New York Red Bulls vs. Orlando City Prediction, Preview and Odds - Pre 5/29/21

New York has lost their last two matches and they host an Orlando team that has yet to lose this season.

Orlando has won their last two matches and they are one of only three unbeaten teams in the MLS. In six matches they have three wins and three draws and they are in second place in the Eastern Conference standings two points back of New England.

After winning two matches in a row the Red Bulls have dropped their last two. The club sits in the 10th position in the East and in six matches they have two wins and four losses.

Last season Orlando beat New York 3-1 at home and they played to a 1-1 draw in the Big Apple.

Killing It On Defense

The main reason for Orlando's solid start this season has been a defense that has only conceded two goals in six matches. Their D has been needed, as they have only scored seven goals and they have won their last two matches by a score of 1-0. In their last match, they were at home and beat Toronto FC Tesho Akindele scored the lone goal on a fantastic assist from Silvester van der Water and GK Pedro Gallese picked up his fourth shutout of the season. In the match, New York was outshot 19-10 and 6-5 on shots on target and the time of possession was even.

Nani (3 goals) and Akindele (2 goals) are the only players for Orlando SC that have multiple goals this season and Christopher Mueller leads the club with two assists. Nani will not be playing in this match serving a two-match suspension for making contact with an official. FW Alexandre Pato is out recovering from knee surgery, MF Oriol Rosell is also out, and DF, who has missed much of the season, is doubtful. Since a 3-0 drubbing of Cincinnati, Orlando has scored one goal in each of their last three matches.

Great Start, Bad Finish

In their last match, New York was on the road and lost to the New England Revolution 3-1 where they got off to a great start with a goal in the seventh minute but then gave up three unanswered goals the rest of the way. Andrés Reyes scored the lone goal but was sent off in the 38th minute after his second yellow card and because of that, he will not play against Orlando. The Red Bulls lost the time of possession battle (57% to 43%) and they allowed 23 shots and 11 shots on target while they only had three shots on target.

DF Jason Pendant, MF Florian Valot, and DF Amro Tarek have been ruled out for the Orlando match due to injuries. The Red Bulls have scored one more goal than Orlando (8-7) but they have given up seven more goals (9-2). Caden Clark and Cristian Cásseres Jr. have combined for five goals and Fabio leads the club with four assists.

Trends

The New York Red Bulls are:

  • 0-2 in their last 2 matches
  • 0-3 in their last 3 road matches

Orlando SC is:

  • 2-0 in their last 2 matches

Side:Orlando +220

Orlando is off to their best start in franchise history and they are unbeaten after six matches. While the attack has been less than stellar their defense has been awesome only allowing two goals and they have two straight clean sheets. While they have won two matches in a row the Red Bulls have lost their last two matches. They have only scored one goal in their last two matches and they already have four losses. On the season their offense has not been bad, but they have had issues on the defensive side of the pitch and in the midfield. Orlando will take advantage of that and they will win another low-scoring match to remain unbeaten on the season.

Total: Under 2.5 goals

I have to take the Under in this match even though the Red Bulls gave up three goals in their last match. In five of six matches for Orlando this season the total has gone Under and the total has also gone Under in the last three matches between these teams in New York. Orlando has had issues scoring on the season with eight goals in six matches and in their last two they have won by a score of 1-0. I look for that score to happen again in this match, where the Under is the pick.

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Jason Green

Jason digs every sport, but the NFL is his favorite. His team is the Washington Football Team and his 2nd favorite is whoever is playing the Cowboys! Jason is a strong handicapper, who graced us with his talents here at Stat Salt. He doesn't don't just write about sports, but he also is an avid sports bettor. Jason has done very well at that and it would be a good idea to follow his picks.