Lions look to make it six-straight unbeaten against neighbors to the north
ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando City SC (7-4-4, 25 points) returns to downtown Orlando for a two-game home stint, first set to take on Atlanta United FC (2-5-8, 14 points) on Friday, July 30 at Exploria Stadium. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET.
The match, presented by Heineken, will be nationally broadcast on ESPN and ESPN Deportes, while being transmitted on 96.9 The Game in English and Acción 97.9FM, 810AM in Spanish. Tickets are available here or by calling (855) ORL-CITY.
“We’re here preparing again with another quick turnaround, preparing for our match against Atlanta,” Head Coach Oscar Pareja said ahead of Friday’s match. “We’re trying to bounce back and engage in the couple of training sessions that we have in order to be prepared for the game tactically, with our strategy too and prepare our players mentally, physically and to be ready for the game. That’s our duty right now.”
City will look to make it six-straight unbeaten against The Five Stripes on Friday night, holding a record of 2-0-3 in the last five fixtures against Atlanta. The two last faced off in the season opener for both sides on April 17, a match that resulted in a scoreless draw.
The Lions will look to bounce back from a road loss to NYCFC this past Sunday, with goalkeeper Pedro Gallese tallying a season-high nine saves in the contest to earn Man of the Match honors.
Nani leads the side with seven goals on the year, followed by Tesho Akindele and Benji Michel with three. Mauricio Pereyra holds the team-high in assists with six, with Nani, Akindele and Chris Mueller all totaling four to follow.
Atlanta comes into the match after falling at home to Columbus this past weekend. Jonathan Mensah scored the eventual game-winner in the 65th to give the road side all three points.
Marcelino Moreno leads the Five Stripes with three goals this year, while Jake Mulraney leads the side with the same number of assists.
Following Friday’s fixture, the Lions will begin preparations for a midweek matchup with intrastate foes Inter Miami CF on Wednesday, Aug. 4 at Exploria Stadium. Kickoff for that fixture is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET.
