Nashville SC vs. Orlando City Prediction, Preview, and Odds - 8/18/21
Two of the top four teams in the Eastern Conference will do battle in Music City when Nashville SC hosts Orlando City on Wednesday night. Orlando is currently in fourth place, but it is just one point back of New York City. Nashville, which is coming off a 5-2 win over DC United, is tied with NYCFC for the second-place position.
Orlando City gets a well-needed rest
Orlando City will certainly be the more rested team coming into this match. It has not played an MLS match since Aug. 7, where it finished in a 1-1 tie against Cincinnati. They did suffer a loss to Santos in the Leagues Cup last Thursday, though. The club is unbeaten in its last three league matches, having beaten Atlanta 3-2 and picked up a draw against Miami. Orlando finds itself in fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings. It is one point behind both NYCFC and Nashville, so a win in this match could be a critical boost. Philadelphia is two points behind in fifth place.
Cincinnati took a 1-0 lead 42 minutes into Orlando’s last match, but the score was leveled 11 minutes after halftime. Nani entered the contest as a substitute and then scored the game-tying goal one minute later. It was his team-leading ninth goal of the season and he is squarely in the Golden Boot race. He has also added six assists, which is a team-high and has been involved in at least one goal in each of his last five contests. Orlando City has been a confident team on the road, where they have the second-best away record in the Eastern Conference. Attacker Alexandre Pato has been out since April and will remain out for this match. Mason Stajduhar continues to fill in for injured goalkeeper Pedro Gallese. Midfielder Junior Urso will be out for this match after picking up two yellow cards against Santos.
Sapong leads Nashville SC past DC United
Nashville is coming off a nice bounce-back performance. It had dropped a disappointing 2-1 final at struggling Miami the week before, but it rebounded with a 5-2 thrashing of DC United. C.J. Sapong scored two first-half goals and Hany Mukhtar added another before the break. DC United scored a pair of goals in the first half as well, so it was a 3-2 game at the intermission. The score held there until Alex Muyl scored in the 80th minute and then he added a penalty kick seven minutes later. Nashville fired 17 shots and held DC United to just eight.
New England is running away with first place in the Eastern Conference, but NYCFC and Nashville are tied for second with 31 points each. Nashville is expected to remain in its 3-5-2 formation. It has the best home record in the Eastern Conference, remaining undefeated after 12 outings at Nissan Stadium. The loss to Miami two matches ago was just the club’s second loss of the season. However, Nashville has also picked up the most draws of any team in the conference with 10. The club is healthy heading into this match and should feature the same starting 11 as it had on Sunday.
Pick: (Nashville +105)
Nashville comes into this match having not lost at Nissan Stadium this season. Bettors have an opportunity to take them at plus-money on Wednesday night, which would be an excellent decision. The club is coming off a momentum-building match against DC United, where its offense was firing on all cylinders. They are completely healthy as well, giving them a sizeable advantage against an Orlando City club that has a backup goalkeeper and reserve midfielder. Orlando City is coming off a disappointing loss and now has to make a road trip for this match—I like Nashville to take care of business in an important home outing.
Total (Over 2.5)
Nashville has the ability to light up the scoreboard in just about any match that it plays. It is coming off a five-goal outing against DC United, where two players were able to record a brace. Now, the momentum can continue against a backup goalkeeper inside the friendly confines of Nissan Stadium. I do not expect this to be a clean sheet for Nashville, though. Orlando has been excellent away from home this season and Nashville had some cracks in the armor against DC United.
