Emphatically defeated 4-0 at Real Salt Lake, Oscar Pareja‘s Orlando City SC must pick themselves up quick for another road test – this time against fierce rivals Atlanta United at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Each regular season, this is the away game many Orlando City SC supporters want to win the most with the Lions having only won once in Georgia in eight separate attempts.
With that single victory played behind closed doors too due to COVID, City crave a win in front of a packed house.
This won’t be easy to achieve of course with The Five Stripes having gone 7-3-1 at home this season.
So far this season, Charlotte FC are the only team to win at Mercedes-Benz Stadium – 1-3 back in May.
Averaging home gates of 42,000+ and playing on artificial turf, scoring early and silencing the Supporters’ Section is always key.
In a notoriously challenging away venue, City must defend a damn lot better than they did in Sandy, Utah.
Oscar Pareja would’ve been extremely disappointed by the manner of the cheap headed goals we conceded at RSL.
Indeed, César Araújo lost his marker not once but twice in Orlando’s penalty area to let Chicho Arango and Justen Glad score easy first-half headers.
Unchallenged off two set pieces, the game was effectively taken away from a leggy Orlando City SC side within just 41 minutes.
Prior to RSL, Orlando City SC had scored first in eight of their last 11 MLS fixtures, a key part of City’s recent resurgence.
Recovering a two-goal deficit was a mighty big ask, especially when travel fatigued and playing at altitude.
With the tank empty, the second-half proved just as humbling as the first.
Well-taken Jefferson Savarino and Anderson Julio strikes ran up a sobering scoreline.
In the end, our Lions returned to Central Florida with their tails between their legs.
Looking ahead to Saturday, City have had a whole week’s rest compared to Gonzalo Pineda’s side.
With Atlanta United defeated 2-1 at New England Revolution on Wednesday, let’s hope this extra rest plays in Orlando City SC‘s favour in enemy territory.
Atlanta United vs Orlando City SC
Last 3 head-to-heads
- July 17, 2022: Atlanta United 1 Orlando City SC 1 (MLS)
- September 14, 2022: Orlando City SC 0 Atlanta United 1 (MLS)
- May 27, 2023: Orlando City SC 1 Atlanta United 1 (MLS)
2017/23 head-to-head stats
- It was 1-1 the last time the sides met (May 2023)
- Played Atlanta 18 times in MLS – Atlanta 8, Draws 7, Orlando 3
- Orlando have surrendered leads in 2 of the last 3 MLS head-to-heads
- Atlanta have won 7 of their 11 home fixtures in MLS this season
- Orlando have scored the first goal in 8 of their last 12 MLS fixtures
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Watching the game
Atlanta United vs Orlando City SC will be shown live on Apple TV at 00:30 (GMT) on Sunday, July 16.
Remember, UK supporters can watch all of Orlando City SC‘s 2023 MLS regular season fixtures by subscribing to Apple TV’s “MLS Season Pass”.
Subscribe now by clicking here.
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