Two teams that have been in pretty poor form lately in the MLS are clashing against one another, when New England will play host to Orlando City on Saturday, September 2nd. New England have been struggling with consistency all season long, while Orlando have been tragic the past weeks.
Orlando City (8-11-7) are coming into this match after suffering a tough 2-1 loss at home against the Vancouver Whitecaps. Their opponents had already scored both goals before Orlando scored a consolation goal at the final third of the match. They have been in pretty tragic shape lately, as they are win-less in their last 7 (0-5-2). They have really disappointing lately, as they have now moved to the 9th spot of the Eastern Conference with 31 points after 26 matches. They have been pretty poor on the road so far (2-7-3), where they have only kept a single clean sheet so far in the season. They will be coming here with a ton of absences, as Alston, Ramos, Saunders and Spector have been ruled out, Higuita is suspended, PC is questionable, and Larin, Johnson and Yotun are on international duty.
New England (8-12-5) are coming into this match after suffering a tough 0-1 loss against DC United on the road. It was a pretty balanced match between the two sides, and after a goal-less first half, it was DC United who scored the winning goal at the 71st minute. That was New England’s 2nd consecutive loss, and 3rd in their last 4. They are now sitting at the 10th spot of the Eastern Conference with 29 points after 25 matches, having scored 39 goals against 41 conceded. They have been very strong at home so far in the season (8-2-2), where they have won each of their last 3. They will be coming into this match without Watson and Delamea who are on international duty, Rowe is unavilable, and Smith is still questionable.