Philadelphia Union will take on Orlando City for a second time this season on Saturday, this time hosting Head Coach Oscar Pareja’s squad in front of Union faithful at Subaru Park.
The Boys in Blue opened their season in a big way with a 4-2 win against Orlando on February 22nd, and since that dominant performance, they’ve remained near the top of the Eastern Conference table with four wins and two losses.
They enter the match at second in the East with 13 points, one week removed from a physical battle against Miami that finished with 32 fouls and eight yellow cards between both sides. The pair fought until the final whistle, but a second half goal off the bench from Lionel Messi in the 57th minute made the difference, despite Daniel Gazdag’s late response to make it 2-1.
Head Coach Bradley Carnell and co. hoped to leave Miami with atleast a point in tow, but now, they'll look ahead to their chance for a season sweep against Orlando City, who sit at 7th in the East with three wins, one draw, and two losses. They’ve built some momentum as of late, adding 7 points in their past three games against New York Red Bulls (2-2), D.C. United (4-1), then LA Galaxy (2-1).
26-year-old Argentinian midfielder Martin Ojeda has scored in all three, improving his 2025 stat sheet to an impressive four goals and three assists. Marco Pašalić and Luis Muriel’s totals are close by with three goals each, making Orlando City the top-scoring team in MLS so far with 15 total goals. They are the only team in the league who's scoring totals outpace Philadelphia, who are tied for second with 13.
"They are very creative and very dangerous in the final third. You know, I think they have some of the highest output and volume in terms of their attacking thresholds," Carnell said.
"I think Pašalić, [Iván] Angullo -- these guys, they're really tough to stop if you give them time and space. So that's going to be the order of the day," Carnell said.
Saturday night will be Fireworks Night presented by Coors Light so be sure to get your tickets for the first rematch of the year, by clicking here!
