Orlando City is on the road this weekend after a 2-1 victory at home in the Lions’ previous match.
The Lions (7-11-3, 24 points) head north to face Minnesota United (7-7-7, 28 points) at Allianz Field on Saturday at 8:30 p.m.
“(We) focus first of all on our team, because we respect every opponent. But for us, we are always on the field, so we need to take care of ourselves,” said Orlando interim head coach Martin Perelman. “Every time we play, we want to win. We try to do our best, and hopefully, when we can do it, we can bring the points. We need the points, and we will go for them.”
Antoine Griezmann was in peak form in the 2-1 win over Real Salt Lake, scoring twice to give the Lions the victory. He has three goals and two assists in six MLS matches for Orlando, and he will look to keep that form going against a Minnesota side that has conceded 29 goals in 21 matches.
It is the first meeting this season between the teams. Orlando City is ninth in the MLS Eastern Conference standings. Minnesota is 10th in the Western Conference. The Lions are 1-1-1 since the restart of play after the Leagues Cup’s first phase.
Defensively, the Lions have shown improvement but still have some deficiencies. The signing of new left-back Vinícius Nogueira on loan should help, but the paperwork is still being finalized before he can make his first appearance for the club. Until then, Orlando needs to find a way to keep a clean sheet, something they have not done in the last seven matches.
Minnesota is led by Kelvin Yeboah (10 goals) and Joaquín Pereyra (three goals, seven assists) and just ended a five-match winless run with a 5-1 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes. Pereyra is second in the league with 17 big chances created, something the Lions need to shut down.
The Lions have conceded first in each of their last four league games, a trend they won’t want to continue on the road. Maxime Crépeau ranks third in the league for saves per match at 4.2, but relying on the goalkeeper to keep them in games is not a sustainable approach in MLS.
Orlando City’s players need to find a way to stay focused from the start and keep the Loons from scoring early if they want to come back home with three points.
“We need to change that. I don’t know how, but we can’t start the games like that … defensively we are without energy or without pressure. So, this is something to watch and to do better,” Griezmann said after the victory over Salt Lake. “It’s always difficult to start with a deficit. Now we continue pushing forward and growing.”
After visiting Minnesota, Orlando City returns home for its next match, next Saturday against San Diego FC.