Milestones, storylines and more ahead of the Lions home match vs Chicago Fire FC in "The Road Ahead" driven by Audi:
Milestones
- Eduard Atuesta’s next appearance will be his 50th in all competitions for Orlando City.
- Marco Pašalić’s next start will be his 50th in all competitions for Orlando City.
- Robin Jansson is two starts away from 250 as a Lion in all competitions.
- Daryl Dike’s next goal will be his 21st for Orlando City, tying former teammate Tesho Akindele for tenth on the club’s all-time scoring list.
- Pašalić is two goals away from 20 for the club, two behind Dike.
Stats & Storylines
-Â Orlando City played to a hard-fought 1-1 draw with FC Cincinnati on a hot and muggy Saturday night at Inter.co Stadium, coming back to earn a point with a goal from Tyrese Spicer. The Lions became the first team to keep Cincinnati MVP candidate Evander from recording either a goal or an assist in a game since April.
- Spicer continues to be on an absolute tear, recording a goal contribution in each of his past five games with 4g/3a total in that span. Spicer is up to 7g/5a on the season and is contributing 1.18 goals and assists per 90 minutes for his Orlando City career. Justin Ellis earned the assist for his second goal contribution in as many games, while Iván Angulo picked up the secondary assist, becoming the third player in Orlando City history to 40 helpers after Mauricio Pereyra and MartÃn Ojeda.
- Orlando notched another milestone in its steady defensive overhaul, holding MLS’ top attack heading into Matchday 20 to just one goal. Cincinnati had scored multiple goals in 10 of its previous 11 MLS regular season matches. The Lions have conceded just nine goals in seven matches in all competitions since the World Cup break, a rate of just 1.29 per game, which marks a massive improvement from the 48 goals they allowed in 18 matches prior to the World Cup (2.67 per game).
- Second-year midfielder Joran Gerbet made his first start for Orlando since his ACL tear on October 4, 2025, adding to the Lions’ significant depth in central midfield.
Series History
All-time vs. Chicago - 8-8-8, -7 GD (5-3-3, +3 GD home)
MLS only vs. Chicago - 8-6-8, -2 GD (5-3-3, +3 GD home)
2015 - W 2-3 (A), L 3-1 (A/USOC), D 1-1 (H), W 0-1 (A)
2016 - D 1-1 (H), D 2-2 (A)
2017 - D 0-0 (H), L 4-0 (A)
2018 - L 1-2 (H), L 4-0 (A)
2019 - D 1-1 (A), L 2-5 (H)
2020 - W 4-1 (H)
2021 - L 3-1 (A), W 1-0 (H)
2022 - D 0-0 (A), W 1-0 (H)
2023 - W 3-1 (H), W 1-3 (A)
2024 - D 1-1 (A), W 4-2 (H)
2025 - D 0-0 (A), L 1-3 (H), L 3-1 (A/MLS Cup Playoffs)
Meet the opponent: Chicago Fire FC
- 2025 marked the first year since 2019 in which Orlando City failed to defeat Chicago. The Lions went 0-2-1 against the Fire last campaign, including a 3-1 loss in the MLS Cup Playoffs that ended Orlando’s season. Orlando went 6-1-2 against Chicago from 2020-2024.
- The Fire sit third in the Eastern Conference, enjoy the joint-second best goal difference in the East (+10), and have won five consecutive games in all competitions, including a perfect 3W-0L-0D in Leagues Cup. Chicago will host old friend Hugo Cuypers and CF Monterrey in the Leagues Cup quarterfinals next Tuesday, August 25.Â
- Cuypers no longer plays for Chicago because they’ve added Polish superstar and international icon Robert Lewandowski to lead the line. Lewandowski has three goals in seven games for the Fire since joining the club during the World Cup. The former Bayern Munich sensation has scored 700 goals for club and country in his legendary career and ranks seventh in the history of the sport in goals scored.
- The Fire boast numerous other threats, including 2025 MLS All-Star winger Philip Zinckernagel (5g/8a this season), DP left winger Jonathan Bamba (2g/3a), and Swiss veteran Maren Haile-Selassie (3g/7a), who is enjoying a career season. Zinckernagel was particularly lethal against Orlando last season, racking up 1g/4a across three matches.
