Orlando City and the Montreal Impact are two teams that are in similar situations. Both sides have new coaches who are looking to bring a new legacy at each club, given their poor run of form in previous years.
Oscar Pareja's Orlando City is 2W-1L-2D on the season. Meanwhile, Thierry Henry's Montreal Impact is 2W-2L-1D. These are solid results for teams that have not tasted success in recent history, and they will look to keep building up momentum by securing a ticket to the next knockout round.
Orlando City
Orlando City has been impressive so far in the competition. Winning the opening game of the tournament against big spenders Inter Miami was a perfect start for the Lions. Franchise players Luis Nani scored the game-winner in added time to secure three points and bragging rights in terms of the Florida rivalry.
The home team continued its good run defeating New York City FC 3-1 with 23-year-old forward Chris Mueller scoring a brace. Mueller, who was selected fifth overall in the 2019 SuperDraft, has four goals in five games in the season, making him a regular starter under Pareja. A draw against Philadelphia in the closing Group A game meant that Orlando finished first in the group averaging an impressive two goals per game.
Stay ten toes down, I'm really focused #BTB pic.twitter.com/2WyBXOWhbj
— Christopher Mueller (@cmueller1662) July 17, 2020
Injuries: Dom Dwyer (questionable, muscle tightness), Junior Urso, (questionable, muscle tightness)
Montreal Impact
Montreal bounced back in Gameday 3 with a 1-0 win over D.C. United to clinch a wildcard slot and reach the round of 16 after losing its first two games. The Impact looked sluggish in game one losing 1-0 to New England but managed to pick up the pace in the next game against Toronto. The Canadian Classique was as good as it could get, but Henry's men ended up with the short end of the stick in a hear-breaking 4-3 loss.
It was all or nothing for Montreal as it headed into its third and last game of Group C play. Algerian midfielder Saphir Taider's first-half goal set the difference for the rest of the game, securing the Canadians a spot in the round of 16. Taider has been Montreal's most influential player in the tournament, bagging three goals so far. Call it what you want, but Henry's men have made it to the playoffs and will remain persistent.
@impactmontreal strikes first.
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) July 22, 2020
Saphir Taïder uses the deflection to put his squad ahead. #MTLvDC pic.twitter.com/mqmph3x75t
Injuries: Steven Saba (OUT, foot injury), Ballou Tabla (OUT, adductor injury), Rudy Camacho (unavailable)
Orlando City vs Montreal Impact: Head-to-Head
The all-time series between these two sides is 6W-4L-2D favoring the Canadian side. Montreal scored 21 goals throughout the 12 games, while Orlando scored 18.
Orlando City vs Montreal Impact: Broadcast information
Match details, result and original broadcast info
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Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
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