Orlando City and Chicago Fire, both aiming to bounce back from defeats, will come together at the Exploria Stadium on Sunday in MLS.

The hosts are fifth in the Eastern Conference standings with 27 points from 16 games, while the visitors are 11th with 19 points from 14 fixtures.

Match preview

Orlando City, after being founded in 2010 and winning the USL Pro title in two of their first four seasons, secured a successful bid to enter the MLS for the first time in the 2015 season.

The Lions missed out on the MLS Cup playoffs in their first four years before finally qualifying with a fourth-placed Eastern Conference finish in 2020, marking the start of a streak of playoff qualifications in every season since.

Orlando City were taken over in 2021 by the Wilf family and have gradually improved in the following years, improving on consecutive MLS Cup first round exits in 2021 and 2022 to a quarter-final defeat in 2023 and a semi-final loss last term.

Now aiming to improve once again as the search for a first MLS Cup triumph continues, Orlando City have enjoyed a strong start to the 2025 MLS campaign, currently sitting fifth in the Eastern Conference.

Oscar Pareja, in charge since December 2019, has led the Lions to seven wins, six draws and just three losses in their 16 league fixtures, leaving them with 27 points and only three points behind MLS leaders Philadelphia Union.

While they will be delighted with their start to the term, Pareja will be keen for his side to bounce back after their 12-game unbeaten MLS run was snapped in a 3-2 defeat to Atlanta in their last outing.

A return to their home ground will certainly boost their confidence, especially given they are undefeated in the league at Exploria Stadium since the opening match, while they are also undefeated in their last eight meetings with Chicago Fire.

Chicago Fire are similarly aiming to rebound from a defeat in their last outing, as Gregg Berhalter's side were defeated 3-1 by New York City FC, ending a four-game winning run across all competitions.

Chicago Fire, after qualifying for the MLS Cup playoffs in 11 of their first 12 seasons - including one victory and two runners-up finishes - have disappointingly qualified just two times in the last 15 years.

They had a particularly disappointing 2024 campaign, finishing bottom of the Eastern Conference with just 30 points from 34 matches, leaving them eager to climb the standings this time round.

Berhalter's men have certainly improved on last season's performance so far this term, with Chicago Fire amassing 19 points from 14 fixtures, leaving them only three points outside the qualification places with games in hand on those around them.

The Fire will be hopeful that their 3-1 defeat to New York City FC does not spark a downturn in form, with ambitions of a top-nine Eastern Conference finish following their promising start, but they have struggled in this fixture.

Chicago Fire have won only seven of the 23 meetings with Orlando City across all competitions, losing eight in that time, while they are without a victory since July 2021.

Team News

Orlando City will be unable to call upon the services of Gustavo Caraballo (leg), Nicolas Rodriguez (thigh) and Yutaro Tsukada (cruciate ligament) for this match due to injury issues.

Cesar Araujo will also be unavailable for the Lions after the midfielder was sent off in the 77th-minute of their 3-2 defeat to Atlanta United last time out.

Joran Gerbet and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson could start in midfield in Araujo's absence, while Martin Ojeda and Luis Muriel should start in attack having scored 14 league goals between them this season.

As for Chicago Fire, Carlos Teran (muscle), Chase Gasper (hip), Chris Mueller (personal reasons), David Poreba (muscle) and Leonardo Barroso (muscle) are all unavailable due to ongoing issues.

Brian Gutierrez and Dje Tah D'Avilla are both also ruled out for Saturday's clash after the pair received red cards in the 3-1 loss to New York City FC last weekend, while Mauricio Pineda is a doubt after coming off with an injury in the 41st-minute.

Hugo Cuypers, Philip Zinckernagel and Jonathan Bamba have all played a key role in Chicago Fire's impressive start to the season, and all three should start on Sunday.

Orlando City possible starting lineup:

Gallese; Freeman, Schlegel, Jansson, Brekalo; Pasalic, Thorhallsson, Gerbet, Angulo; Ojeda, Enrique

Chicago Fire possible starting lineup:

Brady; Dean, Rogers, Elliott, Gutman; Oregel, Pineda, Acosta; Zinckernagel, Cuypers, Bamba