PREVIEW: Orlando City hosts Inter Miami CF on Saturday
ORLANDO, Fla. (Orlando City Soccer Club) - Orlando City SC (4-2-4, 16 points) closes out its Phase 1 Continuation of Play schedule on Saturday, Sept. 12 against Inter Miami CF (2-6-2, 8 points), marking the first time the Club will welcome its intrastate foes to Exploria Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET.
The match will be locally broadcast on Fox 35 Plus while being transmitted on 96.9 The Game in English and Acción 97.9FM, 810AM in Spanish.
“We have had more days to recover from the last game with the number of matches that we had to play in a short time. We’re trying to use those days wisely and see if we can recover some of the players and get ready for the game against Miami,” Head Coach Oscar Pareja said. “I see them progressing and I think we all are in that mode of trying to get better and better. It’s going to be an interesting game for us, an important game against a good rival and obviously thinking that we have to keep the optimism and the idea of handling the tempo of the game.”
The Lions enter Saturday’s match following a 1-1 draw against Atlanta United over the weekend. Benji Michel scored City’s lone goal in the match, his second in as many contests, in first-half stoppage time before the visitors equalized late in the 92nd minute forcing the two sides to split the points from the contest.
Chris Mueller leads the team with six goals this season, followed by Nani and Daryl Dike each with three. Dike and Mueller also sit tied for the team high in assists with Maurico Pereyra at three apiece.
Miami comes into the match facing a quick turnaround following a 2-1 victory over Atlanta United on Wednesday night. A brace from Lewis Morgan was the difference in the match, with finishes in the 28th and 38th minutes respectively to give the home side three points on the night.
Rodolfo Pizarro leads the 2020 expansion side with three goals this season, followed by Morgan and Julián Carranza with two apiece. Morgan and Pizarro also sit tied for the team lead in assists with Ben Sweat and Matías Pellegrini, all with two in 2020.