Orlando City faces a quick turnaround after defeating the Columbus Crew 3-2 on Saturday.
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The Lions (11-13-4, 37 points) travel to take on Toronto FC (7-10-11, 32 points) in a Wednesday night matchup at BMO Field.
“We know how this league is. This is a very long season, every game counts,” Orlando interim head coach Martin Perelman said. “Of course, coming to the end, every game is more decisive. But at the end of the day the season is long and it is how it is. For us, it’s about going game by game, one game at a time.”
Orlando’s victory over Columbus ended a three-game losing streak, one that started against Columbus in the U.S. Open Cup Semifinal. Toronto was on a three-game losing streak of its own, snapping it on Saturday with a 2-1 victory over CF Montreal, thanks to two second-half stoppage-time goals.
The Lions are 4-5-3 on the road against Toronto, including three of the last five. Orlando beat Toronto 3-0 in September, with Antoine Griezmann, Harvey Sarajian and Ivan Angulo all getting on the scoresheet.
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Angulo has been in impressive form for Orlando, and he will look to build on his five-game MLS scoring streak. He has six goals and four primary assists in league play, his best season in purple.
Josh Sargent (7G, 3A) and Dániel Sallói (7G, 6A) will be a challenge for Orlando’s defense. Neither has had a goal in the past four games, but they have been important players all season and are more than capable of taking advantage of an Orlando defense that has allowed 66 goals so far this season.
Orlando sits in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, just one point above FC Cincinnati in the ninth and final playoff spot. Toronto is only five points back and hunting Orlando City down in the standings. A victory would not allow Orlando to jump into sixth, but it would be an important three points in a hotly contested playoff race.
“We know that we’re focusing on our recovery right now, we know the table and the positions and how important the remaining games that we have coming up are,” Angulo said. “We know that we have a tough game against Toronto where the three points coming up will be crucial.”
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Following this, Orlando returns home to take on D.C. United on Saturday.