Welcome to your match thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City (1-5-1, 4 points) and the Houston Dynamo (2-4-0, 6 points) at Inter&Co Stadium. It\u2019s the only meeting scheduled for 2026 in this cross-conference series between two sides that haven\u2019t met since the 2023 Leagues Cup group stage.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what you need to know ahead of the match.<\/p>\n
History<\/p>\n
Orlando City is 2-2-2 in the all-time series (1-0-2 at home) in league play and 2-2-3 (1-0-3 at home) in all competitions. <\/p>\n
The last time these sides faced each other came in Leagues Cup play in Orlando on July 21, 2023. The Lions fell behind 1-0 as current Orlando City and former Houston fullback Griffin Dorsey took a dive in the box, drawing a highly questionable penalty on Rafael Santos deep in first-half stoppage time. Amine Bassi scored from the spot to put the Dynamo ahead just before the break. Duncan McGuire equalized just seconds into the second half and the teams played to a 1-1 draw<\/a> before the Lions won 5-4 in penalties to claim the extra point in the competition. Pedro Gallese stopped Houston\u2019s Hector Herrera on the first shot and no one else missed their penalty, including both Dorsey, Santos, and former Lion\/current Dynamo defender Antonio Carlos.<\/p>\n The last time these teams met in MLS play was on June 18, 2022 at Exploria Stadium with Orlando City winning 2-1<\/a> on an Ercan Kara brace. One of the goals deflected in off of him, but that still counts. Sebastian Ferreira got Houston on the board but the visitors could not complete the comeback. It was Orlando\u2019s first win in the series since the Lions\u2019 first ever road game back in early 2015 provided the first MLS victory for the club.<\/p>\n Due to the quirky scheduling since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the previous meeting between the teams took place on Sept. 21, 2019 in Houston, with the Dynamo winning, 2-1<\/a>. Dom Dwyer struck just six minutes in, but goals three minutes apart by Alberth Elis<\/a> and Christian Ramirez in the 70th and 73rd minutes, respectively, turned that match around.<\/p>\n The teams met in Orlando on Sept. 22, 2018, with the match ending in a 0-0 draw<\/a>. That was a memorable match for former Orlando City goalkeeper Adam Grinwis, who made his MLS debut that night.<\/p>\n The Lions went to BBVA Stadium in 2017 and were wiped off the field, 4-0<\/a>. A leggy Orlando team flew directly to Houston from Toronto after a hard-fought game against the Reds and saw the rested Dynamo\u2019s speed on full display. Elis,\u00a0Mauro Manotas<\/a>\u00a0(twice), and\u00a0Romell Quioto<\/a>\u00a0provided the\u00a0goals and it could have been worse.<\/p>\n The 2016 match in Orlando was another 0-0 draw<\/a>, in what was a forgettable game under Bobby Murphy, who was serving his first stint as Orlando City\u2019s interim coach following the firing of Adrian Heath.<\/p>\n In the first meeting, back in 2015, the Lions went to Texas and came home with a 1-0 victory in Houston<\/a>. Goalkeeper Tyler Deric\u00a0\u2014 under extreme pressure from\u00a0Pedro Ribeiro<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 punched the ball into the back of his own net for the only goal of the match. That was Orlando City\u2019s historic, first MLS victory.<\/p>\n Overview<\/p>\n Orlando City is coming off a 1-1 draw at Columbus<\/a> on Sunday and a 1-0 road U.S. Open Cup win<\/a> on Wednesday at FC Naples. The Lions weren\u2019t great in either match, but they managed to get results on the road as they continue to try to figure things out in a nightmare start to the 2026 season. Orlando is 1-2-0 at home this season and has scored all but one of its six goals on the season in the friendly confines of Inter&Co Stadium.<\/p>\n Both Tyrese Spicer and Robin Jansson returned to the lineup over the last week and made big impacts. Jansson was a rock in the middle of the OCSC defense in Columbus, and it was not surprising that the Crew only managed to level the game after he subbed off. Spicer scored on a rocket shot Wednesday for the only goal in a game that saw Orlando badly outplayed over the last 30 minutes by USL League One competition. Only a controversial no-goal call prevented what could have been a quick exit from the U.S. Open Cup. Dorsey also returned from injury against the Crew after missing time with a lower back issue.<\/p>\n Houston, like Orlando, is on short rest. The Dynamo were put on full blast a week ago in Colorado, losing 6-2 to the Rapids on the road. Houston took that beating out on USL Championship side El Paso Locomotive FC on Wednesday, winning 4-1 at home in U.S. Open Cup action. The Dynamo are 0-2-0 on the road in 2026.<\/p>\n The Dynamo attack added Designated Players Mateusz Bogusz, who scored in Wednesday\u2019s game, and Guilherme Santos in the off-season. Guilherme leads Houston in goals (5) and assists (4), easily earning his DP tag in a quick start. Bogusz has started more slowly with just one goal and an assist, but his goal in USOC play Wednesday will have him more confident entering tonight. USMNT midfielder Jack McGlynn has three assists so far on the year despite being limited to four games due to injury. However, McGlynn is nearing a return and could be back tonight. <\/p>\n Orlando City will have to continue improving upon last week\u2019s mostly solid defensive game, while trying to find improvements in the attacking end. <\/p>\n \u201cHouston is a strong team, they have a good roster, and we respect them like we respect all of our opponents,\u201d Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said ahead of the match. \u201cWe are thinking about us, and working on our ways and strategies,\u00a0and\u00a0preparing for the game like always.\u201d<\/p>\n Orlando City will be without Wilder Cartagena (thigh), Joran Gerbet (knee), and McGuire (lower leg), while David Brekalo (lower leg), Dorsey (thigh), and Iago (concussion protocol) are listed as questionable. Houston is much more healthy but will be without Lucas Halter (lower body) and Artur (lower body), while McGlynn (yep, lower body) is questionable.<\/p>\n Match Content<\/p>\n Projected Lineups<\/p>\n Orlando City (3-4-3)<\/p>\n Goalkeeper:\u00a0Maxime Crepeau.<\/p>\n Defenders: Adrian Marin, Robin Jansson, Nolan Miller.<\/p>\n Wingbacks\/Midfielders:\u00a0Tahir Reid-Brown, Braian Ojeda, Eduard Atuesta, Griffin Dorsey.<\/p>\n Forwards: Ivan Angulo, Tyrese Spicer, Marco Pasalic.<\/p>\n Houston Dynamo (3-4-2-1)<\/p>\n Goalkeeper:\u00a0Jonathan Bond.<\/p>\n Defenders:\u00a0Felipe Andrade, Antonio Carlos, Erik Sviatchenko.<\/p>\n Wingbacks\/Midfielders: Lawrence Ennali, Agustin Bouzat, Diadie Samassekou, Duane Holmes.<\/p>\n Attacking Midfielders: Guilherme Augusto, Mateusz Bogusz.<\/p>\n Forward: Ezequiel Ponce.<\/p>\n Referees<\/p>\n REF: Pierre-Luc Lauziere. How to Watch<\/p>\n Match Time:\u00a07:30 p.m.<\/p>\n Venue:\u00a0Inter&Co Stadium \u2014 Orlando.<\/p>\n TV\/Streaming: Apple TV.<\/p>\n Radio:\u00a0AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 (Spanish), Nossa R\u00e1dio 1160 AM-WRLZ (Portuguese).<\/p>\n Social Media:\u00a0For rapid reaction and live updates, follow us on Bluesky Social at\u00a0@themaneland.bsky.social<\/a>\u00a0or follow Orlando City\u2019s\u00a0official Twitter (@OrlandoCitySC) or Bluesky (@OrlandoCitySC<\/a>) feed.<\/p>\n Enjoy the match. Go City!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Welcome to your match thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City (1-5-1, 4 points) and the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":32298,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[139,141,140],"class_list":["post-237058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237058"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237058\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32298"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
AR1: Nick Uranga.
AR2: Rhett Hammil.
4TH: Abdou Ndiaye.
VAR: Jorge Gonzalez.
AVAR: Craig Lowry.<\/p>\n