Orlando City (13-6-8, 47 points) at Sporting Kansas City (14-8-5, 47 points)
When: Saturday, 8:30 p.m.
Where: Geodis Park, Nashville, Tenn.
TV: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV (subscription required)
Radio: AM 810 Fox Sports Radio, (English), Mega 97.1 (Spanish)
Everything you need to know for the Lions' road match in Nashville in "The Road Ahead" driven by Audi:
Milestones
- Martín Ojeda has a goal contribution in twelve consecutive regular season matches, tied for the second-longest such run in MLS history (Sebastian Giovinco, 2018). A goal or an assist against Nashville would push Ojeda’s streak to sole possession of second all-time, two matches shy of Josef Martínez’s record of 15 games in a row in 2019.
- Ojeda is one goal contribution away from matching Facundo Torres’ Orlando City career record of 72 in all competitions.
- Ojeda’s next goal will tie him with Nani for third all-time in Orlando City history at 31. Ojeda is already second in club history in assists, six away from matching Mauricio Pereyra’s club record of 47.
- Ojeda’s next goal, his 18th of 2025, will also match Cyle Larin’s 2015 season for the second-highest scoring season in club history. Ojeda is three goals away from tying Facundo Torres’ club record 20-goal haul from 2024.
Stats & Storylines
- Orlando City ground out a tense 0-0 draw with defending Liga MX champions Deportivo Toluca FC on Wednesday night in the Leagues Cup quarterfinals, advancing on penalty kicks thanks to an instantly iconic performance from goalkeeper Pedro Gallese, who saved two straight Toluca attempts before stepping up to bury the winner himself. Orlando is now 11-3 all-time in penalty shootouts.
- With this year’s Leagues Cup semifinals included, the Lions have been among the final four in three different tournaments over the past four seasons – Orlando won the 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, then reached the Eastern Conference Final in the MLS Cup Playoffs last season.
- Orlando City achieved its first clean sheet since June 14, holding the top attack in Liga MX not only scoreless but without a single shot on target. On the other side, the Lions were shut out for the first time since May 3, ending a run of 21 consecutive games with a goal in all competitions. The Lions have scored in each of their past 16 MLS regular season games, a run that is still ongoing.
- The Lions enter Matchday 30 tied for the league lead in goals with Inter Miami at 53, averaging nearly two goals per match. Orlando City has scored 12 goals over its past four MLS regular season matches, all of which have been wins.
- Martín Ojeda heads into the weekend ranked third in MLS in total goal contributions with 28, behind only San Diego’s Anders Dreyer (30) and Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi (29). Ojeda is second in the league behind Dreyer in assists and second behind San Jose’s Cristian Espinoza in key passes.
Series History
All-time vs. Nashville - 6-4-5, +5 GD (3-1-3, +3 GD away)
MLS only vs. Nashville - 4-2-4, +6 GD (2-0-3, +4 GD away)
2020 - W 3-1 (H), D 1-1 (A), L 2-3 (H)
2021 - D 1-1 (A), D 2-2 (A), D 1-1 (H), L 3-1 (A/MLS Cup Playoffs)
2022 - D 1-1 (6-5) (H/USOC)
2023 - L 0-2 (H), W 0-1 (A), W 1-0 (H/MLS Cup Playoffs), W 0-1 (A/MLS Cup Playoffs)
2024 - W 0-3 (A), W 3-0 (H)
2025 - L 2-3 (H/USOC)
Meet the opponent: Nashville SC
- Orlando City and Nashville SC renew their rivalry on Saturday night in an Eastern Conference six-pointer. Nashville and Orlando are tied on 47 points through 27 matches, with the Coyotes sitting in third above the Lions in fourth thanks to owning one more win.
- Orlando lost a five-game winning streak against Nashville in the U.S. Open Cup back in May, falling 3-2 in the Round of 16 back on May 21. The loss came despite a tremendous effort from Marco Pašalić, who scored a worldie in the first half and assisted on Orlando’s second goal.
- The Lions have enjoyed visiting the 30,000-seat Geodis Park over the years. Orlando is a perfect 3-0-0 at Nashville’s home ground, including a series-sealing 1-0 win in the 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs and a 3-0 rout last July that saw César Araújo and Ramiro Enrique get on the scoresheet.
- Nashville has completely reinvented itself in 2025, playing a much more ball-dominant and free-flowing style under B.J. Callaghan in his first full season as head coach. Nashville is one of only three MLS teams with a better expected goal difference than Orlando City (per Opta) and ranks third in expected goals, just behind Orlando.
- Hany Mukhtar has been the main man for Nashville since the Coyotes entered the league in 2020, and the 2022 Landon Donovan MLS MVP has been back to his best under Callaghan. Mukhtar, who turned 30 earlier this season, has 12g/9a on the campaign and has started every regular season match in 2025. The German No. 10 has great career numbers against Orlando, notching 7g/5a vs. the Lions in all competitions.
- Mukhtar finally has a running mate this year in center forward Sam Surridge, who has overcome some early struggles to adapt to MLS to post 18 goals this season, second in the league behind Messi entering Matchday 30. Surridge scored just 14 times in his first 37 league games for Nashville across 2023 and 2024.
