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| New York City FC v Orlando City SC – live! | New York City FC v Orlando City SC – live! |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| 2.13pm ET19:13 | |
| The teams! | |
| Here’s a look at today’s starting XIs. Andrea Pirlo is on the bench for NYC FC and there’s every indication he could make his debut as a second-half sub. | |
| New York City FC: Saunders; Angelino, Wingert, Facey, Iraola; Calle, Jacobson, McNamara, Ballouchy; Poku, Villa | |
| Orlando City SC: Hall, Ashe, St. Ledger, Hines, Collin, Avila; Ceren, Carrasco; Rivas, Kaka, Larin | |
| 2.09pm ET19:09 | |
| Preamble | |
| Good day and welcome to Yankee Stadium for today’s match between New York City FC and Orlando City SC. Lots at stake here with the visitors holding onto the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and the hosts just three points adrift. With kickoff roughly 20 minutes away, we’ll have the team information for you shortly. | |
| 1.40pm ET18:40 | 1.40pm ET18:40 |
| Bryan will be here shortly. In the meantime why not read Simon Evans’ lookahead to today’s rematch between Major League Soccer’s two newest sides: | Bryan will be here shortly. In the meantime why not read Simon Evans’ lookahead to today’s rematch between Major League Soccer’s two newest sides: |
| When Orlando City and New York City met at the Citrus Bowl in week one, back in March, there was global interest in the encounter. Two expansion teams were taking their first bow in the league and it was the first chance to see Kaka in action in purple and David Villa in sky blue. It felt like MLS was entering a new phase in its growth, and indeed over 60,000 fans turned out for a game which was given the full hype treatment on domestic and international television. It wasn’t a classic, but it was a game played with plenty of intensity, and there was drama, too, as Kaka’s deflected injury time free-kick cancelled out Mix Diskerud’s opener. | When Orlando City and New York City met at the Citrus Bowl in week one, back in March, there was global interest in the encounter. Two expansion teams were taking their first bow in the league and it was the first chance to see Kaka in action in purple and David Villa in sky blue. It felt like MLS was entering a new phase in its growth, and indeed over 60,000 fans turned out for a game which was given the full hype treatment on domestic and international television. It wasn’t a classic, but it was a game played with plenty of intensity, and there was drama, too, as Kaka’s deflected injury time free-kick cancelled out Mix Diskerud’s opener. |
| The two teams meet again this Sunday, at Yankee Stadium, and once again there is something special in the air, with Italian World Cup winner Andrea Pirlo possibly in line for a debut and former England captain Frank Lampard perhaps also ready for his first outing. | The two teams meet again this Sunday, at Yankee Stadium, and once again there is something special in the air, with Italian World Cup winner Andrea Pirlo possibly in line for a debut and former England captain Frank Lampard perhaps also ready for his first outing. |
| The words ‘possibly’ and ‘perhaps’ aren’t exactly in the spirit of hype, but given that Lampard has missed out on his two planned debuts due to a calf injury and that Pirlo only began training with Jason Kreis’s team this week, caution is necessary. | The words ‘possibly’ and ‘perhaps’ aren’t exactly in the spirit of hype, but given that Lampard has missed out on his two planned debuts due to a calf injury and that Pirlo only began training with Jason Kreis’s team this week, caution is necessary. |
| They may both be past their best, but there is still something exciting about the novelty of seeing two of the best midfielders in European football from the past decade and a half line up alongside each other for the first time. Anyone who paid attention to Serie A last season knows that Pirlo, never the quickest player, had to endure his legs no longer getting him away from opponents, but his unmatched passing skills remain undiminished. Lampard is in better shape and showed during moments last season that he still has the eye for goal and the wit and speed to make dangerous runs into scoring positions. | They may both be past their best, but there is still something exciting about the novelty of seeing two of the best midfielders in European football from the past decade and a half line up alongside each other for the first time. Anyone who paid attention to Serie A last season knows that Pirlo, never the quickest player, had to endure his legs no longer getting him away from opponents, but his unmatched passing skills remain undiminished. Lampard is in better shape and showed during moments last season that he still has the eye for goal and the wit and speed to make dangerous runs into scoring positions. |
| With Pirlo playing at the bottom of the midfield and Lampard surely given licence to get forward in support of Villa, there shouldn’t be a compatibility problem, although it remains to be seen how Diskerud fits into the plan. He can probably expect to cover a lot of ground. | With Pirlo playing at the bottom of the midfield and Lampard surely given licence to get forward in support of Villa, there shouldn’t be a compatibility problem, although it remains to be seen how Diskerud fits into the plan. He can probably expect to cover a lot of ground. |
| If there is one area where Pirlo and Lampard might get in each other’s way, it is the matter of free-kicks, in which they both specialize, although Kreis would no doubt be quick with the managerial cliché about that being the kind of problem you are happy to have. | If there is one area where Pirlo and Lampard might get in each other’s way, it is the matter of free-kicks, in which they both specialize, although Kreis would no doubt be quick with the managerial cliché about that being the kind of problem you are happy to have. |
| The pair will have to start making an impact soon however. NYC FC are in penultimate position in the East, three points behind Adrian Heath’s Orlando, who currently occupy the final play-off position. While there will surely be a big crowd and plenty of excitement in the Bronx on Sunday, the likely lack of sharpness of NYFC’s new arrivals means this might not be a bad time for an Orlando team that has clearly gelled much quicker than their opponents, to visit New York in search of three points. | The pair will have to start making an impact soon however. NYC FC are in penultimate position in the East, three points behind Adrian Heath’s Orlando, who currently occupy the final play-off position. While there will surely be a big crowd and plenty of excitement in the Bronx on Sunday, the likely lack of sharpness of NYFC’s new arrivals means this might not be a bad time for an Orlando team that has clearly gelled much quicker than their opponents, to visit New York in search of three points. |