Philadelphia Union v Orlando City SC - Match Preview and Betting Notes

Photograph Credit: Philadelphia Union

We have a congested schedule for the Philadelphia Union this week, who visit Orlando City SC on Wednesday night at Inter & Co Stadium. Typically, I review the previous match before jumping into the upcoming match preview. However, with such a short turnaround and my busy work schedule, we'll skip right to the Orlando preview and keep this brief. Besides, we know the 2-1 loss to New England sucked, let's not dwell on it more than we need to tonight.

Orlando City SC Preview and Player Availability

What an ugly matchup tonight. Orlando is 3W-1D-8L and in 14th place in the Eastern Conference with 10 points. The Union are in 15th place with a 1W-3D-8L record and 6 points. So, even if the Union win tonight, they'll still be in last place...

Despite their overall record, Orlando hasn't been terrible over the last five games, where they have a 3W-0D-2L record. This includes a 4-1 win against Charlotte, 4-3 victory over New England, and a 4-3 win against Inter Miami. Those three teams are all in the current playoff picture. Orlando also lost 3-2 to D.C. and 2-0 to Montreal during that span.

Tonight's opponent has been pretty poor on the road. Orlando is 1W-1D-5L away from their home arena and have a brutal -18 goal differential. However, they're a bit better at home with a 2W-0D-3L record. Next, Orlando is finding the back of the net and have 16 goals in their 12 MLS contests, 14 of which have come from open play. A majority of their scoring production has come from Martin Ojeda. The 4th year striker has 7 goals in 12 MLS matches and should be the main target for Philly's backline. I should mention that 3 of those 7 goals came against Miami in Orlando's 3 goal comeback win. Lastly, Martin had 20 goals and 13 assists in 2025, so he can certainly hurt an opponent in different ways.

For Player Availability, Joran Gerbet (knee) is out for Orlando, while Marco Pasalic (thigh) is questionable. Also, in case you forgot, Antoine Griezmann won't be joining Orlando until July.

Unfortunately, Philly is dealing with injuries again. Jesus Bueno (ankle), Eddy Davis III (hamstring), Japhet Sery Larsen (shoulder), Quinn Sullivan (knee), and Frankie Westfield (hip) are out, while Andre Blake (knee) is questionable. Recently, the Union have been consistent with starting Nate, Japhet, Olwethu, and Frankie on their back line. Tonight, 2 of those 4 starters will be absent. Also, considering Andre Blake's injury history, I expect Andrew Rick to start tonight. There's no reason to risk Andre if you don't need to.

Lastly, there are only three players with caution accumulation warnings tonight: Olwethu Makhanya, Iago Teodoro, and Eduard Atuesta. Sery Larsen is still carrying his warning too, but he's obviously out.

Betting Notes

If you fade the Union like I do for betting purposes, then you had another profitable day last Saturday against New England. It didn't look promising in the first half, but the Revs moneyline and Revs over 1.5 total goals cashed by the final whistle. Tonight, we are going back to fading Philly, even if Orlando isn't the strongest team.

I don't know what this back line is going to look like, but I imagine it will be Nate, Martinez, Makhanya, and Mbaizo??? We have seen Rafanello, Lukic, and Bedoya in the right back spot, and we've seen Ben Bender play left back too. Either way, the Union are missing three of their most consistent players in Bueno, Westfield, and Sery, and they could have Rick in net. I love Rick and believe he should play more. However, organizing a makeshift back line when you haven't played in a while is no easy task.

As always, I looked on DraftKings for tonight's lines. Orlando City moneyline is +170, draw is +255, and Union moneyline is +130. Considering Orlando's price, I also checked Tie No Bet and found the home squad at +100. Frankly, Orlando is healthy and catching the Union in a terrible offensive funk. I am playing +170, and if the Union pull off a victory, I'll tip my cap to them. If you want to play the percentage game, then take Orlando Tie No Bet and give yourself a 66% chance to get your money back or profit.

Like I mentioned, this week has been hectic for me, so I didn't do a deeper dive into the sportsbook. So, I kept it simple with these next two plays. Orlando has been finding the back of the net of late and are facing a depleted back line for Philly. I'm taking Orlando over 1.5 total goals -101 and Orlando City First Goal -105. This Florida side recently put up 4 goals against three different playoff teams. I'm worried they take advantage of the Union defense tonight.

Final Thought

The Union are a tough watch right now. They're giving up mind-numbing goals and have been dreadful on offense. That was highlighted by Alladoh's point blank miss against New England. Unfortunately, injuries and a short turn around don't give me much hope tonight. Regardless, we'll be live on AAT Sports Network after the match on our post game show. You can watch on YouTube and Facebook and join our conversation in the comments. Doop!