On Saturday, Orlando City and Houston Dynamo will both be aiming to return to winning ways as they clash at the Exploria Stadium with kickoff at 2:30 am.
Orlando City began the MLS campaign with high expectations but haven’t quite impressed yet. The Lions have won just six of their opening 15 games, but they did take their tally to 20 points from 12 outings by beating Charlotte FC and Toronto either side of a disappointing defeat to CF Montreal.
Following a 2-2 draw away at Austin FC, Oscar Pareja’s side hosted FC Dallas and were comfortably beaten 3-1. This is despite Ercan Kara putting them ahead in the second half as Paul Arriola hit a brace alongside a Franco Jara goal to seal all three points for the visitors.
Then they traveled to take on New England Revolution on Wednesday and returned home with a point as Robin Jansson leveled the game at 1-1 in the first half before there were no further goals in the second 45 minutes.
The Dynamo will be looking to break into the playoff places in the other Conference when they travel to take on Chivas USA in Week 7. The visitors sit eighth in their division, but they started the season well with 11 points from the opening six games. But they’ve hit a tough patch lately, losing three consecutive MLS games to drop behind the leading group.
Orlando vs. Houston Head to Head
Both sides have five games against each other, with the hosts taking one win while the visitors with two wins. Here is a look at their previous encounters:
Home
- New England Revolution 1-1 Orlando
- Orlando 1-3 Dallas
- Orlando 1-1 Inter Miami
- Austin 2-2 Orlando
Away
- Real Salt Lake 3-0 Houston
- Kansas 2-1 Houston
- LA Galaxy 0-3 Houston
- Houston 0-1 Seattle
Orlando City Team News
Pareja will have to decide how to set up his Orlando side for the upcoming match, with Ercan Kara pushing to retake his place up front after being dropped to the bench last time out, with former Chelsea man Alexandre Pato preferred.
Houston Team News
After being shown a yellow card for the fifth time this season, Houston Dynamo midfielder Adalberto Carrasquilla will serve a suspension on Saturday against Real Salt Lake. In his absence, Darwin Ceren is likely to come into the engine room, while the likes of Fafa Picault and Tyler Pasher will be pushing for attacking spots.
Prediction and Odds
Although Orlando City has struggled recently and looks far from their best, they still have more than enough talent in their ranks to outclass the visitors this weekend. We see them returning to winning ways.
- Home Win
- Correct Score: 2-0
- Goals Under 2.5
