Orlando City is looking to end a three-match winless streak when it hosts Real Salt Lake on Saturday. It’s the first meeting this season between the teams.
The Lions are 6-11-3 and have 21 points. They are in need of victories. They sit 10th in the MLS Eastern Conference and are below the playoff line. Real Salt Lake is 8-7-4 with 25 points and eighth in the Western Conference. The match kicks off at Inter.co Stadium at 7:30 p.m.
Orlando City has two losses and a draw in its last three matches after coming out of the World Cup break with two consecutive victories. Its most recent result was a 2-1 home loss to Chicago on Wednesday.
“It’s a good team. As we always say, we respect every opponent. We analyze every opponent,” Orlando interim head coach Martín Perelman said. “We are playing at home, so we are preparing the game, thinking about us, our plan, our players, our tactics, and again respecting the opponent, but knowing that we are at home and we will try to win like we always do.”
Orlando is also now winless in its last four home matches, with a loss and a draw in the final two Leagues Cup matches as well as a draw against FC Cincinnati before the loss to Chicago. The Lions have not kept a clean sheet in the last six matches, despite goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau ranking second in MLS in saves per game with 4.3.
Real Salt Lake has scored 12 goals in its last five matches, but the visitors are winless in their last six MLS regular season games. Sergi Solans leads the way with 11 goals in 18 appearances, earning a new contract this week for his performances. Orlando needs to find a way to keep him and Diego Luna (five goals, three assists) quiet if the Lions want to earn three points.
The biggest struggle for Orlando is finding a way to keep players from being overworked in such a congested schedule. Saturday’s match is the sixth in 18 days for the team. Perelman has been trying to rotate players, but the Lions have been struggling to see out games with the lack of rest between matches.
“We try to prepare every single player from our roster. Everyone is important. I think so far we’ve given minutes almost to all of them,” Perelman added. “Of course, the players always want to play. They don’t like to rotate, but they accept. They know they are professionals, and the task is to be ready for them always in the moment that the team needs each one of them.”
Nolan Miller (injured), Martin Ojeda (injured), Braian Ojeda (injured), Eduard Atuesta (injured) will not be available for Orlando City. Martin Ojeda is still the leading goal-scorer on the team with 11, but his thigh injury has kept him out since before the World Cup pause. He is reportedly training on his own but has no set return date.
Orlando City’s next match will be at Minnesota United on Aug. 29.
Midfielder on loan to RSL
Orlando City SC has loaned midfielder Colin Guske to Real Salt Lake through the end of the 2026 season, the club announced Friday. As part of the loan, the Lions will receive $50,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM), while RSL holds an option to make the trade permanent at the end of the loan.
A product of the Orlando City Academy, Guske signed a first-team contract with the club as a homegrown player Dec. 16, 2024. The St. Johns native has made 16 appearances for the Lions across all competitions, including a start in the club’s Leagues Cup 2026 match against Atlético de San Luis.