Orlando City (2-3-4, 9 Points) has still yet to win a home game this season. One of its many disappointments came against DC United (5-3-1, 18 Points), a loss which it will get the chance to avenge on Wednesday night in Washington DC.
ODDS ANALYSIS
There are no odds posted for this match as of Sunday night, but we can get a good indication where the oddsmakers will go with this one based upon the previous meeting.
Orlando City was a slender +107 moneyline home favorite back in April in the City Beautiful, but it is going to be closer to a +400 underdog on Wednesday night. DC United, one of the hottest teams in the MLS, will certainly be an odds-on favorite, likely in the -150 or greater range.
KEY INJURIES
Eddie Johnson has officially retired from the MLS thanks to a heart condition which cost him the whole run up to the 2015 campaign. DC United though, is hopeful that Collin Martin's news is better. He should be back in the next couple weeks, though with this being a short week of training, the team will likely hold him out against the Lions.
OCSC remains without Tally Hall, Pedro Ribeiro, Martin Paterson, Kevin Molino, Lewis Neal and Tony Cascio, though at least Brek Shea is back from what could have been a problematic injury suffered two weeks ago in a friendly match.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"Obviously, we started very apprehensively. We allowed a very good, confident team to dictate the pace of the game, and I thought we played off the back foot and gave them too much respect. But after the first 20-25 minutes, we got a little bit of a foothold in the game. We pushed more men forward and gave them something to defend. I didn't think we did enough in the first half, but I actually thought the response of the players was magnificent. I don't think they (New England) had another opportunity during the second 45, so obviously, we turned the game around in our favor." – Orlando City head coach Adrian Heath on last weekend's come-from-behind draw against New England at home
RECENT FORM
Perhaps the 2-2 draw against New England is just what the doctor ordered to get the Lions back on track. They had lost their previous two games and had been outscored by Toronto and Columbus by the combined score of 5-0.
DC United is hoping to end this three-match home stand on a high note. Previously, the team beat Columbus 2-0 and drew against Sporting Kansas City 1-1. United has managed at least a result from seven straight fixtures dating back to its only loss of the season, a 2-0 defeat at the New York Red Bulls.
TALKING TOTALS
Orlando City has been putting matches close to the total all season long. Two of the three last have exceeded the generally accepted total of 2.5, but every game this season has featured at least one goal from one side or the other.
Three of DC's last four games have stayed under the total, but it too has gotten awfully close to the number. All four games featured at least two goals, and the one exception was a three-goal performance against Vancouver.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
Bill Hamid was fantastic when these two teams met the first time this year, clearly outplaying Donovan Ricketts and keeping United in a match which could have easily been lost.
Back at home though, we expect to see DC United much more on the front foot, just as we saw out of New England for the better part of 70 minutes against Orlando City last weekend.
The Lions aren't deep enough to really come back on these short weeks and play effectively, especially on the road. As long as the number to lay isn't something ridiculous beyond about -180 or so, we would have no problem laying the lumber to get DC on our side.
DC United 2, Orlando City 0
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