After a bitterly disappointing 3-0 loss at rivals Atlanta United, Orlando City SC must pick themselves up quickly for a home game with CF Montréal.
Out fought and out thought by The Five Stripes, Oscar Pareja‘s side were extremely flat and uncharacteristically lacked any urgency or quality at Mercedes-Benz Stadium last Friday.
The performance was surprising on two fronts.
Firstly, because everybody in Orlando knows what Atlanta United away means to Lions supporters.
Secondly, because Oscar Pareja selected a talented enough starting XI to achieve a much better result – especially with Josef Martínez absent.
With Daryl Dike, Nani, Mauricio Pereyra and Benji Michel all starting, our attack was virtually non-existent all evening in Georgia.
Admittedly, Gonzalo Pineda’s Atlanta United performed well and started strong with Luiz Araújo and Ezequiel Barco impressing throughout the 90.
In truth, Orlando City SC were on the back foot early on and never ever recovered on the plastic pitch (not an excuse).
Ultimately, there’s ways to lose soccer games – with effort, pride and determination.
These were all severely lacking and this CF Montréal game at Exploria Stadium presents the perfect opportunity to recover.
Losing 0-1 at home to Nashville SC on Saturday, Wilfried Nancy’s CF Montréal could do with a pick-me-up in their own playoff push.
Unfortunately, this result saw Nashville SC climb back above Orlando City SC into second in the Eastern Conference.
Nothing but three points will be the expectation for Orlando City SC who cannot afford to become complacent entering autumn.
Orlando City SC vs CF Montréal – 2015/20 head-to-head stats
Orlando City SC last faced CF Montréal in November 2020 when they were known as the Montreal Impact.
A game taking place at Red Bull Arena rather than Stade Saputo due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, the Lions got all three points.
The 0-1 victory over Thierry Henry’s side was far from a classic but City’s deciding goal oozed class.
On 39 minutes, Mauricio Pereyra laid in a trademark defence-splitting pass before Daryl Dike scored for a third successive game.
With Oscar Pareja‘s side having already sealed qualification to the 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs, City supporters continued to revel in this first-time achievement.
Montreal Impact 0 Orlando City SC 1 – Highlights – November 1, 2020 (Credit: Major League Soccer)
There is symmetry across the win, draw and loss columns in the Orlando City SC vs CF Montréal / CF Montréal vs Orlando City SC game series so far.
Draws are a rarity in this international fixture with just TWO played out since 2015.
With both Orlando City SC and CF Montréal sharing SIX victories each, City’s last home MLS victory over the Quebec side came way back in May 2016 (2-1).
A Cyle Larin brace was enough to overturn Ignacio Piatti’s opener in front of 34,081 supporters at Camping World Stadium.
Home MLS victories over CF Montréal have been in all too short supply from an Orlando City SC perspective.
We just mentioned that our most recent home victory over the Canadian side was back in May 2016.
Indeed, CF Montréal are unbeaten in their last FOUR MLS regular season visits to Central Florida.
More recently, the Lions beat Montreal Impact 1-0 in the #MLSisBack Tournament Round of 16 but this wasn’t an official home fixture of course.
The last MLS head-to-head at Exploria Stadium came back in March 2019.
Orji Okwonkwo and Ignacio Piatti (x2) goals consigned James O’Connor‘s City to their first defeat (1-3) of the season.
Orlando City SC 1 Montreal Impact 3 – Highlights – March 16, 2019 (Credit: Major League Soccer)
Orlando City SC form
On paper, you would expect Orlando City SC to come through this CF Montréal fixture unscathed.
But we all know that soccer isn’t played on A4 and nothing can be taken for granted.
Orlando City SC are undefeated in their last SIX home games, winning FOUR and drawing TWO games in this streak.
Defending the fortress all season long, New York Red Bulls remain the only MLS side to defeat the Lions in the 407 this campaign.
Orlando City SC 3 Columbus Crew 2 – Highlights – September 4, 2021 (Credit: Columbus Crew SC)
CF Montréal form
As we just mentioned, nothing can be taken for granted in MLS.
Despite a healthy home record, Orlando City SC cannot afford to let any complacency creep into their MLS campaign.
City will take some encouragement from CF Montréal’s poor road form however.
Wilfried Nancy’s side have failed to win their last SEVEN road games, losing FOUR and drawing THREE in this streak.
CF Montréal’s last road victory came at Chicago Fire (0-1) way back in May thanks to Mason Toye’s late winner.
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Don’t forget, Orlando City SC vs CF Montréal will be shown LIVE on FreeSports in the early hours of Thursday morning at 00:35 (GMT).
You can view our TV Fixture Tracker by clicking here.
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