one of the more active teams in terms of additions, bringing in a host of new faces.
Former Bayern Munich striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting is arguably the pick of the aforementioned bunch and has made a decent start to life with three goals and one assist in seven appearances.
The most recent of Choupo-Moting's strikes was a penalty which proved to be the winning effort for Sandro Schwarz's men in their comeback 2-1 victory over Chicago Fire at the Red Bull Arena on Sunday morning.
Three wins, two draws and two defeats from seven matches so far indicate much room for improvement, and the Bulls will first need to ramp up their offensive output, having scored the joint-fewest goals of any side in the top 10 (nine).
Only one of the Bulls' meagre tally of nine goals so far has come away from home, and it is no surprise Saturday's visitors are still awaiting a first victory on the road this term ahead of their upcoming journey to Florida.
Team News
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Long-term absentee Wilder Cartagena is yet to fully recuperate from an Achilles tendon injury and remains unavailable for Orlando City, alongside Yutaro Tsukada, who is nursing a knee problem.
Favian Loyola and Nicolas Rodriguez are both nursing respective thigh issues, with the former having not featured this season, while the latter has only made one appearance.
Roald Mitchell and Lewis Morgan are ruled out for New York Red Bulls due to knee injuries, but Kyle Duncan and Cameron Harper are stepping up their recovery and could return to the fold anytime soon.
Choupo-Moting has registered direct goal contributions in four successive matches leading up to Saturday's affair, making the Cameroonian one to look out for.
Orlando City possible starting lineup:
Gallese; Brekalo, Schlegel, Jansson, Freeman; Cortes, Thorhallsson, Gerbet, Pasalic; Muriel, Ojeda
New York Red Bulls possible starting lineup:
Coronel; Nealis, Eile, Parker; Ngoma, Carballo, Edelman, Valencia; Sofo, Choupo-Moting, Forsberg
We say: Orlando City 2-1 New York Red Bulls
There is little to choose between the teams, and Saturday's game could easily swing in either direction.
However, we are just about leaning towards a win for the home side when all is said and done.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Adepoju Marvellous
