Milestones, storylines and more ahead of the Lions road match at Minnesota United in “The Road Ahead” driven by Audi:

Milestones

– Martín Ojeda needs three goals (all competitions) to tie Facundo Torres’ Orlando City club record of 47 career tallies. Ojeda is four assists away from Mauricio Pereyra’s club record, also 47. Ojeda is two appearances away from 150 as a Lion.

– Iván Angulo’s next start will be his 150th for Orlando City in all competitions. Angulo leads the Lions with nine assists in all competitions in 2026 and is seven away from Pereyra’s record.

– Daryl Dike’s next goal will be his 21st for Orlando City, tying former teammate Tesho Akindele for tenth on the club’s all-time scoring list.

– Marco Pašalić is two goals away from 20 for the club across all competitions, two behind Dike

Stats & Storylines

– Antoine Griezmann came up huge for Orlando City last weekend, notching his first brace as a Lion and lifting his side to a 2-1 comeback win over Real Salt Lake at Inter.co Stadium. The three points saw the Lions go above the playoff line in the Eastern Conference for the first time in 2026, a remarkable turnaround after winning just one of their first eight MLS games.

– Griezmann is up to 4g/2a in his first nine games as a Lion, a span in which Orlando City has gone 4-3-2 with a +4 goal differential in all competitions. The Frenchman was named MLS Player of the Matchday for his sensational performance against Real Salt Lake, which included three dribbles, six of nine duels won, and a game-high 11 touches in the opposition penalty area in addition to the two goals.

– After a first half in which Orlando City trailed 1-0 and failed to record a shot, interim head coach Martín Perelman made three halftime changes, swapping in Daryl Dike, Justin Ellis, and Joran Gerbet while moving Iván Angulo out to the left wing and dropping Griezmann into midfield. The tactical shift worked like a charm, as Orlando recorded 2.3 expected goals on 13 shots in just 45 minutes after halftime.

– While Orlando’s results have been solid since Griezmann’s arrival, its underlying numbers suggest even better times are on the way. The Lions have finished with more expected goals than their opponents in eight of their nine matches in all competitions since the World Cup, posting 19.1 total expected goals (with 16 actual) against 12.5 expected goals allowed (12 actual).

Series History

All-time vs. Minnesota United – 2-3-1, 0 GD (1-1-1, 0 GD away)

MLS only vs. Minnesota United – 1-3-1, -2 GD (1-1-1, 0 GD away)

2020 – W 3-1 (N/MLS is Back Semifinals)

Meet the opponent: Minnesota United

– It’s another Western Conference opponent for Orlando City this week as the Lions head up to the Twin Cities to face Minnesota United FC for the first time in any competition since March 2024. Orlando’s last visit to Allianz Field in Minnesota came in April 2023, a come-from-behind 2-1 victory powered by goals from Iván Angulo and Duncan McGuire.

– The Loons snapped a nine-game winless skid this past Saturday in emphatic fashion, heading west to PayPal Park and blowing out San Jose 5-1. DP attacking midfielder Joaquín Pereyra scored the MLS Goal of the Week, a sensational rabona from the edge of the box, while fellow DP Kelvin Yeboah added a first-half brace. Minnesota is 7-7-7 on the season, good for 28 points and tenth in the West, though it is even on points with each of the three teams in front of them.

– Yeboah has put a disappointing 2025 behind him, scoring 10 times in 2026, while Pereyra has added 3g/9a as one of the league’s more underrated playmakers. Another Loon to watch is left wingback Anthony Markanich, who led all defenders in world soccer with 13 goals in 2025 as a threat on set pieces and has followed that up with 5g/3a this season.