Eastern powers Orlando City, FC Cincinnati to square off

Two of the Eastern Conference's top five teams will face each other Saturday night when FC Cincinnati travel to take on Orlando City.

Both teams won their respective matches on Wednesday night, and Saturday will be the first of two regular-season meetings between the two clubs.

Cincinnati (11-5-3, 36 points) is in second place in the conference and is riding a two-match winning streak, including a 3-1 win at CF Montreal Wednesday night.

"(It was a) really strong performance from the group," head coach Pat Noonan said. "Very pleased with certainly the attacking output and the chance creation. I think the difference is how after we got the lead, (we) didn't change how we were playing. (We) didn't stay off. I thought our pressure was really strong (Wednesday), led by that front group."

FC Cincinnati's offense was hyper-aggressive against CF Montreal, unleashing 11 shots on goal. That is the squad's highest total since April 27, 2024 against the Colorado Rapids.

Orlando (9-4-6, 33 points) is also coming off a strong offensive performance Wednesday night, winning 4-2 at St. Louis City.

The Lions roared to a 3-0 lead in the first 22 minutes of the game, before forward Marco Pasalic sealed the win with his second goal of the night in the 82nd minute. St. Louis had pulled to within 3-2 at halftime, making it a tense second half that was played in sweltering conditions.

"I want to recognize the players and their effort in the incredible heat (Wednesday) on the pitch and in the humidity," head coach Oscar Pareja said. "I think everyone noticed it at the end, but the effort was constant, and I want to acknowledge the players' effort to take these three points out of a game that was very well-played, especially in the first half."

Cincinnati and Orlando split the season series in 2024 with the road team winning both matches, including Cincinnati winning 1-0 at Orlando.

Orlando has not beaten Cincinnati at home since May 2021.

--Field Level Media