Orlando City vs. New York City FC Prediction, Preview and Odds -5/8/21

Orlando City SC vs. New York City FC

The Round 4 of the new MLS season is ahead this weekend, and we have a tight clash between the Eastern Conference rivals Orlando City SC and New York City FC. The game starts at 6 PM EST at Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Florida.

Orlando City hopes to remain unbeaten

Orlando City is coming off a 3-0 victory against Cincinnati in their previous MLS fixture. In that match, The Lions managed 52% possession and 23 attempts at goal with six of them on target. First-half efforts from Tesho Akindele and Nani put them in control of the clash before Junior Urso added the third 10 minutes before the end. The Lions have a solid start to the campaign, as they remain unbeaten after three matches. The win against Cincinnati was their first of the season after two draws in their opening two games.

Orlando City manager Óscar Pareja has to contend with several injured players. David Loera (Leg Injury), Alexandre Pato (Knee Surgery), and Oriol Rosell (Leg Injury) will not be able to play in this matchup.

New York City aims to extend its winning run

New York City is also coming off a victory as they triumphed 2-0 at Philadelphia Union in MLS Week 3. In that game, New York managed 67% possession and 23 attempts at goal with seven on target. Jesus Medina opened the scoring early in the first half while Valentin Castellanos doubled the lead after the break. The Pigeons appear to have recovered from their season opener disappointment, winning their two matchups since the 2-1 defeat to DC United.

NYCFC manager Ronny Deila has to choose a team with limited availability. Gideon Zelalem (Knee Injury), Tony Rocha (Muscle Injury), and Héber (Cruciate Ligament Rupture) won’t be making appearances.

Side: Draw (+264)

Orlando City has the upper hand in head-to-head matchups with nine wins from 21 previous matches. New York City has claimed six victories, while both teams have also battled to six draws. The last four meetings at the Exploria Stadium have ended in draws. And besides that, two pretty evenly matched sides come up against each other here, so a draw seems to be the most likely outcome.

Total:BTTS YES (-164)

Goals have been scored 26 times in the past six encounters in which New York City has played, giving a mean average of 4.33 goals per game. Opposition teams have got eight of those goals. One area that needs work for New York City is their defense, particularly on the road where they have kept just one clean sheet in their previous eight away matchups in MLS. On the other hand, the Pigeons have been impressive in front of goal, and given Orlando’s attacking display in the triumph over Cincinnati, a high-scoring affair is on the card at Exploria Stadium. I expect that New York City FC and Orlando City should both be able to score here.