Nashville SC vs. Orlando City Prediction, Preview, and Odds - 9/29/21

Nashville vs. Orlando – 9-28

Orlando has lost four in a row and they head to Music City USA to take on a Nashville club that only has one loss in their last eight matches.

Orlando has lost four matches in a row where they were outscored 12-4. They still sit in the fifth spot in the Eastern Conference despite having a goal differential of -1. Orlando played to a 1-1 draw at Nashville in the first meetings this season between these clubs on August 19th.

Nashville is coming off a scoreless draw in their last match after scoring five in their previous one. They are in second place in the East and they look to stay there, as they will not catch New England, who they trail by 17 points. The club has been solid on both sides of the pitch this season tied for the second-most goals in the East and have given up the second-fewest in MLS.

Tough One to Take

In their last match, Orlando was on the road and faced New England, who have the most points in MLS, and they gave up the eventual game-winning goal on an own goal. Daryl Dike scored the lone goal for the losing side but the club did play good defense holding the Revolution scoreless for the last 55 minutes. Actually, held them scoreless for the last 81 minutes if it were not for the own goal in the 35th minute. The time of possession was relatively even and while each team had 13 shots Orlando only had three on target while New England only had one.

Nani leads the club with nine goals but has been in. scoring drought over the last several matches, and Benji Michel and Dike have scored four apiece. Mauricio Pereyra is tied with Nani for the team lead with seven assists and he as assisted on the two goals in Orlando’s last two matches. The team is really banged up, as DF João Moutinho and the MF trio of Jhegson Méndez, Chris Mueller, and Oriol Rosell are all listed as questionable for the Nashville match.

Up and Down to Say the Least

While Nashville only has one loss in their last eight matches they have really been up and down as of late. First, they suffered a shocking loss to Eastern Conference cellar-dweller Toronto, then blew out Inter Miami 5-1, and played to a scoreless draw in their last match. That match was facing Chicago on the road where they were dominated in time of possession (63% to 37%) but held the Fire to only three shots on target.

Hany Mukhtar and C.J. Sapong are the big guns for Nashville, as they have scored 12 goals and 10 goals respectively. The club has played a lot of matches lately and Mukhtar rested in the last one but should go in this one and he also leads the team with eight assists. He and Sapong combined for three goals in the 5-1 win over Inter Miami in the match previous to their last one. FW Handwalla Bwana is the only player on the injury list and is listed as out against Orlando.

Pick: Nashville -175

Nashville is back at home after playing their last four matches on the road. They only have one loss in their last eight matches and they look to hand Orlando their fifth straight loss. Nashville has been solid on both sides of the pitch on the season and they only conceded one goal in their last two matches. Orlando has lost four in a row mainly because of a defense that has conceded 12 goals. I look for them to continue to struggle on defense even though they held Nashville to only one goal in a 1-1 draw facing them earlier this season. Look for Nashville to win the midfield battle and get more shots on target, which is why they will win this match against a banged-up Orlando club.

Total: Over 2.5 goals

While the Under was the pick in the first meeting between these teams this season the Over is the pick in this one. Sure, Nashville played to a scoreless draw in their last match but scored five in their previous one and they have scored the second-most goals in the Eastern Conference. Orlando’s defense has struggled as of late, as in their four-match skid they have conceded 12 goals. Look for Nashville to take advantage of that and press the issue on the attack. I see Orlando scoring one goal, like they have in the last two matches but for Nashville to score multiple goals, which is why the Over is the pick.