Sports Mole previews Saturday’s Major League Soccer clash between Toronto and Orlando City, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
In need a win to guarantee themselves a place in the opening round of MLS Cup playoffs, Orlando City travel to BMO Field on Saturday for a date with Toronto.
The Reds sit 12th in the Eastern Conference table following a 2-0 loss at Los Angeles FC, while Orlando are seventh, losing 2-1 at home to the Vancouver Whitecaps last weekend.
Match preview
Once again, there is only pride to play for in Toronto on Decision Day of the MLS regular season, a feeling this fan base know all too well.
This will mark the fifth successive year that this team fail to make the post-season, while they are on the verge of finishing with fewer than 30 points for the fifth time in a 34-match campaign should they lose on Saturday.
If there is one consolation from another disappointing season, it could be the consistency this team have shown down the stretch of 2025.
Robin Fraser’s men have points in eight of their previous nine league fixtures but have not won a match in this competition since July at San Diego FC (1-0).
Failing to win this weekend would mark their worst-ever MLS regular season at home in terms of wins, currently on two, one fewer than the 2012 side.
Toronto are unbeaten in six successive MLS affairs at BMO Field, with TFC coming from behind to earn a point on four of those occasions.
A series of slip-ups in recent weeks has Orlando City out of contention for home-field advantage in the first round playoffs and barely hanging on to an opening round berth.
The Lions will enter this upcoming game riding a three-match winless run in this competition, netting a goal or fewer in each of those outings.
Oscar Pareja’s team have failed to win their last three away games in MLS, but they have won their previous two Decision Day contests on the road.
If they triumph on Saturday and Nashville SC fail to claim maximum points in their game, it will mark the fifth time this decade that Orlando finishes in a top-six position in the Eastern Conference.
Orlando are winless in their last three regular-season affairs versus Canadian opposition, failing to score in their only visit to Canada this year (0-0 draw at CF Montreal in April).
That said, they have gotten the better of Toronto numerous times of late, currently on a seven-match winning run against them heading into this weekend and unbeaten in six consecutive visits to BMO Field.
Toronto Major League Soccer form:
Orlando City Major League Soccer form:
Orlando City form (all competitions):
Team News
Lower-body issues have plagued Toronto this season, and on Decision Day, that will likely keep Henry Wingo, Zane Monlouis, Kevin Long and Nicksoen Gomis out of the lineup.
Alonso Coello will not take part in Saturday’s match either, after the Spaniard was sent off in the dying stages of their game against LAFC.
On the Orlando City side, Cesar Araujo is questionable with a sore thigh, as are Zakaria Taifi and Tahir Reid-Brown, while Yutaro Tsukada is out with a cruciate ligament tear and Wilder Cartagena will be sidelined because of an Achilles tendon rupture.
Joran Gerbet is likely to sit out so he can recover from a knee injury, while Dagur Dan Thorhallsson had the only goal in their defeat to Vancouver last Saturday.
Toronto possible starting lineup:
Johnson; Franklin, Thompson, Petretta; Edwards, Cifuentes, Kerr, Etienne; Mihailovic; Coebeanu, Vilsaint
Orlando City possible starting lineup:
Gallese; Thorhallsson, Schlegel, Jansson, Marin; Mohammed, Smith, Atuesta, Angulo; Muriel, Ojeda
We say: Toronto 1-2 Orlando City
The Reds have lost five consecutive Decision Day matches, and although they have put up some respectable showings lately, they are missing the decisiveness that can propel a team to victory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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