Orlando City will play hosts to Philadelphia Union this Friday as the two look to keep up their astute playoff battle in what could turn out to be one of the most important fixtures in the Eastern Conference so far.
Óscar Pareja’s squad have taken a sharp turn away from the near the top of the table in recent weeks, with his side drawing to Toronto, losing to the struggling Chicago Fire and witnessing another defeat to New York Red Bulls.
All sights on tomorrow 🔒 @RodriSchlegel | #ORLvPHI pic.twitter.com/HYG7raCAtv— Orlando City SC (@OrlandoCitySC) July 22, 2021
All sights on tomorrow 🔒 @RodriSchlegel | #ORLvPHI pic.twitter.com/HYG7raCAtv
Now, as a result, Orlando sit fourth in the Eastern table and have gone from six wins out of 10 games, to six wins, four draws and three defeats and saw their grip on the top two loosen as the New England Revolution begin to expand their lead at the top.
The Lions have, however, been exceptional at home this season and currently boast one of the best home records in the MLS.
Orlando demolished the San Jose Earthquakes 5-0 on home soil, with only the Red Bulls taking all three points off them on their own turf so far.
All attention will be on the European veteran Luis Nani this Friday, as the ex-Manchester United man has now racked up seven goals from 11 games this campaign and he remains one of the only players in the MLS to rival his ex-teammate, Javier Hernandez, in the goalscoring charts.
As for the Union, they are arguably the closest to threatening the Revs at the top of the table this season in the Eastern side of things.
Currently, Jim Curtin’s side have taken 23 points from 14 games and only six of these have come as a victory, following their slight change in form over the past few weeks.
The Union did beat DC United in the last game, but after drawing with the Red Bulls and losing to Nashville whilst drawing with Chicago, the club have gradually slipped away from the top of the table.
In fact, if the Philadelphia side are to continue their march towards the top, they cannot afford a defeat here to Orlando.
With this said, it's a tough game to call as only a point separates them in the table, as the home side has a game in hand as well. At the same time, the form is nearly the same in the past month, so it's easy to go for a draw here.
The MLS Eastern Conference is exceptionally tight this year and other than the Revs, there is no runaway winner, and we expect this fashion to continue with another close game.