Orlando City head coach Oscar Pareja is hopeful his side can continue their play-off journey ahead of facing New England Revolution this weekend.
The Lions recorded consecutive victories with an emphatic display against D.C. United last time out as they put on a five-star showing at the Inter&Co Stadium.
Their latest result leaves them in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, five points behind Charlotte FC.
Pareja insists his side must continue to improve as they aim to climb the league table, believing his players have found confidence and connection at an important stage of the season.
“First we will try to keep and then improve the level, like always,” Pareja said. “The results obviously just give us more confidence to continue winning games and adding important points.
“I think the functionality of the team is much better and the cohesiveness that we have found in the last two games has given us optimism.
“We will keep working. The journey is still in front of us, and we have to keep improving and see if we can maintain this level of not just playing well but having that confidence in front of goal."
New England, meanwhile, enter the contest off the back of a 2-0 defeat to Seattle Sounders, their first defeat on the road in two games having recorded impressive victories over CF Cincinnati and Nashville SC.
The Revs remain among a cluster of teams separated by just four points at the bottom end of the Eastern Conference table, currently sitting 12th in the division.
However, Caleb Porter’s side have impressed at home in recent weeks, and the New England head coach stressed the importance of claiming successes in their next two games at the Gillette Stadium ahead of the Leagues Cup break.
“It’s really important. You have to take care of business at home, and we didn’t do that earlier in the year but we have been able to do that a bit more recently,” Porter said.
“The guys have gained confidence at home, and this will be another tough game.
“We have three games now until a kind of break. This is our 21st game so it’s going to happen fast, but we want to get as many points as possible before the break and that sets up a kind of a stretch run.
“We will have only 11 games to go so the next two home games before this break, we need to push really hard to take care of business.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
New England Revolution – Carles Gil
Some players find a side that they just cannot stop scoring against, and Carles Gil has proved to be Orlando City’s kryptonite in previous meetings.
Gil has recorded 11 goal contributions against the Lions (five goals, six assists. Only Sebastian Giovinco (15) has achieved more than the Spaniard.
Orlando City – Facundo Torres
Facundo Torres is already a firm fan favourite for his dynamic attacking displays, and his statistics have him among some of the best players to play for Orlando.
Since arriving at the club in 2022, Torres has notched 47 regular-season goal contributions, ranking him fourth for the most in club history. He is two behind Cyle Larin and Mauricio Pereyra (49 each) for joint-second in the Lions’ MLS history.
MATCH PREDICTION: NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION WIN
New England will be hopeful of maintaining their impressive recent form at the Gillette Stadium, having three of their last four home matches (L1). Prior to this run, they had recorded just one victory in their previous seven games in front of their own supporters (D1, L5).
The Revs also hold an impressive record over their opponents on home turf and have never lost to Orlando at the Gillette Stadium (W6 D2). New England have also outscored their opponents 21-6 over their eight meetings in Foxborough.
However, the Lions will be confident of ending their losing streak away to New England. Their 5-0 win over D.C. United equalled the largest margin of victory in the club’s history. It was the third five-goal triumph, with the first of those coming against the Revs in a 6-1 win back in 2017.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
New England Revolution – 40.7%
Draw – 26.7%
Orlando City – 32.7%
Nashville SC v Orlando City: Lions confidence rising ahead of road trip
Oscar Pareja says the confidence of his Orlando City side is on the rise ahead of their MLS trip to Nashville SC at Geodis Park.
The Lions have triumphed in their last three league matches, overcoming New England Revolution 3-1 in their most recent outing.
Orlando are seventh in the Eastern Conference standings, and head coach Pareja believes improvements are clear to see as encouragement grows within the camp.
"Very excited with the three points, very proud of the character of the team and the players that brought us back after an irregular first half," Pareja said, referring to the Revs victory.
"It seems like our confidence keeps rising, and finding the net is helping us to believe that this is the team who can keep that rhythm and get into the playoffs.
"A team with more chemistry, but at the same time, with more passion and more energy that allowed us to dominate the game and score our goals.
"This is the first time that the team won in New England and that means a lot of respect for the players to that achieve that."
Nashville are ninth in the same East table, though only sit ahead of CF Montreal on goal difference.
They have lost their last four matches against Inter Miami, Columbus Crew, Portland Timbers and D.C. United, however, and must improve at home if they are to end that run here.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Nashville SC – Hany Mukhtar
Hany Mukhtar has nine goal contributions (four goals, five assists) in eight regular-season matches against Orlando.
The Nashville forward has only recorded more goal contributions against one opponent in his MLS career – 12 versus Atlanta United.
Orlando City – Facundo Torres
Facundo Torres has recorded two goal contributions in each of his last two matches, including scoring a brace against New England on Saturday.
This is the fourth time Torres has registered multiple goal contributions in consecutive league matches, something no other Orlando player has managed more than once.
MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW
The Opta supercomputer predicted a Nashville victory as the most likely result, however a draw appears more probable in this clash.
Nashville had suffered just five defeats in their first 19 regular-season matches in 2024 but have now lost four straight matches in all competitions for the first time in club history.
Orlando have also won their last three meetings with Nashville, including a two-match sweep in last season's playoffs.
The Lions have won four of their last five matches (L1), too, after winning four of just 18 league games prior in 2024, including wins in their previous three in a row – only twice enjoying longer victorious streaks.
However, Nashville cannot be completely ignored considering they had gone unbeaten in their previous eight against Orlando in all competitions (W3 D5) before their three-game losing streak recently.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Nashville SC win – 43.7%
Draw – 26.8%
Orlando City win – 29.5%
'Legend' Southgate chose right time to call time on England, says former Three Lions team-mate
Gareth Southgate chose the right time to end his England tenure, though he will go down as a Three Lions "legend".
That is according to Southgate's former international team-mate Darren Anderton.
The Football Association (FA) confirmed on Tuesday that Southgate had decided to walk away from his role following the 2-1 Euro 2024 final defeat against Spain.
Southgate, who took charge in 2016, guided his national side to the World Cup semi-finals in 2018, as well as back-to-back Euros finals – becoming the first manager to lose two European Championship showpiece matches.
Anderton, a team-mate of Southgate with England at Euro 1996, believes the time was right.
"I think he's been getting a lot of stick. He's been involved since 2011 with the FA and now eight years as the manager," Anderton told Stats Perform.
"I feel like he's more negative within the job, the pressure of it, I think is what causes that. From where he took over, we're in an incredible place with fantastic players."
Southgate appeared to grow tired of the repeated negativity surrounding his side at Euro 2024.
Anderton understands some of the frustration, but thinks Southgate will go down as one of England's great managers.
"There's been a lot of negativity and I think rightly so, the standard and the style of football hasn't been what we would hope or what it was when Gareth first took over," Anderton added.
"I feel that he's done a great job and as he said, time for a change. People always say it's the hardest job in the world and he's had a right go at it and been very close to creating history, but he has great history.
"I mean, two finals and that's what he'll be remembered for. I mean at the moment I think everyone's very negative about it but I think you know as time goes on he'll be remembered as a legend."
England are also the first side to ever lose back-to-back Euros, though Anderton does not believe that unwanted feat will tarnish Southgate's legacy.
"I think it'll be a success," Anderton said when asked how Southgate will be remembered.
"At the moment we see it as a failure because I believe that we had the players and the capabilities to win the tournaments.
"The fact that we haven't done because you know possibly the manner of football that we've played is obviously really disappointing.
"When you watch that Spanish team play and win seven games on the bounce and play with that freedom, I think if we had played in the same way, I think that we would have seen better performances and probably had more chance of winning the tournament.
"That criticism is fair but also the expectation has obviously gone up because of what Gareth's teams have achieved. When that happens, you know, you go into the tournaments, you're favourites, that wasn't the case before he came.
"We were in a really awful position. Eight years ago, if we go into a tournament, and we think we're going to get to a final or a semi-final World Cup, no one cares how we play.
"I think now the expectation has changed based on what he has achieved, and people want more. And that's just the nature of the beast."
Southgate won 61 of his 102 matches in charge of the national team, with 14 of those victories coming at major tournaments.
Eddie Howe, Graham Potter and Mauricio Pochettino are said to be the early targets for the FA, though England Under-21s boss Lee Carsley could also be in the frame.
LA Galaxy v Colorado Rapids: Vanney demands more aggression after Dallas defeat
Greg Vanney hit out at a "purposeless" first-half display from his LA Galaxy side after their 2-0 loss to FC Dallas.
The Galaxy, who are third in the Western Conference, have now lost two of their last three games following that defeat to Dallas last time out.
They host the Colorado Rapids, who are one place and five points behind them in the West, next.
And Vanney wants a more aggressive performance.
"We were purposeless in the first half," Vanney said after the Dallas defeat, as reported by The Galactic Tribune.
"It's like we were going to win the game putting together ten thousand passes and going nowhere and that is what we said at half time.
"We were down 2-0 because we deserved to be down 2-0. We had three shots in the first half, all of them from 25 yards away.
"It just comes down to the overall aggressiveness of our group."
Wingers Gabriel Pec and Joseph Paintsil could not wield their usual influence on proceedings in the first half against Dallas, though Vanney believes the Galaxy stumbled on a solution after the break.
He added: "In the second half, we were able to get [Pec and Paintsil] better looks.
"One-on-one situations or getting them on the run so they're attacking aggressively, and then they have an impact on the game. We've got to do more of that. I'm not interested in being a possession team for the sake of passing the ball around.
"We need to use possession to put the opposition on their heels to score goals to bury them and make them feel like we're relentlessly coming at them, not so they can set up and be comfortable and turn us over and go the other way."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
LA Galaxy - Gabriel Pec
Pec has been involved in a goal in nine straight home matches (8 goals, 6 assists), equalling the longest single-season streak in Galaxy history (Landon Donovan in 2005, Robbie Keane in 2012).
Keane had a streak of 10 straight home matches with a goal contribution spanning the 2012 and 2013 seasons.
Colorado Rapids - Jonathan Lewis
Lewis has scored four goals in nine career matches against the Galaxy while not scoring more than twice against any other opponent.
All four of those goals were scored at Dignity Health Sports Park, including one in Colorado's 3-1 win at the Galaxy last May.
MATCH PREDICTION: LA GALAXY WIN
Colorado have lost only one of their last seven matches (W5 D1) conceding three goals in that lone defeat (at Los Angeles FC) and conceding a total of four goals in the other six games, not allowing more than one in any of them.
The Galaxy have won seven of their last nine home matches (D1 L1) with the only loss in that time coming at the Rose Bowl against LAFC. LA have not lost at Dignity Health Sports Park since a 4-1 defeat to Dallas last October, avoiding defeat in 10 straight matches in Carson (W7 D3) since.
Colorado, however, have won seven of their last 11 matches against the Galaxy (D3 L1) dating back to 2018. The Rapids had won six of their previous 24 meetings with the Galaxy in all competitions dating back to April 2009.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
LA Galaxy - 53.7%
Colorado Rapids - 22.6%
Draw - 23.8%
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