The last time New York City FC was on the pitch, it was embarrassed at home by its rival. That 7-0 loss to the Red Bulls must still sting quite a bit, but as is always the case in the regular season in sports, another opportunity awaits to get vengeance. Orlando City is headed to the Bronx for the second time this year, and it hopes that its May visit is as fruitful as its March visit when it snared three points in a 1-0 triumph.
There will be soccer odds at BookMaker.eu for this and all of the great MLS matches over the weekend.
ODDS ANALYSIS
This is a really tough game to line at this point. One glance at the standings tells you that NYCFC should be favored by a healthy margin, and that very well could be how this one plays out. But the fact that the Lions were able to come on the road and win the last time these two were on the pitch together parlayed with the fact that City was beaten up by RBNY just a week ago could tell a different tale.
KEY INJURIES
City lost Seb Hines and Rafael Ramos to knee and hamstring injuries respectively last weekend, and neither one was able to get on the pitch on Wednesday for the home duel with Philadelphia. The problems at the back reared their ugly head for the men in purple once again, as OCSC conceded twice in that match to the Union. Pedro Ribeiro and Darwin Ceren are nursing injuries which will have them out through at least the end of June, and perhaps much deeper into the summer.
NYCFC is only without the services of Connor Brandt for this match barring unforeseen issues in training. Frank Lampard was able to play after being questionable for several weeks with a litany of injuries, though he probably would've preferred it if he wasn't anywhere near the stadium for the 7-0 romp at the hands of the hated Red Bulls.
LIVE BETTING
Goals have been flying all over the place in Orlando City matches of late. Three straight matches have gone over the total, as have eight of the last nine it has played. Ironically, the only matches the Lions have played which haven't gone past the number have been against the New York teams, first the 1-0 win here in the Bronx on March 18, then a 1-1 draw at home against New York on May 6. Everything else since very early in the season has coasted past the total.
The Lions took four points from their two matches at home recently, first snaring three points from Montreal followed by the 2-2 draw against Philadelphia on Wednesday.
For NYCFC, this match is all about trying to rebound from the 7-0 romp at home to the Red Bulls. There have only been three other instances in the history of this league in which a team has given up seven in a match, and just one of those had come with the team getting taken behind the shed playing at home.
For a team which was carrying momentum from getting 10 points in four matches headed into that duel with their arch rivals, the Sky Blues sure did stink up the joint in an unexpected manner on both sides of the pitch.
QUICK PICK
This NYCFC team has to be better than the one which was beaten so soundly by the Red Bulls. It just has to be.
There aren't a lot of trends which suggest this match will go one way or the other. Historically, both teams have a win on their home pitch to show for their work against the other. The two teams also drew in their inaugural match in Orlando, while the Lions took the spoils on the road in the first matchup in 2016.
We see no reason why there won't be goals aplenty in this one. David Villa and Lampard were booed badly just last week against the Red Bulls, but we know they both have all the potential in the world to take a match over at this level.
Sure, Cyle Larin and Kaka remain in top form, but with Kevin Molino largely going at it alone in the midfield with Kaka due to injuries and the damage on the back line, we aren't sure the Lions have enough depth in a short week of preparation with travel to get the job done.
MLS Odds: New York City FC 2, Orlando City 1
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