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Orlando City
Major League Soccer | Gameweek 8
May 23, 2021 at 12am UK
Florida Citrus Bowl
Toronto FC

Orlando City
1 - 0
Toronto

Akindele (12')
Akindele (77')
FT(HT: 1-0)

Soteldo (21'), Auro (63')

Preview: Orlando City vs. Toronto - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Major League Soccer clash between Orlando City and Toronto, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Orlando City will look to extend their unbeaten start to the Major League Soccer season on Sunday, when they welcome Toronto to Florida.

The Lions have kicked their campaign off with two victories and three draws to move into second spot in the Eastern Conference, and they will aim to make it six games without a defeat on Sunday.


Match preview

Orlando City head coach Oscar Pareja during the second half against the Nashville SC at Nissan Stadium in September 2020© Reuters

Orlando City come into this game on the back of their second victory of the MLS season, as they defeated DC United 1-0 away from home on Monday.

Mauricio Pereyra found the net in the seventh minute of the game, and Oscar Pareja's side held on for an impressive clean sheet to seal all three points.

That followed a 1-1 draw with third-placed New York City FC and a comfortable 3-0 victory over FC Cincinnati, as Tesho Akindele scored inside the first minute before Nani and Junior Urso both found the net to seal a comfortable win.

After a strong start to the season with nine points from their opening five matches, the Lions find themselves in third spot in the Eastern Conference having played a game fewer than league leaders New England Revolution, who sit just two points ahead.

That is largely down to their solid defensive record, with Pareja's men having only conceded two goals in their first five matches, while they will look to improve on their attacking threat, having netted six goals in that time.

They will look to add a second straight victory on Sunday to potentially move to the summit of the division, extending their unbeaten run in the process.

The Florida outfit welcome a Toronto side who have had a slow start to the domestic season, with five points from their first five fixtures.

Toronto FC forward Jozy Altidore celebrates his goal with teammates on May 12, 2021 © Reuters

After a poor start to the campaign with two defeats and a draw from the opening three matches, Chris Armas's side come into Sunday's match with some form having picked up four points from their last two matches.

The Reds firstly recorded their opening victory of the league season with a 2-0 win over Columbus Crew at home, as Michael Bradley opened the scoring early on before Jozy Altidore doubled their lead in the dying minutes to secure the three points.

Armas's men then picked up a commendable point against third-placed New York City, as Jacob Shaffelburg found the net in the 74th minute to earn a point for his side after Jesus Medina gave the hosts the lead early in the second half.

The Canadian outfit will now look to ensure that they put their slow start behind them and build a solid run on the back of two impressive results, starting with what would be an eye-catching victory on Sunday against the unbeaten Lions.

Orlando City Major League Soccer form:
  • D
  • D
  • W
  • D
  • W

Toronto Major League Soccer form:
  • L
  • D
  • L
  • W
  • D

Toronto form (all competitions):
  • D
  • L
  • L
  • L
  • W
  • D



Team News

Orlando City midfielder Mauricio Pereyra celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against D.C. United on May 16, 2021 © Reuters

Orlando City will remain without Brazilian forward Alexandre Pato through injury, while Uri Rosell and David Loera will also continue spells on the sidelines.

Tesho Akindele should continue to lead the line with the support of Mauricio Pereyra, who netted the winner last time out, and Nani, who has scored three goals in the first five games of the season.

At the other end of the pitch, Rodrigo Schlegel and Antonio Carlos should continue their solid centre-back pairing, having kept three clean sheets so far this season.

Toronto will come into this game without Ifunanyachi Achara, Julian Dunn and Alejandro Pozuelo, with all three being absent since the start of the season.

Winger Erickson Gallardo will also miss out through a groin injury, while left-back Justin Morrow is also expected to continue his spell out of action.

Jacob Shaffelburg will hope that his equaliser off the bench last time out is enough to earn him a starting spot on Sunday, as he aims to come into the forward line alongside the likes of Altidore.

Orlando City possible starting lineup:
Gallese; Smith, Schlegel, Carlos, Moutinho; Mendez, Urso; Nani, Pereyra, Michel; Akindele

Toronto possible starting lineup:
Bono; Laryea, Mavinga, Gonzalez, Lawrence; Auro, Bradley; Shaffelburg, Altidore, Soteldo; Akinola


SM words green background

We say: Orlando City 1-1 Toronto

Both sides have displayed positive signs coming into this game, and we expect them to share the points in Florida.

While Toronto had a disappointing start to the campaign, they have since bounced back with two commendable results, and should be a match for an Orlando City side who will look to continue their unbeaten run.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data



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Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Orlando City win with a probability of 45.4%. A win for Toronto had a probability of 30.71% and a draw had a probability of 23.9%.

The most likely scoreline for a Orlando City win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.22%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (8.24%) and 2-0 (6.9%). The likeliest Toronto win was 1-2 (7.37%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.02%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with an 8.2% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Orlando City would win this match.


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Eastern Conference

TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Inter MiamiInter Miami1484235201528
2FC CincinnatiCincinnati138321610627
3New York Red BullsNY Red Bulls136522419523
4New York City FCNY City136251615120
5Charlotte FCCharlotte FC136251413120
6Toronto136161619-319
7Columbus Crew124621612418
8DC United134542023-317
9Philadelphia UnionPhiladelphia123542221114
10Nashville SCNashville123541619-314
11Orlando City123451420-613
12Atlanta UnitedAtlanta123361615112
13CF MontrealMontreal123361626-1012
14Chicago Fire132471223-1110
15New England RevolutionNew England11218922-137

Western Conference

TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Real Salt LakeSalt Lake1374222111125
2Minnesota UnitedMinnesota Utd116321913621
3Los Angeles FCLos Angeles136342419521
4Los Angeles GalaxyLA Galaxy135622521421
5Colorado RapidsColorado136342118321
6Austin FCAustin135441615119
7Vancouver WhitecapsVancouver125341814418
8Houston DynamoHouston125251112-117
9St Louis City123721817116
10Seattle SoundersSeattle133461516-113
11San Jose EarthquakesEarthquakes134182228-613
12Sporting Kansas CityKansas122551921-211
13Dallas113261216-411
14Portland TimbersPortland132472127-610


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