Welcome to your preview and match thread for a Decision Day matchup between Orlando City (14-8-11, 53 points) and Toronto FC (5-14-14, 29 points) at BMO Field in Toronto (6 p.m., MLS Season Pass on Apple TV). It’s the second of the two scheduled meetings between the Eastern Conference rivals and the last game of the 2025 season for both clubs.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of the match.

History

Orlando is 10-9-3 in the evenly split all-time, regular-season series. The Lions are 4-4-3 on the road in the series, but there’s a big asterisk involved in that number with one of those Orlando City wins coming in 2021 in Orlando as the Reds were forced to play in the U.S. to mitigate international travel restrictions during the pandemic.

These teams met for the first time this season back on March 1 in Orlando, with the Lions winning 4-2. Cesar Araujo and Alex Freeman scored moments apart, with Martin Ojeda and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson chipping in goals to more than offset strikes by Sigurd Rosted and Deybi Flores.

The teams last met at BMO Field in Toronto on July 3, 2024, with the Lions earning a 2-1 revenge win on a Ojeda goal and an own goal by Nicksoen Gomis forced by Facundo Torres to come from behind after Derrick Etienne, Jr. had given the Reds an early lead.

The Lions and Reds also met in Orlando on April 27 and the Lions led most of the match on a Duncan McGuire goal. However, the Reds flipped the game on its head late, scoring twice in the final three minutes of normal time. Tyrese Spicer and Prince Owusu scored to lift Toronto to a 2-1 win.

The final meeting of 2023 took place in Toronto on Decision Day, Oct. 21, when McGuire came off the bench and scored twice to beat the Reds 2-0. The teams met in Orlando on July 4, 2023, with Orlando City putting the Reds to the sword on Independence Day, beating the Canadian side, 4-0. Cesar Araujo, McGuire, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, and Ercan Kara scored for the Lions, and Toronto finished with 10 men after Federico Bernardeschi was shown his second yellow card just past the hour mark.

Orlando City also romped 4-0 over the Reds in the previous meeting, Sept. 17, 2022 at Exploria Stadium. Torres, Kara, and Tesho Akindele scored for the Lions to go along with a Lukas MacNaughton own goal. The Lions won on May 14, 2022 at BMO Field, 1-0, thanks to a 92nd-minute goal from Kyle Smith, who flicked a header from a corner kick cross inside the far post to lift the Lions to victory.

The Lions went 2-0-1 in three meetings with Toronto FC in 2021. The teams played to a 1-1 draw at BMO Field on July 17, 2021. Jozy Altidore came off the bench to score the opener but Nani equalized from the penalty spot minutes later. Benji Michel drew the penalty, which was originally ruled a foul on the Orlando winger but was overturned after video review by referee Marcos de Oliveira.

The other Toronto “home match” in the 2021 season series came on June 19 at Exploria Stadium. The Reds were dealing with pandemic restrictions in Canada that forced the team to play home games in the United States. Orlando City built a 2-0 early lead on goals by Akindele and Nani, only to see Toronto tie the match by halftime on goals by Ayo Akinola and Jonathan Osorio. Junior Urso scored late to lift the Lions to a 3-2 victory. The teams first met that year on May 22, with Orlando City claiming a 1-0 win on Akindele’s goal.

The teams did not play in 2020 due to the pandemic. Prior to the MLS stoppage for the pandemic, the teams met most recently in Toronto on Aug. 10, 2019, with the Lions grabbing a point at BMO Field in a 1-1 draw. Michel opened the scoring in the 69th minute but the Reds equalized off a scramble following a set piece in the 77th. The other matchup between the sides that season came on May 4, 2019, when the Reds walked out of Orlando with a 2-0 win on goals by Osorio and Jay Chapman.

The teams split their season series in 2018. Orlando City captured a 2-1 win at home in James O’Connor’s first home game as head coach of the Lions on July 14, 2018. Chris Schuler and Dom Dwyer staked City to a 2-0 lead and Nick Hagglund ruined the shutout in the 94th minute off a Sebastian Giovinco free kick delivery. The 2018 meeting in Toronto saw the Reds get a 2-1 win at BMO Field on Ryan Telfer’s 87th-minute goal.

Toronto shredded Orlando in a 3-1 win on July 5, 2017. Altidore and Giovinco combined to score Toronto’s three goals. Carlos Rivas gave Orlando a consolation goal. In the first meeting of 2017, Orlando out-possessed, out-shot, and out-passed the hosts, and played like the better team on the night. However, the Lions could not overcome a two-goal deficit and Giovinco’s first-half brace led Toronto to a 2-1 win.

The Lions got their first victory in the series on June 25, 2016, winning 3-2 at Camping World Stadium. Kaká scored from the spot in the 10th minute of stoppage time to win it. Cyle Larin and Adrian Winter each gave OCSC leads in the game, only to see Jordan Hamilton and Justin Morrow equalize until the captain’s late winner. The Reds took the second 2016 matchup in Orlando with a 2-1 victory and the teams also drew 0-0 on Sept. 28 of that year.

In 2015, Toronto took home all nine points in the three meetings, beating Orlando by a combined score of 11-1.

Overview

The Lions seem to always play Toronto after a loss. Orlando is coming off a heartbreaking 2-1 defeat at home to the Vancouver Whitecaps a week ago, as a depleted lineup held a late 1-0 advantage provided by Thorhallsson, only to concede twice after the 80th minute — the winning goal coming in the seventh minute of added time. The previous two games against Toronto followed 4-2 losses by the Lions.

City is 6-3-7 on the road this season and must win to guarantee avoiding the play-in match in which the lowest two playoff qualifiers must participate. A win could also help the Lions avoid Philadelphia in the first round, but it might mean facing Cincinnati or Miami, so that’s not much of a better deal.

Toronto FC is coming off a 2-0 loss at LAFC a week ago. The Reds drew eight consecutive games prior to that loss, including some impressive results to hold Philadelphia, Columbus (twice), Miami, and Chicago — all playoff teams. That said, Toronto is 0-3-8 in its last 11 matches, meaning tonight’s hosts are on an 11-game winless skid despite those impressive draws. Toronto is a much-improved defensive side, even though the Lions hit the Reds for four goals back in March. TFC has conceded the fourth-fewest goals in the Eastern Conference (42). The problem for Toronto FC has been scoring, with the Reds producing just 33 in 2025, which ranks next to last in all of MLS to D.C. United’s 29.

The Lions can’t take Toronto’s sluggish offense for granted. After all, the Reds scored twice in the first meeting between the teams. Orlando City got some good news this week in terms of Robin Jansson not being badly hurt in last week’s loss, but he’s still listed as questionable with a knee injury. Given Orlando’s caution with injured players, one would reasonably expect Jansson to sit out tonight, meaning a back line of Adrian Marin, Rodrigo Schlegel, David Brekalo, and Freeman seems likely. Araujo (back) remains questionable as well, and with Joran Gerbet undergoing season-ending knee surgery, Kyle Smith is the likely candidate to pair with Eduard Atuesta in central midfield. That back six will need to do a better job of shielding Pedro Gallese’s net than the Lions did a week ago.

Toronto FC divested itself of its attacking Italian Designated Players, but the Reds acquired attacking midfielder Djordje Mihailovic in the summer transfer window, so he’ll have to be the focal point for Orlando City’s defense. Mihailovic can score goals himself, set them up for others, or create danger from set pieces. For those reasons, the Lions would be wise not to give Toronto many dead ball opportunities around the box. Toronto scored on a set play in Orlando back in March.

“We recognize the importance of the day and the consequences the results can bring to the clubs,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said ahead of the match. “It is a fantastic moment for MLS on Decision Day, where you’re trying to position yourselves in a better spot if you’re in the playoffs. So, we’re getting ready. We’re receiving the players who have been away and trying to rejoin everyone again. It will be good.” 

Orlando City will be without Gerbet (knee), Gustavo Caraballo (international duty), Tahir Reid-Brown (thigh), Wilder Cartagena (Achilles), and Yutaro Tsukada (knee), while Araujo (back) and Jansson (knee) are questionable, as mentioned above. Toronto will be without Alonso Coello (suspension), Maxime Dominguez (knee), Gomis (lower body), Kevin Long (lower body), Zane Monlouis (lower body), and Henry Wingo (lower body).

Match Content

Official Lineups

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese.

Defenders: Adrian Marin, Rodrigo Schlegel, David Brekalo, Alex Freeman.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Eduard Atuesta, Kyle Smith, Marco Pasalic.

Forwards: Martin Ojeda, Duncan McGuire.

Bench: Javier Otero, Zakaria Taifi, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Thomas Williams, Cesar Araujo, Colin Guske, Nico Rodriguez, Tyrese Spicer, Luis Muriel.

Toronto (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Sean Johnson.

Defenders: Kobe Franklin, Sigurd Rosted, Kosi Thompson, Richie Laryea.

Midfielders: Djordje Mihailovic, Jonathan Osorio, Jose Cifuentes, Theo Corbeanu.

Forwards: Derrick Etienne, Jr., Dandre Kerr.

Bench: Luka Gavran, Adisa De Rosario, Raoul Pettreta, Lazar Stefanović, Malik Henry, Markus Cimermancic, Nate Edwards, Jules-Anthony Vilsaint.

Referees

Ref: Fotis Bazakos.
AR1: Micheal Barwegen.
AR2: Mike Nickerson.
4th: Lorenzo Hernandez.
VAR: Sorin Stoica.
AVAR: Robert Schaap.

How to Watch

Match Time: 6 p.m.

Venue: BMO Field — Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

TV/Streaming: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish).

Social Media: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow us on Bluesky Social at @themaneland.bsky.social or follow Orlando City’s official Twitter (@OrlandoCitySC) or Bluesky (@OrlandoCitySC) feed.

Enjoy the match. Go City!