Matchday 10: Orlando City vs. Atlanta United Rivalry Game Preview

Orlando, FL – “Peace up, A-Town down.” The Peachtree State tries to invade the State of Orange. “Move, get out the way” as Orlando City SC take on Atlanta United. Which fruit will reign supreme? It’s time to sip the Match Week 10 preview squeeze.

No Mediocre

Atlanta rapper, T.I., would proclaim he would “want no mediocre”. Unfortunately, Atlanta and Orlando have been less than mediocre in goal scoring in the last three contests. Between the pair of teams, only one goal has been scored (ATL-Miguel Almiron) in the collective six matches. Atlanta has gone 0-1-2 and Orlando 0-0-3 during this three-game stretch. “Sorry, Ms. Jackson,” to avoid being an Outkast, Orlando needs to score.

A famous Atlanta poet by the name of Gucci Mane once said, “If a man does not have sauce, then he is lost. But the same man can get lost in the sauce… If you keep lookin’ back, you gon’ trip forward.” Long story short, the Lions need to leave the past in the past. It will take a team effort to take down a stingy Atlanta team. The fact is, Atlanta has managed to score a goal in April, Orlando has not. Marco Pasalic, Martin Ojeda, Luis Muriel, and Alex Freeman, who all had red-hot starts, need to step it up.

So So Def

As Jermaine Dupri would say, “Call him the M-B-P (Most Ballin-ist Player). He makes his own moves, call him the mayor.” No Doubt, Pedro Gallese has stepped up as of late. Three straight clean sheets for El Pulpo, or by Atlanta terms, hombre de la banda de goma (rubber band man). Every shot that has been taken at him has bounced off. While some saves are routine, there have been plenty that have taken the Peruvian’s master class to defend. Gallese earned Player of the Match Week Bench for week #9. For the Lions to be on top, Gallese will have to continue his dominance.

Your top performers of Matchday 9⃣. 💫

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— Major League Soccer (@MLS) April 21, 2025

Crazy

“And I hope that you are having the time of your life. But think twice, that’s my only advice,” as Atlanta United is no slouch of a team. Brad Guzan has been playing goalie for some time and has often given the Lions grief. Guzan does not back down; just look at last year’s matchup against Inter Miami. He was famously shoved into the back of the net by Inter Miami’s Leonardo Campana. Guzan emphatically stated after the game, “It was WWE style.” The underdog victory by Atlanta over powerhouse Miami propelled them forward in the playoffs to take on none other than Orlando City SC in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Orlando would go on to win that game 1-0. Ramiro Enrique scored in the 39th minute to put the purple and gold on top. “Call me crazy, possibly”, but Orlando has a fighting chance.

The only other factor for Orlando to be mindful of is Emmanuel Latte Lath. Lath has scored five goals this season, more single goals than any Orlando player. A total of two Atlanta players have scored multiple goals this season: Lath (5) and Miguel Almiron (2). Orlando has had a total of four players who have scored more than one goal this season: Marco Pasalic (4), Martin Ojeda (4), Luis Muriel (3), and Alex Freeman (2). Pasalic and Muriel have played some great soccer lately despite not tallying any goals. The electric duo is set to take off like Soulja Boy and Superman in some goals. The scoring drought will come to an end.

The Yin and the Yang

“To the windows, to the walls,” Atlanta is about to fall. Orlando is just too good a team to continue the scoreless streak. While Guzan has defended the net nicely against the Lions, Gallese has been perfect in the last several contests. Pasalic, Muriel, and Duncan McGuire will all score (McGuire will finally notch his first goal of the season). These three critical points could potentially propel OCSC into a top-5 spot in the Eastern Conference standings. It won’t be a shutout, however, as Lath somehow stops the clean sheet streak for Gallese, notching his sixth goal for Atlanta. Orlando will channel their inner Quavo and have Atlanta running home to their “Momma!” The final, Orlando-3 Atlanta-1.