The Major League Soccer season is motoring through to the summer break, and there’s a lot of excitement in the air about where things are heading. Today, we’ll be taking a look at what should be an intriguing showdown between Atlanta United and Orlando City.
Atlanta Form GuideAtlanta United, once upon a time, were a real force of nature upon initially entering the MLS. Unfortunately, they seem to have lost a bit of their spark in recent times. They’re still one of the most consistent acts in the East and they’re probably going to make it to the post-season, but we’re left to wonder what it is they can achieve in terms of making a deep run with this current squad as it stands.
July has been a mixed bag for Atlanta up to this point, starting off with a nice win over Philadelphia followed by a narrow triumph over Montreal away from home. They did, however, fall short in a 2-1 defeat to New England last night.
Orlando Form GuideDespite having one of the most passionate fanbases in Major League Soccer, Orlando City continues to fall short when living up to what is their perceived potential. The boys in purple always seem to attract a lot of attention and this season, they’re turning quite a few heads, probably because they’ve only lost six of their 22 league games up to this point in the campaign. Bravo to them.
Orlando’s form has been pretty similar to Atlanta since we hit July. They were able to beat Chicago and Toronto 3-1 and 4-0 in a three-day span, before a surprise 4-0 battering at the hands of Salt Lake.
Match PredictionThese two sides are vying for a place in the playoffs, but they both have a poor result in them from time to time - and that isn’t exactly a secret. ATL will feel like they can control the pace in their own backyard, but Orlando are tricky and refuse to go away quietly. Therefore, we’re backing a draw.