Orlando City hits the road to take on Nashville SC in the Music City at Geodis Park Saturday night. Martin Perelman will lead the Lions in his second match as the interim head coach. Orlando City is coming off its first victory of the 2026 season and will want to keep the good times rolling against one of the Eastern Conference leaders. What must Orlando City do to earn all three points against a tough Nashville SC Saturday night?

Run it Back (Line)

Nashville has Sam Surridge and Hany Mukhtar. I’m not sure if you’ve heard of them, but they are pretty good at scoring goals. In fact, the two have combined for six goals and an assist so far this season. Nashville has a total of eight goals and eight assists. Obviously, stopping or at least limiting Surridge and Mukhtar is crucial to getting a positive result.

Orlando City’s defense did a decent job defending against CF Montreal, but Nashville is an entirely different animal because of Surridge and Mukhtar. Communication and discipline will be key to success on defense. The midfield will need to chip in to try to sniff out attacks before they can develop, and no one can have a lapse in concentration.

Stand on His Head

This one is cheating a little because it still speaks to stopping Nashville’s attack, but it’s likely that Maxime Crepeau will need to combine the performances of the second half against the New York Red Bulls and the first half of the Inter Miami match. In other words, he will need a complete game and to perhaps stand on his head to keep Nashville off the scoresheet.

I’ve already addressed the defense in front of him, but the Canadian international will need to do his part. I’m not just talking about shot stopping — though that will be a big part of it. Tthere can be no slip-ups of any kind, let alone like the mistake he made against New York City FC. He can’t get caught too far out, his distribution needs to be better than usual, and he needs to communicate with his back line effectively.

Build on the Momentum

Orlando City’s attack showed real signs of life against CF Montreal. Duncan McGuire finally scored this season, Martin Ojeda added another, and Marco Pasalic looked more comfortable even if he didn’t score. It’s likely Orlando City will need multiple goals to get a result against Nashville, so these players, and potentially some others, will need to provide some offense.

A big part of the success last week was having Ivan Angulo doing good things up and down the field. The Lions need him to continue to do so. — no dribbling into traffic and losing possession…at least not more than once. I honestly don’t even need him to score a goal if he can continue to set them up like he did against Montreal. Nashville is likely to score more than once, and Orlando needs to do the same.

That is what I will be looking for Saturday night. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!